Klefbom stepping past foot injury
Defenceman joins Larsson on Oilers’ top pairing to start the pre-season
Not knowing when he would be healthy enough to play again has given Oscar Klefbom a new appreciation for hockey.
On Monday, the Edmonton Oilers defenceman was inserted into the lineup for the first time since Dec. 11, going up against the Calgary Flames in a split-squad encounter at Rogers Place.
Klefbom, 23, missed the final 52 games last season with a broken finger and then a foot infection.
“You see the game differently now,” Klefbom said.
“I don’t care if the coach benches me, I just want to sit out there and see the players play. I just want to be a part of it. It’s going to feel unreal to be on the ice.”
Klefbom went through a frustrating time in the last half of the 2015-2016 season.
He was expected to make a relatively quick recovery from his finger injury when a staph infection developed in his foot, eventually requiring two surgeries.
The uncertainty of the injury made things difficult for Klefbom and the Oilers.
“When you get banged up like a shoulder injury or a knee injury, you always have a timeline,” Klefbom said.
“Whether it’s three to four weeks, or four to six, but this was me asking the doctor every day if he could give me some kind of information. He would tell me it could be two months, two years, they didn’t know, they just had to take it one day at a time.”
On numerous occasions it appeared Klefbom would be able to make a return to the Oilers lineup last season, but there was always a setback.
Following his surgeries, Klefbom had problems with his skates putting too much pressure on the operated area, delaying his comeback even more.
“That’s when you start to get worried, when you don’t have any control and I can’t go out there and show the guys how brave I am and just go do this,” Klefbom said.
“It was tough, because it was all in the doctor’s hands to see how it would progress.
“It was tough for a couple weeks there, I was nervous that I wasn’t ever going to be able to go.”
Klefbom’s issues were hard on the Oilers as they bled goals last season. They kept waiting for their top defenceman to return.
“It was very tough,” said Oilers head coach Todd McLellan.
“We had played the (New York) Rangers and we were worried about a hand injury.
“We called it day-to-day because we thought he’d be able to get back in the lineup.
“As it turned out, the hand was fine and it healed but the other part of it was ongoing forever. And just when you think you might get him, there was a setback.”
Eventually with the Oilers out of the playoff race, the decision was made to shut Klefbom down and give him the entire summer to properly heal.
He’s found a solution to his skate problem and is looking forward to having a strong season.
Klefbom began the exhibition season playing with fellow Swede Adam Larsson on the Oilers’ top pairing.
“Fortunately for him, he’s been able to put that behind him and he can focus on the year and the organization can made decisions based on that, too,” McLellan said.
“He’s an important part of our club, not only today, but moving forward and we have to see what we have when he’s playing his best.”
Having sustained a shoulder injury early in his career while playing in Sweden, which cost him an entire season, and then with the foot infection, Klefbom hopes his injury issues are behind him.
Unlike those who’ve been observing training camp, however, he doesn’t expect to cringe every time he gets hit in the foot with a puck.
“No, I can’t go out there and be scared,” Klefbom said. “The ankle feels great. “I’m 100 per cent good to go if the regular-season would start tomorrow.
“Everything is good to go. I feel like I’m in great shape and the (team) physical was really good for me, so I feel good. I’m really happy for this day.”
I don’t care if the coach benches me, I just want to sit out there and see the players play. I just want to be a part of it. It’s going to feel unreal to be on the ice.