To see Kraken captain Jordan Eberle on the ice coming out of the 4 Nations Faceoff break, you wouldn’t think anything was amiss in his game. But as he prepares to play in his first NHL contest in fourteen weeks and two days, returning to the lineup is an unprecedented accomplishment.
"With what he's dealt with which was a significant injury, and it's going to be three months that he's out of the lineup, the fact that he's worked so hard to get himself back and have this opportunity to get back and play is great,” general manager Ron Francis said. “And certainly, for us, when you lose your captain, you know he's not only a good player for you on the ice, but he's a voice for you in the locker room and helping kind of steer through the season...you missed that. So, getting him back on a lot of fronts is going to be beneficial.”
Back on Nov. 14, in a game versus Chicago, Eberle suffered a pelvic injury when he tangled with a Blackhawks player and crashed awkwardly into the boards.
“It was a lot,” Eberle said. “It's definitely the hardest thing I've gone through, from getting hurt; knowing something was pretty wrong; to finding out the news and then having to deal with something. The hardest part for me was this is an injury that I couldn't find evidence of another hockey player having. So, to have to go through surgery, I was obviously in the mindset of, ‘am I going to be able to actually come back and play hockey again?’ Those thoughts cross your mind.”
No other hockey players had had the same kind of injury. But a few rugby players have. One of Eberle’s doctors had a mentor in New Zealand where those players were located. The captain talked through their experience and that was enough to assure him that surgery was the right move. It was, but the rehab was arduous.
Jared McCann has played more minutes with Eberle than he has with any other Kraken skater. He went to visit his teammate at home post-surgery during the first phase of recovery which required Eberle to be confined to a hospital bed, something McCann said was “tough” to see.
“A lot of other guys, if they were to get hurt like that, I don't think they would be back as quickly as he is,” McCann said. “He was so motivated. “He’s so mentally strong in that he was just like, ‘it's a bump of the road and I’m going to move forward.’”
And once out of bed, the path back to the ice was, as Dan Bylsma described, “utterly and painfully slow.” Eberle was at Kraken Community Iceplex working out sometimes up to four times a day – even if that meant just walking. Ultimately, he was able to get onto the ice and then, skate with his Kraken teammates. Spending time together on and off the ice was one of the things Eberle was most excited about. As were his teammates.
”He's awesome to have around,” McCann said with a smile. “Especially for the young guys to see a guy go through a pretty major injury and just be so positive. He’s a quick-witted individual who likes to give everybody a hard time.”
But it’s not just his value in the room that makes Eberle an important part of the team. In addition to appreciating his friend’s sense of humor, McCann understands the value of what the captain can do in a game. Of the 110 goals that McCann has scored in a Kraken sweater, Eberle has assisted on 31 of them.
In fact, of his 111 points as a Kraken player, Eberle has the third most assists in franchise history (66) and is tied with Yanni Gourde for the most primary assists (47, all situations).
Points, of course, are the proof of the underlying work Eberle contributes. Throughout his Seattle tenure, forward combinations that he is a part of consistently gain the advantage in shot quality. If you look at his most frequent linemates, McCann and Matty Beniers, both players’ overall percentages of shot volume, shot quality, and most importantly, goals increase when Eberle is with them on the ice (per NaturalStatTrick.com).
“(Eberle) creates a lot, especially down low,” McCann said. “He is one of the best corner players I think I've ever played with. He’s a guy who can just put pressure on opponents’ ‘D’ take the puck and make plays pretty quickly. He's very sneaky, and he's got some quick feet. He gets to areas that are open and allows his teammates to find him a lot easier and open up lanes. Obviously, he's a great passer too, and he’s so good on his backhand. That’s a skill that is tough to master.”
Of course, the captain’s return to the game will be a continued progression of his recovery. being back on the ice will ultimately allow teammates not to have to fill Eberle’s role as far as spots in the lineup and ice time, but that may evolve game by game.
“Anytime you come back from injury it's usually kind of a little burst and then a lull and then you get back to it,” Francis said. "I’m just excited he’s back and we'll see how things go.”
To help ramp up his game readiness, Eberle spent the 4 Nations Faceoff break with the Coachella Valley Firebirds to be part of practices at game speed and also test out the physicality that hockey demands.
“I think I'm at the point now where I'm battling in practice and moving the way I want to,” Eberle said. “Now it just comes down to getting into game action. That's the only way you can test (your body). I've done everything else up to that point. Obviously, I've had over three months off. I feel like I'm in game shape right now, but (it’s about) the timing and getting that aggressiveness back. I think it helps that I'm coming back with the guys after the break, where everyone's been off for a while as well. I'm hoping that I can get back and just get right back into it.”
It's been a long journey for Eberle, one he describes as “weird.” He suffered an injury no other hockey player has and had to find a path to returning to play that had never before been paved. But through his hard work and support of many, especially his wife, Lauren, who was pregnant with the family’s third child when the injury occurred, Eberle’s ready to be back in the game come puck drop Saturday night.
“And as we've gotten closer (to Eberle’s return), it's him on the ice, off the ice, desperately wanting to get back and get with the group, with his work ethic,” Bylsma said. “It's just an indicator of what we've missed…Just seeing him back with the group, seeing his work ethic, seeing his determination to get back is a clear indicator of what we've missed.”
