Coming back from an injury as serious as a torn anterior cruciate ligament is never easy and Andrei Svechnikov must be patient before regaining his full physical and mental abilities.
The Carolina Hurricanes forward underwent surgery on his right knee in March. His rehabilitation influenced the end of last season but also the beginning of the next. With 15 games in the corps since then, he agrees his performance hasn’t lived up to his expectations.
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“I know what I can do, but I’m not quite there yet. It will come back in time. I missed eight months and it’s hard to miss that much time, but I have to forget about it and play my way,” the Russian said in an interview with NHL.com on Tuesday.
Svechnikov did pretty well with 11 points, except he only shook the ropes once. The second overall pick in the 2018 draft has progressed from campaign to campaign since arriving in the National League, but his growth has been somewhat hampered by his recent return to form.
“I think his stats aren’t that good yet, but he’s a talented player and if we want to be successful we need him ourselves. I don’t think it’s there yet, but it’s coming,” said head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who has the luxury of counting on multiple offensive weapons.
A certain fear
The 23-year-old ice hockey player is still afraid of certain contacts. Above all, he doesn’t want to suffer a relapse that would keep him on the sidelines for a long time and cause his good progress since March to be forgotten.
“The doctor told me when it happened that it would take six months to a year before I would feel normal and that I needed these few months. After that it should be fine. There are moments when I approach the bands and feel a little more worried, but that will always be the case in the near future and in the next few months until I feel 100%,” Svechnikov explained.
In his career, the right winger has collected 275 points in 362 games. He and the Hurricanes will play their next matchup against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.