Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toyos played his first game in over a year Wednesday night as his team played a pre-season game against the Detroit Red Wings.

The 33-year-old missed the entire recent campaign in the National League, having suffered from a form of chronic fatigue syndrome linked to the immune system.

“Obviously, I still put my work on hold for me, but he’s coming. I’m just happy to be on the ice,” Toyos said in press conferences after his team lost 4-3 in penalties.

“My legs are tired. We’ve done some really good skiing in practice, but I’m feeling much better from day one. I feel good about my progress, you know, I just need to get in good shape, I think.”

Plenty of play time

Against the flanks, Toews gathered help and even hit the target in the crossfire. It was used for about 23 minutes which made it the most used striker.

After the match, coach Jeremy Coleton said he had not intended to use the veteran much.

“There was about two minutes of extra work that we didn’t plan for either. And hey, I sent her here and there for showdowns and things like that. We also got a lot of numerical advantage,” the pilot explained.

“No, I wasn’t expecting it, but it looked good,” Coleton continued. He answered better than I expected, so we’ll see. We’ll watch him, take him day in and day out, see how he feels tomorrow [jeudi]. But it was nice to find him.”