Kris Draper didn't push things too hard on Thursday when he skated at Joe Louis Arena, but he was at least able to test his injured groin a bit.
"Gingerly," Draper said of how he skated. "I went out there in sweats and was out there for about 10-12 minutes. Felt good. Obviously I didn’t push it or anything like that." Draper said he would try to talk athletic trainer Piet Van Zant into letting him skate with his hockey equipment today. Draper resisted any temptation to do more than he was supposed to in his first stint back on the ice.
Draper isn't going to rush back and will likely miss the start of the regular season. Luckily for the Red Wings, they have so much forward depth (knock on wood) that they shouldn't need Draper to come back too quickly, so he should be able to take it easy until he is 100% healthy.