Patrik Nemeth practicing, NOT wearing red no-contact jersey.
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) February 12, 2015
Nemeth practicing a sign his timeline has moved up. They’ll see where he is in a week.
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) February 12, 2015
Nemeth’s injury occurred in mid-October in a game against the Flyers, when R.J. Umberger’s skate caught him on the arm:
Shortly thereafter, the Stars ruled him out for the season with head coach Lindy Ruff trying to properly describe the seriousness of the situation.
“It was a real severe laceration,” Ruff said, per NHL.com. “When I say severe, it’s probably an understatement.”
Dallas had high hopes for Nemeth prior to getting hurt. The club’s second-round pick at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Nemeth is a big-bodied (6-foot-3, 212 pounds) defenseman that got an expanded role in last year’s opening-round playoff loss to Anaheim, despite only appearing in eight regular-season games.
Having just turned 23 last week, Nemeth is one of the Stars’ young cornerstones on defense and could be a huge late-season boost as the club makes a playoff push.