The Province

Gudbranson’s rehab included RCMP ride-alongs

Sidelined Gudbranson has helped fill ‘team’ void by riding overnight with the police

- Ben Kuzma bkuzma@postmedia.com Twitter.com/ benkuzma thewhiteto­wel.ca

Nothing replicates competitio­n and camaraderi­e.

It’s easy to be all in when you’re a cog in the wheel to drive a club forward, but there’s nothing like being forced off course and hitting the ditch. To grudgingly succumb to a nagging injury and allowing post-operative rehab to run its course can be as hard as throwing a heavy check or absorbing one.

Erik Gudbranson hasn’t had a competitiv­e fix since Dec. 13.

Ten days later, the Vancouver Canucks defenceman underwent right-wrist surgery in New York — and as much as his upbeat personalit­y was an infectious locker-room staple — his body language tells a different story.

He would rather talk about business on the ice rather than the National Hockey League business of being a 25-year-old restricted free agent with arbitratio­n rights and little contract leverage.

“I know for a fact that whether I play again this year, or not until next year, I have something to prove,” said Gudbranson. “I want to be here more than anything. Above that, I want to prove to the city and the team that I can be a good influence on this group.”

TRADE TARGET

What Gudbranson also can’t talk enough about is giving back to an organizati­on that identified him as a trade target to provide toughness, leadership and stability to the back end.

But when Gudbranson jammed his wrist in the pre-season and the rigours of aggressive play and blocking shots only worsened his condition, he had to find an outlet to combat the disappoint­ment of an underwhelm­ing 30-game season.

He had to find something that could mirror a team aspect to fill a void. And he found it with the Vancouver Police Department.

“I picked up a little bit of a hobby,” said Gudbranson. “My hand was in a splint so much after surgery that I couldn’t do much, so I did a lot of ride-alongs with the VPD ... I’ve done six of them. I don’t know why, but it (police work) was kind of my backup plan growing up.

“I did the overnight ride-alongs. We would go into the parade, which is kind of like the coach’s meeting before our games, and it would be at 4 p.m. And we’d be in the car until 3 a.m.”

So when the Canucks were tucked away in their hotel rooms on a late Saturday night on the road, Gudbranson was experienci­ng some wild calls with the VPD.

“We had a couple and I’ve done them (ride-alongs) in the Downtown Eastside, which is a fascinatin­g area,” added Gudbranson. “I’ve always wanted to do something that’s not monotonous — where every single day is different. They (VPD) have an incredible team aspect involved in what they do as well.

“It’s all about communicat­ion and being a part of a group and being together.

“It totally made my time off a little bit more interestin­g.”

More interestin­g than tedious rehab after three pins were removed from his wrist on Feb. 17.

RECOVERY REGIMEN

Gudbranson arrives at Rogers Arena at 7:30 a.m. for his recovery regimen. He hits the hot tub to loosen up muscles and ligaments in his wrist. There’s rehab in the medical room and then hitting the gym again to warm up for a 9:15 on-ice session on game days and 9:30 on practice days.

As a right-shot defenceman, it would be a more exhaustive process if his left, skilled wrist (top wrist holding his stick) was injured. But the 6-foot-5, 216-pound Ottawa native has been able to do some stick-handling and passing.

After the on-ice session, it’s back to the hot tub to heat up that wrist again and more rehab. He leaves the rink at 3 p.m., only to return in a few hours if it’s game night to offer vocal support to his teammates.

“It’s given me an outlet and a challenge unlike the season,” said Gudbranson. “I’ve started to use some weights, but it’s all about mobility and proper movement patterns. A lot to it is intricate and localized and simple.

“The best one is throwing a dart. It’s a very mechanical­ly important movement. It’s a great motion.”

Imagine that: A flick of the wrist is more important right now for a guy who’s supposed to patrol the back end with bark and bite. But Gudbranson is buying into anything that will ensure a full recovery, and he has even rationaliz­ed his tough season.

“Obviously playing a physical game is why I did the surgery in the first place,” he said. “I got hit in the pre-season and jammed it and never thought anything about it, but it just got progressiv­ely worse. It’s hard to pinpoint when it happened, but an explanatio­n I got is that these things kind of declare themselves when they feel like it.

“Sometimes, you can have a torn ligament and not even know it’s there. So many people have labrum issues in their shoulders and they wonder what’s going on and can’t tell. I kind of look at it in just paying your dues in the game. Everybody’s going to get hurt at some point. “It’s not unexpected, but it’s very disappoint­ing and I wasn’t able to do what I want to do.”

LEAD BY EXAMPLE

Gudbranson wants to be that steady influence on the back end and lead by example. There’s a leadership void in an emerging core between the 21-year-old Bo Horvat and the 36-year-old Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and Gudbranson has at least lent his voice to help rookie Troy Stecher and sophomore Ben Hutton.

The Canucks surrendere­d one of their two 2014 first-round picks in Jared McCann to acquire Gudbranson last May from Florida because they were sold on his potential to take away those free-flight paths to the crease and punish the opposition.

In Florida, Gudbranson — the third overall pick in the 2010 entry draft by the Panthers — learned positionin­g and aggression from Ed Jovanovski, while Willie Mitchell broke down the game and Bryan Campbell schooled him on moving his feet.

“I’m in a unique position,” stressed Gudbranson. “I’ve been around a bit to learn and grow and I can be that bridge because the day you’re not learning is the day you should probably retire.

“I was so gung-ho my first couple of years. It was unbelievab­le. The last couple have been about being more meticulous and efficient and picking up things. You try to be mean every night, but really pick and choose your spots when you let the emotional side take over.

“The NHL is such a chess match with systems, you have to aware of everything. And if you’re running around like I was my first two years, you get lit up pretty quick.”

 ?? GERRY KAHRMANN/PNG FILES ?? Erik Gudbranson’s season was cut short by a nagging right wrist injury. He had surgery in late December that sidelined the rugged blueliner for the rest of the 2016-17 campaign.
GERRY KAHRMANN/PNG FILES Erik Gudbranson’s season was cut short by a nagging right wrist injury. He had surgery in late December that sidelined the rugged blueliner for the rest of the 2016-17 campaign.
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 ?? — GETTY IMAGES FILES ?? Erik Gudbranson, right, in action with the Panthers in 2014, learned positionin­g and aggression from teammate Ed Jovanovski, left.
— GETTY IMAGES FILES Erik Gudbranson, right, in action with the Panthers in 2014, learned positionin­g and aggression from teammate Ed Jovanovski, left.
 ?? JASON PAYNE/PNG FILES ?? Erik Gudbranson has embraced the city and wants to embrace a leadership role with the Canucks.
JASON PAYNE/PNG FILES Erik Gudbranson has embraced the city and wants to embrace a leadership role with the Canucks.

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