Risk of injury doesn’t scare away players
High-priced stars willing to take a chance they’ll be hurt playing for their countries
OTTAWA— Team Canada centre John Tavares knows the risks of getting injured in an international tournament and screwing up your NHL season.
The Islanders captain tore the medial collateral ligament and meniscus in his left knee in a quarter-final against Latvia in the 2014 Sochi Olympics and missed the rest of the hockey season.
It didn’t stop him from joining Canada again for the World Cup of Hockey.
“I want to play in the gold-medal game, the final game, those are the games you want to be a part of,” Tavares said. “Injuries are part of the game. It was unfortunate it happened to me in Sochi. But you only get so many chances to represent Canada. When the call comes in, you want to be there.”
Islanders GM Garth Snow was livid at losing his star player in 2014, and the team missed the playoffs. This time, Tavares said, Snow didn’t try to stop him. The World Cup, unlike the Olympics, is an NHL-run event.
“He was supportive of this tournament, and encouraged me to play for my country,” Tavares said.
There have been a number of highprofile withdrawals of players prior to training camp, with some around the league skittish at the prospect of getting injured. The Maple Leafs had goalie Frederik Andersen withdraw from the European team after getting bumped in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Europe last week.
But for the most part, players and teams believe the rewards of the World Cup outweigh the risks of getting injured.
“Even if players are not in the World Cup, they’re skating every day, so there’s always the risk of someone getting hurt,” said Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, one of Team Canada’s executives. “Obviously in a tournament like this, the odds go up versus playing shinny in your own city. But there is always a risk.”
Holland lost star players Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg for the end of the 2013-14 season as a result of injuries sustained at the Olympics.
“Zetterberg was a back injury,” Holland said. “He was probably going to get it anyway. I guess you’d rather your player get injured playing for you than playing for somebody else, but the result would have been the same.
“There’s enough to worry about that’s in my control without worrying about stuff that’s outside of my control.”
Team Canada executives are aware they are asking a lot of these players to be ready to play high-end hockey in September. The gruelling stretch starts when Canada faces the United States on Friday and Saturday in pretournament games.
These players would never play back-to-back games for their NHL teams in the pre-season. So the Canadians are taking the advice of best sports scientists on how to avoid in- jury. Thursday will be a day of rest, because historically the fourth day of camp is the day when nagging injuries like groin pulls and hip flexors flare up.
“When you get out there with the best players, you want to look good, so you amp it up, that’s just natural,” Canadian coach Mike Babcock said.
“You try to do everything you can to prepare your body and your mind, too,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “You have to be ready to compete pretty hard right away. If mentally you’re in it, usually your body holds up.”
This tournament is filled with franchise players, star players and players who mean everything to their teams. A long-term injury can tip the competitive balance for the NHL season.
“I don’t think anyone is thinking about it,” defenceman Drew Doughty said. “We’re just thinking about getting out there, playing hockey and trying to win for Canada and having some fun.”