Sidelined since October with concussion, Filip Chytil takes part in Canucks morning skate

Count it as a small victory for Filip Chytil and the Vancouver Canucks.

Chytil (concussion) took part in Saturday’s morning skate at Rogers Arena in preparation for a game against the San Jose Sharks in a red non-contact jersey. There’s not a timeline yet for a return to the lineup for the 26-year-old centre, but Saturday has to be a decided step forward for him.

He’s seen action in just six of Vancouver’s first 36 games this season. He hasn’t played since an Oct. 19 game in Washington, when he was at the receiving end of a questionable hit from Capitals winger Tom Wilson.

Chytil was listed as having suffered five concussions in his career going into this season and he’s missed significant time on the injured list because of it. He played just 10 regular season games with the New York Rangers in 2023-24 because of a concussion. He did come back for playoff action that season. He was traded to the Canucks on Jan. 25, 2025, in the J.T. Miller swap. He missed the last 16 games of Vancouver’s season last year after suffering another concussion.

“Just for him, as an individual in his career, it’s great to see,” Canucks coach Adam Foote said of Chytil taking part in some fashion in drills Saturday. “To see a smile gives you as a coach and as a team a lift. I sure felt good about seeing him out there.”

Foote says he kept watch on Chytil during the skate. He asked how Chytil was doing at one point, and got back: “I feel so good.”

“For him to get through all this movement at once with the (bright arena) lights on, I felt was a good sign,” Foote said.

Chytil was a first-round pick(No. 21 overall) by the Rangers in the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s played 399 regular season games in the NHL. Canucks centre Elias Pettersson was also a part of that draft and he was set to play his 500th game Saturday against San Jose. New Jersey Devils centre Nico Hischier led the draft class as of Saturday morning with 564 games.

SEwen@postmedia.com