Hamonic, Motte excited and ready for return to NHL action

It's been a difficult time for both Canucks defenceman Travis Hamonic and forward Tyler Motte. Hamonic was away from the team to start the season due to personal reasons and was granted a temporary leave of absence, while Motte had off-season neck surgery after dealing with a bulging disk in his upper vertebrae.

Hamonic could return to the Canucks lineup as early as tonight against the New York Rangers. On Monday, the Saint Malo, Manitoba native spoke to the media about how tough the last six weeks have been for him and his family.

"I would say I'm just me. You know, I mean, me and family have been going through a lot. You can probably hear it in my voice right now; this isn't an easy thing for me to be doing, but I understand it needs to be done. Everyone thinks they know what someone is going through, and maybe we're all very quick as a society to judge people," Hamonic said.

He added, "I don't know, maybe we should look at it with the glass half full instead of half empty and try to see the good in people and what they're going through. Instead of trying to paint every single individual into one corner when no one even knows a remote percentage of what the full picture really looks like."

The Canucks will embark on a three-game road trip beginning on November 11th, but it's unclear if Hamonic will be able to travel with the team due to his vaccination status. Yesterday, head coach Travis Green said that Hamonic will be double-vaccinated soon, but didn't share if the defenceman has had his second dose yet.

"I will say that that I am vaccinated and I'm following all the protocols right now that are in place until that process is done. I'm here, I'm excited to be here. I'm proud to be a Canuck. This has been an extremely difficult time for me the last little while," the 31-year-old said.

As for Tyler Motte, it may be a few more games before he sees any action according to Travis Green. Despite that, the Port Huron, Michigan native appeared in high spirits when talking about how it feels to be back with the team.

"Man, it's good to be back," Motte said. "Just being a part of opening night and having the fans and everyone back, it brings a lot of life back to me in my daily routine in life. And hopefully we're able to bring a little bit of that back for everyone else."

«Man, it's good to be back.»

Tyler Motte and Travis Hamonic are both back with the Canucks after navigating mental and physical obstacles during extended periods away. (@imacSportsnet)https://t.co/iUrj3FHQZu— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 2, 2021

MUST READ

Feb 28  |  By Tom Banks Vancouver Canucks' Contract Offer to Brock Boeser Leaks Publicly

Feb 28  |  By Tom Banks Montreal Canadiens Star Undergoes Season-Ending Knee Surgery

Feb 28  |  By Daniel Lucente Philadelphia Flyers Officially Looking to Trade Former 39-Goal Scorer

Feb 28  |  By Daniel Lucente Evander Kane May Be in His Final Days in Edmonton After Friedman Reveals New Information

Feb 28  |  By Mike Whitaker Maple Leafs Forward Pulls Back Trade Request

Feb 27  |  By Mike Whitaker Brad Marchand Goes Viral for Passionate Video Ahead of Four Nations Faceoff Final

Feb 27  |  By Mike Whitaker David Pastrnak's Latest Comments Suggest Bruins Will Be Big Sellers at the Deadline

Feb 27  |  By Julien Trekker 6-Foot-6 Winger Linked to the New York Rangers at the Trade Deadline

MORE STORIES