Hornqvist Thrilled to Re-Join the Team

While Patric Hornqvist was sidelined from the first week of the Penguins' Phase 3 training camp as a precaution, he remained in constant contact with Mike Sullivan in-between working out and watching TV.

"I talked to Patric throughout his whole isolation period, so him and I had a lot of conversations throughout that week," the Penguins head coach said. "I could sense through the phone his energy and his anxiety to want to get on the ice to join the team."

The feeling was mutual, as the Penguins were thrilled to get the fiery, passionate Hornqvist back into team practice on Wednesday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on Day 8 of their Phase 3 training camp.

Hornqvist skated on a line with Patrick Marleau and Jared McCann, and practiced in his usual net-front spot on the top power-play unit.

"The bounce in our step is different when he's on the ice with us and he's on the bench with us or in the locker room," Sullivan said. "He brings a ton of energy to the rink, and I don't think he's ever had a bad day in his life. He's just a real positive guy, and that stuff rubs off. He brings that to the table as well as being a hell of a hockey player on top of that.

"We're certainly a much better team when he's around and in our lineup, and our environment is much more fun to be in when he's part of it.

While it was unfortunate that Hornqvist had to sit out for as long as he did, mentally he adopted the approach that Sullivan constantly preaches to his team about controlling the controllables.

"It is what it is," Hornqvist said. "I can't really put a number on how tough it was or whatever. I put that behind me and look forward instead. It felt great to be back. It's always fun to see the boys and be out there with them."

And physically, Hornqvist couldn't feel better on a couple of different levels. First of all, the 33-year-old winger is looking forward to entering a postseason without the bumps and bruises that come with the grind of a regular season - especially with the punishing style that he plays.

"Usually when you come into the playoffs you've been playing 82 games in a tough regular season," Hornqvist said. "Right now everyone is starting fresh and for sure, I feel better right now than what I usually do going into playoffs."

And second of all, Hornqvist made sure his conditioning remained in peak form during the pause.

Like his countryman Marcus Pettersson, Hornqvist also returned to his native Sweden. Because the protocols in Sweden differed from the U.S., he was able to skate a fair amount while working out at his trainer's home gym. Because of that, Hornqvist decided to remain there for Phase 2.

"I think I had the opportunity there to have the chance to be in the best shape I could," Hornqvist said. "I feel great, my body feels ready to go and I'm excited."

According to Sullivan, that was evident after just one practice.

"Horny is an extremely fit guy and takes a lot of pride in it," Sullivan said. "He's just a consummate pro. He takes care of himself; he does things the right way and his work ethic is off the charts when it comes to his conditioning. To be able to step into a practice like that today with basically two skates under his belt the last couple of weeks I think is impressive and that just gives you an indication of his work ethic."

Now that he's back and cleared for Phase 3, Hornqvist is chomping at the bit to begin Phase 4 and the Penguins' qualifying round against the Montreal Canadiens.

"I think everyone is so excited," he said. "We know we have a great group of guys, we know we have great players and we know what we need to do to win. That gives us an edge over other teams and it seems like everyone is in good shape and in a good mood. We just want to come to Toronto and start playing games."

Video: Patric Hornqvist following today's practice.