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"My goal, ultimately, is to be there for Game
1," he told the Blue Jackets' website in an interview published
Tuesday. "You never want to miss time, you never want to miss
games, so my goal going into training camp and into the season
is to be ready for Game 1.
"If it's later, like Game 5 or Game 10, whenever that is, I'm
going to work to miss as few games as possible and be ready to
help the team."
Werenski underwent shoulder surgery in May after getting injured
early last season and playing through the ailment the rest of
the way and through the playoffs. His initial timetable for
recovery was set at five to six months.
"I actually don't know what my timeline is, to be honest, but
I'm hoping to be back toward the start of training camp;
probably not Day 1, but as soon as I can be," Werenski said.
"I feel great out there," he added. "There's no problems right
now. I'm just kind of ramping it up here, trying to get my
timing back. Everything feels good on the ice. I haven't had any
contact yet. That's not until later. I probably won't do that
until probably halfway through training camp, but everything is
good. Everything's on pace."
Werenski, along with teammate Seth Jones, set a team record for
goals by a defenseman with 16 during the regular season, both
ranking fourth among NHL blueliners. The 21-year-old Werenski
added 21 assists, playing in 77 games.
Taken eighth overall by Columbus in the 2015 draft, Werenski has
27 goals and 57 assists in 155 career NHL games over the past
two seasons. He added a goal and two assists in this year's
Stanley Cup playoffs before the Blue Jackets were eliminated in
six games by the Washington Capitals in the first round.
The Blue Jackets open the 2018-19 season at Detroit on Oct. 4.
--Field Level Media
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