"It is not an anniversary Ian White — nor anyone — would want to celebrate.

Monday, however, marked a full year's passing since White's slapshot beaned Calgary Flames teammate Daymond Langkow in the back of the neck. The veteran, suffering a fractured vertebrae, hasn't played since.

Meaning White was awfully happy to hear the latest update — Langkow is close to returning.

"Great news," White, now with the San Jose Sharks, said after Tuesday morning's practice. "It would be huge for him to come back. Even if he comes back, I still feel pretty bad about what happened. Hopefully, he's going to be the same player he was before. Hopefully, throughout his life, it doesn't have any effect on him. I just wish him all the best.

"Definitely, I would feel better if he starts playing."

White admits the incident, despite being fluky in nature, has haunted him.

"Oh, yeah, it was brutal," he said. "Real hard to take. Seeing a guy basically paralyzed on the ice. It was really tough. It's good to see he's doing well. I'll have to give him a shout, see what's going on.

"To be able to get back? I'm sure he's been itching since it happened. So, hopefully, he just keeps progressing. I'm sure he'll have a few more years left."

That day against the home-ice Minnesota Wild, Langkow, jostling in front of the net with two defenders, had been spun around and pushed over."