Brett Howden was out of the yellow non-contact jersey on Monday during Moose Jaw Warriors’ practice, a good sign that he’s moving towards a return to the team’s lineup.

The Warriors captain has missed the team’s last six games after going down with an upper body injury during the 2017 Canada/Russia Series game at Mosaic Place just over two weeks ago.

“It’s really exciting,” said Howden on being a full participant in Monday’s practice.  “You never want to be out with an injury and be away from the guys, that’s the worst part about it is you don’t get to be on the ice with them or do the same routine, so it’s nice to be getting back in that routine again.”

Howden took a hard hit along the boards against Team Russia during the game at Mosaic Place.  He left that game and didn’t return.

While the injury game during an exhibition game, Howden said he was disappointed to go down with the injury.

“It is what it is, you can’t dwell on it, you’ve just got to keep progressing forward and that’s what I’ve done and I’ve come a long way in two weeks and am finally starting to feel well again,” said Howden.

Howden finally started skating last week and will be a game-time decision going into Tuesday’s meeting with the Saskatoon Blades at Mosaic Place.

The Warriors haven’t missed a beat without their captain, winning five of the six games that he’s been out.

“We’ve been playing really well, so it’s been really fun to watch, and it’s honestly been harder to watch with them winning because you want to be a part of it, but it’s been awesome for them, they’ve been doing great and I’m looking forward to coming back,” said Howden.

In 15 games this season, Howden has posted ten goals and 23 points.  He said he’s aiming to just slide back into the lineup and keep things rolling.

“I’ve got to try to keep up to them, they’ve been playing really well and I don’t want to come in and mess anything up, just try to do the best I can to fit in and keep up with what they’ve been doing,” he said.

The Warriors and Blades hit the ice at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.  The Pre-Game Show is set for 6:40 p.m. on Country 100.