Leafs netminder Jack Campbell returns to practice, answers some questions from the media

The Toronto Maple Leafs may currently be in first place in the NHL, thanks to the stellar play of Frederik Andersen, but it's no secret that the Buds are missing their No.2, Jack Campbell.

In fact, following Campbell's injury on January 24th, Andersen has started 11 of 12 games, with No.3 Michael Hutchinson only drawing into one game, mostly due to Andersen needing a breather after playing 10-consecutive games.

On Sunday, following practice, Campbell met with the media to discuss his recovery, and the main takeaway from the session is that he is feeling great and is making good progress, though he does not yet know when he will return.

Though Campbell would not go into specifics about the injury itself, he did respond to a question as to whether or not he had considering coming out of the game.

"I can handle an injury," Campbell said, after revealing that he suffered the injury in the final 4 minutes of the Jan 24th meeting with the Calgary Flames. "It's not fun to do that, but asking for Freddie to go in with three minutes left in the game when you're sitting on the bench for three hours, it's not a great thing to do. Definitely wasn't coming out."

Campbell also touched on his rehab, and what it felt like to get back out on the ice with his teammates for the first time since the injury.

"I'm feeling really good. Not sure about [when I'll be ready for] game action quite yet, I'm just focusing on each day just feeling a little bit better and getting the rust off, and you know, today was a great start and I had a blast out there with the fellas."

With Campbell returning to practice, it's a pretty safe bet that he's not far off now, but in the meantime, with the Leafs getting some quality goaltending from both Frederik Andersen and Michael Hutchinson, the Leafs will likely take their time with Campbell to ensure that he returns at 100%.

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