Ohlund

Meeting with reporters for the first time Thursday since being hit in the eye with a puck in during a preseason game in Ottawa last month, Ohlund held his hand about six inches from his face saying that that was the extent of his vision on the right side.

"I can see a little bit. But I don't see really. It's not a big help for me," said Ohlund, considered the Canucks best all-around defenseman. "I just have to wait until it comes back."

Originally expected to miss 10 to 14 days after suffering the injury Sept. 21, Ohlund is not sure when he will be able to return.

"I don't want to speculate," Ohlund said. "(The doctors) feel positive about the whole thing. I do so, too. It's improving and as long as it's improving, you know ... I'm sure it's going to come back."

One thing no one appears to know is whether Ohlund will regain full sight in the eye, which remains puffy and red.

"I don't know if I'm going to get 100 percent back, but I'm going to get it back," said Ohlund, who was drafted 13th overall in 1994 and was preparing for his third NHL season.

The injury occurred when an Ottawa player's shot deflected off the stick of Vancouver's Dave Scatchard and struck Ohlund across the eye.

Asked if he will consider wearing a visor upon his return, Ohlund smiled and said, "I don't know yet. I'm pretty sure my mom will force me to wear one."

While concerned, the Canucks are buoyed by the medical reports indicating Ohlund's regaining his vision at a gradual pace, and as projected.

"He's continuing to improve, so that's a positive side of it," said Canucks coach Marc Crawford. "I think for Matty, he's the guy that's the most scared about this because it's happening to him. ... All we can do is really rely on what Matty's saying and what the doctors are saying, and they're telling us that it's progressing and progressing in the way that they thought it would.

"It has been slow. But the positive side is that it's been improved every time that it's been tested."