Photo Credit: Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
Sean Couturier was one major bright spot on day one of Flyers training camp. Yes, it was only a skating session, no pucks hit the ice on day one, however, on this one day Couturier was very happy. He greeted the media first presser smiling saying “Hey guys”, one could sense did you believe in his face that he was able to complete the gauntlet of skating that occurred on this day. After having back surgery, I’m sure it made him feel good that he was able to get through it with no problem, that is Camp Tort, “It felt good, now my day is over,” Couturier said laughing and smiling from ear to ear.
Coots missed a large part of last season, which turned out to be a season ending injury. He underwent successful back surgery and wound up missing the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign. Couturier was sidelined from December 18, 2021 (As stated above), and has yet to play a meaningful hockey game since. It was labeled as an ‘Upper-body” injury by the Flyers, but Couturier ended up having surgery to not further delay his possible return. Accountability is a missing element from Couturier on and off the ice. This was a strong word that was used for the Flyers before the 2022-23 season began. Couturier is no stranger to holding himself accountable, and that rubs off on his teammates, as well. Even while rehabbing he took the time to mentor Noah Cates on faceoffs at practices, as he continues to groom the youth, while wanting to return to game action, “He plays a mature game,” Couturier spoke of Cates. “He’s really reliable defensively, and I think he has some undercover really good offensive skills, also. I think if you give him maybe a little more opportunity offensively – power play and stuff – I think he can maybe produce a little more. He’s just one of those guys that you can throw out in any situation, and he’ll find a way to succeed. It’s like I said, he’s one of those guys that that you need to make runs and win.”
Couturier struggled mentally at times, I’m sure, throughout the injury process. Some people who are in his corner helped him get through that with just taking his mind off of rehab or the game for a bit of time, “Definitely, my wife, my daughter, my parents were always there to talk to me. Like you said there was always ups and downs throughout this process, to kind of come home without thinking about the rehab or hockey aspect, it was nice. It puts things in perspective, that’s for sure.”
Sometimes we as people forget the human element of these athletes. After suffering injury after injury, one can only imagine how much it weighs on that particular player mentally. Sometimes that’s even worse than the actual injury itself, so it’s good that Couturier’s parents, wife, and kids were there for him during this time of need.
“Definitely, my wife, my daughter, my parents were always there to talk to me.” – Sean Couturier said of his parents, wife, and kids throughout his injury process
With Couturier healthy and ready to go. He did tell us he specifically talked to to Flyers management, and expressed his interest in playing in as many pre-season games as possible. Couturier did admit that games are different from just practicing.
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