Wheeler thrilled to return to Jets practice, no timeline for return

ANAHEIM - There was a moment early in the Winnipeg Jets optional practice on Wednesday that was 10 days in the making.
Captain Blake Wheeler snapped a shot past Eric Comrie, causing a big cheer to ring out from the other 10 skaters taking part in the skate.
"I think the guys were just giving me a hard time because I was probably going half speed and picked my corner on (Eric Comrie)," Wheeler laughed. "Once I kind of knew that I was able to get here today and practice again, just be around the guys, I jumped at the opportunity."
Whether it was sarcastic or not, it put a smile on Wheeler's face, as he took part in his first team practice since clearing the NHL's Covid-19 protocol.
"Not many practices at the end of October that you circle to get back for, but I was excited to get back out there today," said Wheeler. "It's something I've been looking forward to."

He landed in Anaheim on Wednesday morning and was able to get to Honda Center in time to join his teammates. Head coach Paul Maurice was one of many happy to see Wheeler back on his feet and feeling well.
"He was the most happy guy," Maurice said. "Pretty excited for him to be back on the ice. Great to see him out there and look forward to getting him back in the lineup at some point."
The practice may have seemed far away for Wheeler last Monday, when the 35-year-old entered protocol when the team arrived in Minnesota, the final stop on a three-game road trip to open the season.

Wheeler said his first red flag was information he received from the fitness wearable that both he and Paul Stastny wear - an Oura ring.
"He's trying to get as physically fit as I am, which he's not quite there yet," Wheeler grinned. "I woke up Monday morning and we checked that out and that was kind of like a big red flag. So, that was actually really cool to kind of monitor that throughout the depths of it and just kind of where my body was at and it was a really useful tool as well, on the way back, kind of knowing when I was back to somewhat 100 per cent."
The information from his ring showed his body temperature increasing as well as his heart rate.
The Jets captain started to feel symptoms and then tested positive for COVID-19 and began to immediately isolate from the team.
Looking back on it, Wheeler said he was "down and out" for the first couple days, then gradually started to feel better.
After three days in the team hotel, he was able to safely go to his parents' place to isolate in the basement. He was grateful that his parents were able to handle the necessities while he worked on getting better.
If there was any luck in all of this, it was that it happened in Minnesota. Although he admits it's been a while since he's spent that much time at his parents place during the hockey season.
"When I was like in high school. So, 17 (years old)," he said. "It was a lucky bounce, for sure, to just have people to cook and just all the little things that can be tough when you're not feeling 100 per cent."
As far as his road back to the line-up, the ball is in Wheeler's court, Maurice says. Throughout Wheeler's recovery, the Jets head coach has compared the timeline for a return to concussion protocol.
There is no rushing it and the player needs to hit certain benchmarks to clear the way for a safe return to play.
"What we're going to do is see how he feels tomorrow, go a little heavier tomorrow, see how he feels the next day, and just ramp up from there," Maurice said. "All of this will be Blake. We're going to watch him in practice and make sure we're seeing the same things, but he'll tell us when he's ready."

That's exactly how Wheeler will approach it, as well. The fact the team has three consecutive wins helps as well.
"I don't want to screw up a good thing," Wheeler laughed. "You've just got to be smart. Certainly, that's the mindset. You're upright, you're on two skates, so let's go. But like I said, I want to play the rest of them. When I go back, I want to be there for the rest of the way."
As much as he's looking forward to getting back in the line-up, whenever that is, he's even more excited to get back to his wife and three kids back home.
"I've never been more excited to get back to Winnipeg, Manitoba. I'm itching to see my family," he said. "It's been a long time and luckily I get to get back for Halloween with the kids."