Jim Montgomery issues update on Charlie McAvoy

And to give Bruins fans (even more) hope of a stellar season, the club has been without number-one defenseman Charlie McAvoy after undergoing off-season shoulder surgery that's held him out for at least the first 13 games.

McAvoy's expected return has been set at, or just after, American Thanksgiving (November 24th), and he's been a full participant in team practices for a couple of weeks now.

As the Bruins held a very optional skate on Tuesday morning, head coach Jim Montgomery was asked about McAvoy's upcoming availability. As per Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald:

I mean, it wasn't a definitive ''no'' from Montgomery about McAvoy playing Thursday!

To date, every Bruins player that underwent a procedure this summer came back early (Matthew Grzelcyk and Brad Marchand), and the team was very ''hush-hush'' about their returns. So, who knows, Bruins fans might see the defenseman back early too.

Boston has seven more games before his expected return, which would be November 25th against the Carolina Hurricanes. Below is the Bruins' schedule before then:

Thursday, November 10th: vs Calgary Flames
Saturday, November 12th @ Buffalo Sabres
Sunday, November 13th vs Vancouver Canucks
Thursday, November 17th vs Philadelphia Flyers
Saturday, November 19th vs Chicago Blackhawks
Monday, November 21st @ Tampa Bay Lightning
Wednesday, November 23rd @ Florida Panthers