James Sheppard, the ninth overall pick at the 2006 draft, is reportedly close to securing a training camp invite from the Canucks, per the Vancouver Sun.
Sheppard, 28, spent last year with Kloten of Switzerland’s National League A, scoring 11 goals and 25 points in 37 games. He last played in the NHL during the ’14-15 campaign, which he split between the Sharks and Rangers.
Once a promising prospect, Sheppard suffered a major knee injury in 2010 while riding an ATV, which proved to be a significant detour in his progression as a player. He did have one decent season in San Jose -- scoring 20 points in 67 games in ’13-14 -- and appeared in 13 playoff games for the Rangers in the spring of 2015.
Sheppard has also been down the PTO road before. Last September, he caught on with the Blue Jackets for training camp but didn’t last long, and was released just 20 days after joining the team.