Swayman Ahead of Schedule, Returns to Practice in Full

BOSTON - Following the trend of his fellow injured teammates this season, Jeremy Swayman is "ahead of schedule" in his return from a lower-body injury and was on the ice as a full participant during Tuesday's practice at Warrior Ice Arena.
Swayman suffered the injury on Nov. 1 in Pittsburgh when his left leg jammed into the post during a collision with Patrice Bergeron in the crease. The netminder, who had entered the game in relief of Linus Ullmark, was forced to leave the contest with assistance from his teammates and the Bruins' medical staff.

Now, some two weeks after the injury, Swayman is back on the ice and eager to return to game action.
"Really good," Swayman said when asked how he was feeling. "Really excited to be back with these guys…I'm going to do everything I can to be game ready, but I trust the medical staff here. [Manager of Player Rehabilitation] Scotty Waugh, everything he says I'm doing to the best of my ability and I'm going to do everything I can to get back as soon as possible in a game."
Swayman also credited the Penguins' medical personnel for their assistance in the immediate aftermath of the injury.
"It all started in Pittsburgh, actually, with their medical staff treating me as their own, really got me heading in the right direction," said Swayman. "The University of Pittsburgh getting the MRI right away the next day and then letting Scotty Waugh and the crew here take over. I couldn't be in better hands. I feel so fortunate to be a part of this organization.
"Just the care that these guys have for their players, it means a lot as a player, and it extends throughout all my teammates and stuff. It was a pretty special thing, so I couldn't be happier to be back."

The 23-year-old said that while the injury was certainly alarming in the moment, he tried to guard himself against contemplating the worst-case scenario.
"You don't want to think about that, right? I've never been carried off the ice before and I never want too again," said Swayman. "Again, I was feeling it out right when I got off the ice and being able to put weight on it was definitely a positive. I just let the Pittsburgh staff take over, their docs and stuff…then just trust what they have to say and I'm really fortunate to be in the position I am."
Coach Jim Montgomery said that while Swayman is "ahead of schedule" and "starting to check boxes," the team will know more after Wednesday's practice when it comes to whether the netminder will be available for game action this week. When Swayman does return, Boston's bench boss is looking forward to lessening the load on Ullmark, despite his outstanding start to the season.
"Linus is playing too many games. He's leading the league in games played [13 games, 12 starts], right, so we want to get Sways back as soon as possible," said Montgomery. "I can't say it's a rotation we're going to get back to but getting more of a split rotation going."
While Swayman has been sidelined for the last six games - five of them victories - Nick Foligno has stepped up in his absence to deliver the postgame win hug to Ullmark, which Swayman has given his seal of approval. But it's another act of kindness from Foligno that the backstop wanted to shine a light on.
"I have so many good things to say about that guy," Swayman said of Foligno. "Something, probably a lot of people don't know, but I was on the train back to Boston from New York the next day [after the injury] and he texted me asking for my address.
"He said, 'My wife made you a ton of food, she's going to drop it off.' I couldn't believe it. When I got home, there was this huge bag with like a gallon and a half of homemade chicken soup, 30 turkey meatballs, a bunch of peppers and cookies and stuff. It brought me to tears almost, it was really amazing.
"The character that he has is something that I'm going to remember and definitely pass along my whole career, because I'll never forget that."

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