"He's a great kid, works hard," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "You like his character, you like what he brought to our team. Certainly we expect him to come back ready to play and give us what he was giving us ... certainly you can't forecast exactly how he's going to come out of it, but when you're missing that kind of time, there's patience when you do come out of injuries that hopefully you can get the speed right off the bat. But sometimes it takes a little longer."
Motte, 21, was Chicago's fourth-round pick (No. 121) in the 2013 NHL Draft.
Forward Andrew Desjardins, out with a lower-body injury since blocking a shot in the Blackhawks final preseason game against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 8, is expected to make his season debut Wednesday at the Blues (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV).
Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, out with an upper-body injury, is skating on his own, and Quenneville said the Blackhawks will know by the end of the week whether van Riemsdyk is able to join Chicago on a seven-game, 13-day road trip next week.
