Photo Credit : Our very own Shaylah Rice
‘There’s always light, only if we’re brave enough to see it, only if we are brave enough to be it!” – Amanda Gorman
Two months of the hockey season is evident. Players are playing hard; the backcheckers are checking. We are throwing our weight around, and the boys will be fighting for one another and wanting to make a great impression for each other going forward and trying to trust and build a camaraderie, but we get so engrossed in the game and routine of it all, that it’s not till we get injured or take a step back to be humbled. And appreciative. In turn, it takes away what truly matters most, our mental health, which lately has been the most improved for the NHL going forward.
This is a special Movember edition of FlyersNittyGritty. Often times, we watch the sport, forgetting these guy’s are human beings who have families back home, watching them play. With rigorous physicality and a challenging focus compared with an excellent balance of self control. Infuse all those thing’s into eighty two games of the year, night in and night out. Day in and day out. This can all be so draining. Compare that with body aches and pains and combine it all with the demands of coaches, the ability to continue to score goals on a consistent level all while maintaining the mental focus and drive that keeps these athletes going and keeping the body and mind healthy enough to lace up the skates and tie your shoes. The Flyers themselves have a routine to follow.
Players such as Cam Atkinson, former Flyer Oskar Lindblom, Sean Couturier have all had career setbacks and have had to deal with their fair share of self doubts, the inability to simple tasks like putting on clothes. Even coming back from being bedridden with cancer. These guy’s had to deal with their mental sides telling them to give up, but it’s with lots of love, kindness, good family, and fantastic friends that can help find the strength to achieve the progress you seek. Progress is made in steps. Remember progress, not perfection.
I wanted to write this month’s article on the progress that we all must endure to be sustainable, and that these athletes are no exception. Take the undersized Cam Atkinson, who went through hell and high water to come back in top form. Mentally exhausted, I’m sure as any person coming back from long-term injury has said, “Damn, it’s good to be back.” & “It’s good to have that routine back in my life.” Cam was out for a good length of time, a whopping five hundred plus day’s. A pretty good length of time for a hockey player if you ask me. But as it stands, Cam seems to be having a good deal of fun out there. Being one of Tortorella’s favorites from both their days with the Columbus Blue Jackets, respectively. But to have a healthy Cam Atkinson gives this team that much more depth and respect on the veteran side. Especially with this season being so young and not even a full month in, these youngsters and undersized players alike will be looking at Cam for guidance.
Sean Couturier is a guy who we all wanted to see come back and play as soon as possible, but with an injury like his, a herniated disk in his back. As severe as it was. It was in our best interest well for us. The franchise, the Philadelphia Flyers as a whole, to let Sean recuperate and recover with no rush or hastened deadline. Yes we all love to see him play and know his immediate impact, but to have a little empathy for a moment. The guy did not play for a single game in twenty two months. We all know these guy’s are warriors, but they’re human, too. Sean had plenty of people backing him up and supporting him during his recovery. Quoted at saying the following, “Definitely my wife, my daughter, and my parents, were always there to talk to me.” And that’s huge for Coots. It is like they say, though, that having good people surrounding you during your recovery makes you recover faster. Not only can their encouragement affect you mentally, but it’s also how it affects your inner spirit. It is usually at this time that we are definitely at our lowest during our recovery processes; and for whats its worth, those encouraging people and words they give off, it’s going to help us physically to overcome said injury or mental block and come back stronger than ever before. Good for the mind, body, and spirit!
The Mowvember numbers are the following:
For the USA: 1-310-450-3399
For Canada 1-416-591-7771
The last person I’d like to talk about is a former player who inspired us all.. Oskar Lindblom!
Now Lindblom was on pace to having a career year with the Philadelphia Flyers when he was diagnosed, he was afflicted with a rare form of bone cancer. Ewings Sarcoma. All of a sudden he had to stop playing hockey, his whole world was turned upside down. Thousands of miles from his native home in Sweden, he had only his girlfriend at the time, his dogs, and now his eventual wife by his side. He also had at the time a wonderful teammate Robert Hagg and a former Swede in his own right right there with him also. Also us fan’s and supporters. First, they said he may never play be able to play the sport of ice hockey again, that his bones may be too brittle to even a throw a check. But with Oskar, his mindset was already made up! A totally different breed. Almost possessed to the point that he knew he was going to beat it, and that he will he play the game of hockey again! Always with a positive attitude, and always with a smile on his face. He instantly became an inspiration for his teammates and coaches and assistants alike.
It was June, the league had shut down but decided to have the Stanley Cup Playoffs; anyway it was at this time Flyers were the hottest team in the league, and it seemed like they picked up where they left off, they were the top seed after a round robin of play. After the actual playoff games began, their were rumors that a miracle could happen. And with approximately six months after being diagnosed with cancer, going through chemo and radiation; Oskar Lindblom was able to return to the ice. Yes the rumors were true, Oskar came back and played in a playoff game. Unfortunately for us, we were eliminated in the conference finals that year, and our season was over. That being said, and knowing what he did was not only an inspiration, but what he did for others. He had a mind over matter mindset and pair that with his rutheless determination to prove the doctor’s wrong, his positive outlook on life, got him through it all. Oskar Lindblom, we salute you!!
“You’re braver than you think, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” –
A. A. Milne
That concludes this Movember edition of FlyersNittyGritty. Thank you for your time and consideration for reading this special Mowvember edition. It means a lot to me.
LET’S GO FLYERS
