Avalanche defenseman Ian Cole is coming off two off-season hip surgeries and was originally not expected to return to the lineup until December. But he’s surprisingly a candidate to play Thursday against Boston at the Pepsi Center.
Cole, 30, was officially cleared Wednesday and met the media for the first time this season after practice.
“The motivation is certainly there,” Cole said of getting back. “My job this summer — since (May) 20, when I got the first (surgery) — my whole summer for the past five months was to rehab and get back healthy as quickly as possible.