After 10 days off, the Vancouver Canucks returned to the practice ice on Tuesday afternoon at Rogers Arena. Quinn Hughes was a surprise participant, given comments earlier in the day by Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan that the Canucks captain was on his way to Boston for the 4 Nations Face-Off finale. 
Hughes, who hasn’t played since January 31st in Dallas, skated in a red non-contact jersey, but was a full participant in today’s on-ice session showing no signs of the oblique injury that kept him out of the four games prior to the 4 Nations break. What’s next for Hughes remains uncertain. He did not commit to flying back east for Thursday’s championship finale between the US and Canada. Instead he said his focus was on being ready to play when the Canucks resume their NHL schedule on Saturday in Vegas.

What we saw

With Elias Pettersson and Kevin Lankinen finishing their 4 Nations tournaments in Boston on Monday, both have been excused from team practices in Vancouver and are expected to rejoin the Canucks for a Friday skate in Vegas.
Arshdeep Bains filled Pettersson spot on a line between Jake DeBrusk and Kiefer Sherwood. Otherwise the forward lines were the same ones used in the team’s 3-1 win over Toronto on February 8th.
On defence, Hughes was paired with Filip Hronek while Marcus Pettersson and Tyler Myers formed a duo. That left the other three defenders – Derek Forbort, Carson Soucy and rookie Elias Pettersson – to rotate through drills.
Arturs Silovs and Nikita Tolopilo – both recalled from Abbotsford earlier on Tuesday – tended the nets at practice. With news today that Thatcher Demko is expected to miss the team’s upcoming five-game road trip, looks for Silovs to remain with the big league club. The 23-year-old Latvian has not seen NHL game action since November 27th in Pittsburgh. That will likely change with the Canucks playing back to back games in Vegas and Utah this weekend and then another set of back to backs in Southern California next week.
Like Demko, Noah Juulsen will not be accompanying the team on its road trip. The veteran defender is out indefinitely with a lower body injury. Juulsen missed two weeks before the break but returned for games in Nashville and Dallas and a home game against Detroit. Now he appears to be out again. 
With Rick Tocchet away coaching Team Canada at the 4 Nations, Adam Foote oversaw today’s practice. Since the group had not been on the ice for a while, it was no surprise practice concluded with a vigorous skate. Dakota Joshua was excused from the final drill of the day. Foote said that was by design and that Joshua had an appointment he needed to get to. He emphasized that Joshua is healthy and will be back on the ice with the group when they practice again on Wednesday.
The plan is for the team to skate both Wednesday and Thursday at Rogers Arena before flying to Vegas on Friday morning. They are set to have an afternoon practice in Las Vegas on Friday before facing the Golden Knights on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

What we heard

Adam Foote on getting the group back together for first practice after the break: “It was great. It was fun. Before the break we were practicing really good and I thought they had a great practice today considering the time off they had.”
Quinn Hughes on team success in four games in his absence since trades shook up the roster: “Yeah, it’s been a long year and the guys they brought in have been really good for us, they’ve looked great. I missed four games and we went 3-1 (actually 3-0-1) and a big one against Toronto there to cap it off at the end.”
Drew O’Connor on signing a two-year extension earlier in the day: “I’m definitely appreciative of the opportunity I’ve gotten so far here. Playing with some really good players obviously. I like the way we play a lot. I like the way Tocc runs the team and the coaching staff runs the team. It’s a fun way to play. They want us skating with the puck and doing things like that. I’ve enjoyed that part of it, so hockey-wise it’s been a great fit I think.”
Watch footage of Hughes at today’s practice below:
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