Less than nine months after suffering a knee injury that would sideline him for the entire 2024-25 season, Sean Behrens was on the ice at Avalanche Development Camp last week. Behrens, whom the Avs selected in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, was preparing to play in his first full season as a pro with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in a scrimmage during a practice in October that ended his season before it began.
Behrens said his long rehab process included several ups and downs.
“It's really humbling experience when you go from an NHL camp to not really being able to walk,” Behrens said. “So it's tough in that sense. But I think every day is a new challenge, whether your knee’s feeling good or not, you kind of have to push through it a little bit and try to make the most of each day to stay on that progression.”
Despite not playing in any games last season, Behrens took the positives from being around the Eagles all season while rehabbing his injury.
“It was an awesome experience,” Behrens said. “Just being able to be with the team [and] see what the day-to-day is like at pro hockey. And I couldn't be more thankful for the medical team up there and the staff with the Eagles for helping me with the rehab and getting back.”
At the end of the 2024-25 season, Behrens and the rest of the Eagles were joined by another player in the organization recovering from a serious knee injury, Gabriel Landeskog.
Behrens said there were many things he could relate to when watching Landeskog’s documentary and added that he enjoyed watching his return to the ice.
"It seemed like he was really ready to play hockey again and he missed it,” Behrens said. “And I feel like I feel the same way. Getting that taken away from you and not really knowing if you're going to get a chance that year is tough. So being able to see him play and come back was awesome.”
At last week’s development camp, Behrens said his goals were to be on the ice multiple times and getting back into the flow of practice. Entering the 2025-26 season, Behrens said his main goal is to stay healthy.
“I feel like that's when I'm at my best, [it] is when I don't have those little nagging injuries and things going on,” Behrens said. “So [I’m] just trying to do as much recovery as I could in the last year to be ready for next year. And I'm confident come training camp, I'll be ready to go and be able to play that full season.”
