Jakob Pelletier back from injury, at practice with Wranglers

Jakob Pelletier was all smiles as he stepped onto the ice with the Calgary Wranglers on Tuesday morning.

The 2019 first-round draft pick injured his shoulder in the pre-season and his road to recovery has been a long one.

The Flames assigned him to the Wranglers on Monday.

"It feels good," the 22-year-old said.

"I know three-and-a-half months and I'd say two months without skating is long. So, you know, to be back here with the boys feels pretty good, to be honest"

BAD TIMING

Pelletier split time between the Flames and Wranglers last season.

When he did get into the Flames lineup, he made an impression.

In 24 games, he had three goals and four assists.

Pelletier says his shoulder feels great but admits the timing of the injury wasn't very good for him.

He was a virtual lock to make the Flames out of training camp.

"It's tough but that's life," he said.

"I think the big thing for me was to use that three-and-a-half months to get stronger and then when I come back to play, I kind of look a bit better and more in shape than I used to be."

POSITIVE ENERGY

When Pelletier is on the ice, you can feel the positive energy.

He's a very upbeat person and Wranglers forward Emilio Pettersen says it rubs off on everyone around him.

"We all know that Pelts (Pelletier) is an energetic guy, to say the least, and he just brings the vibes," Pettersen said.

"He's a great guy to have in the locker room.

"He brings that joy every day and sometimes, at the rink, it can be harder and it doesn't seem like he ever has a bad day and that definitely spreads around the room."

GETTING BACK INTO GAME SHAPE

The Wranglers play the Ontario Reign in back-to-back games at the Dome on Thursday and Friday and it's unlikely Pelletier will see action in either of those games.

Pelletier says right now, he has no timetable on when he might return to the Flames.

"For me, now, the main thing is to get in shape and then we'll see what happens," he said.