Shocking update on Evander Kane.

The Edmonton Oilers received some welcomed news on Saturday when one of their top players made a surprising return to practice.

It was Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports who first released images of Oilers star forward Evander Kane returning to the ice after suffering a brutal injury earlier this season when his wrist was cut badly by the skate of Tampa Bay Lightning veteran forward Pat Maroon.

In the video Kane could be seen skating lightly and joking around with someone off camera, but there wasn't a great deal of work being done on the part of the Oilers star. The Oilers however have just released a second video of Kane working out on the ice this morning and that one looks considerably more promising.

In the second video, Kane can be seen working with the puck with both hands on his stick, although he appears to be taking it very easy.

This is a terrific sign of progress on the part of Kane when you consider that the prognosis for his recovery was 3-4 months following a surgical procedure he underwent to repair the damage to his wrist in early November. Fans were concerned earlier this week when Kane revealed that he had not as of yet regained feeling in his thumb following the gnarly cut he received to his wrist, although it sounds like this may not be unusual for this type of injury and that feeling should return during his recovery process.

This certainly looks like a positive sign in that direction.