RALEIGH, N.C. -- Andrei Svechnikov made his season debut for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 3-0 win against the San Jose Sharks at PNC Arena on Friday.
The 23-year-old forward had four shots on goal in 13:40 of ice time. He had not played since tearing the ACL in his right knee against the Vegas Golden Knights on March 11. He had season-ending surgery five days later.
Svechnikov resumed skating July 14 and had been practicing since training camp wearing a noncontact jersey. He practiced in a regular jersey Monday.
"Especially with this injury, you don't want to rush it," he said Monday. That's why I'm still trying to recover 100 percent. Two weeks ago I had a 20 percent difference between my legs. Now it's way closer to 100 [percent]."
The Hurricanes (5-4-0) ended a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 overtime win against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
Svechnikov was fourth on the Hurricanes last season with 55 points (23 goals, 32 assists) in 64 games and was selected to the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Game for the first time.
"You know when he's on the ice, and that's something we've been missing for sure," coach Rod Brind'Amour said.
Chosen by the Hurricanes with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Svechnikov has 264 points (112 goals, 152 assists) in 348 regular-season games and 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 40 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
