Forward Jordan DePape, who left the Blazers on Nov. 17 and underwent shoulder surgery on Nov. 26 in Winnipeg, has been told that he should be able to play by March 15.
“Healing is going well,” DePape told The Daily News on Tuesday night. “There’s nothing from a medical standpoint that says it’s harmful for me to return.”
Dr. Peter MacDonald, an orthopedic surgeon, repaired interior and anterior labrum tears in DePape’s right shoulder. DePape said Dr. MacDonald told him he should be able to play “around” March 15 “if I decide.”
The Blazers have two 20-year-olds — forwards Dylan Willick and Brendan Ranford — so have room for one more.
The Blazers tried filling that spot by acquiring F Charles Inglis from the Red Deer Rebels on Nov. 19, but they released him on Dec. 12.
With the WHL’s Jan. 10 trade deadline approaching, it remains to be seen whether the Blazers will make a move or show patience and wait on DePape.
