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Calder runner-up Stone says injured wrist is ‘100 percent’

150829_MarkStone

It’s been a pretty good summer for breakout Sens forward Mark Stone.

He finished second to Aaron Ekblad as the NHL’s top rookie, scored a three-year, $10.5 million extension from the Sens and, this week, confirmed there’s no lingering effect from the P.K. Subban slash he took to the wrist during Ottawa’s opening-round playoff loss to Montreal.

“It’s felt great out there the last couple of skates,” he told the Ottawa Sun. “The shot feels good. The hands feel good. My legs are starting to come along. I feel good and I feel like I’m 100 percent.”

That wasn’t the case this spring, when Stone suffered a microfracture from the Subban slash -- an incident that set off a mini-firestorm between two clubs. Following the series, which the Habs won four games to two, Stone expressed frustration over how much the injury -- which occurred in the second period of Game 1 -- limited him.

Stone played through the injury, but needed to freeze his wrist before and sometimes again during each game.

“It was just frustrating not being able to feel parts of my wrist and parts of my fingers,” he explained. “It definitely didn’t help my shot, but I was able to play through it.”

Now healthy, Stone can focus on two major tasks -- getting Ottawa back into the playoffs, and avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump.