He´s coming back !!
LeClair takes one step closer to skating again
By Tim Panaccio
Inquirer Staff Writer
The Flyers had a surprise visitor for their team meeting before the Detroit game on Saturday. It was John LeClair.
"He walks in, introduces himself, 'Hi, I'm John. I'm the new guy, and I'm going to be coming around now,'" coach Ken Hitchcock said yesterday. "We're real excited to have him back at the meetings. That's a good sign. Now the next step is skating, and then the next step is having him back at practice."
LeClair has begun the final month of his rehabilitation after Dec. 4 surgery to repair a torn labrum and reset a dislocated right shoulder. His target date to return to the lineup is Feb. 15, when the Flyers host Carolina. He has missed 22 games since being injured in Pittsburgh on Nov. 27.
"It's great to see him coming around, because I think he missed the bonding part of the team," Hitchcock said. "Now he's digging in. He's getting close to skating."
LeClair is set to begin working this week on the "slide board," an apparatus that simulates skating, and will either go to a treadmill next week or simply skip that step and go on the ice. Hitchcock thinks LeClair will start skating next week.
"Whatever I do, it puts me on schedule to come back right around what we had hoped for, which was mid-February," LeClair said yesterday after a grueling four hours of rehab. "The skating is something to shoot for now. We've had some pretty good success with the shoulder so far. Everything is on target."
His daily routine with strength and conditioning coach Jim McCrossin includes 30 to 60 minutes of cardiovascular work, leg work for up to 90 minutes, light weight training, individual attention on the right shoulder, rubber-band work, and stretching.
LeClair can raise his right shoulder 90 to 100 degrees, but not fully over his head without pain or some weakness.
"The arm exercises Jimmy has given me have been great," LeClair said. "In the last week, we've made some strides on the strength aspect, and my movement in the shoulder is great.
"The biggest thing is for me to get my strength up. Once it gets there, and I can pick my arm up and hold it pain-free, then I am ready. Once the bone fully heals, that is when I can do those things."
LeClair said he wasn't tempted to push the envelope on a quicker return because his absence has been a matter of "months, not weeks." He also said he never considered not having the surgery because Eric Desjardins, Simon Gagne and Bruno St. Jacques had experienced similar types of injuries and each was much stronger after surgery.
Gagne missed games in February two years ago with a separated left shoulder and came back to play, but wasn't strong enough in that area until off-season surgery. Desjardins played nearly all of last season with a torn labrum in his right shoulder and was ineffective.
LeClair was convinced surgery was the proper solution. He will wear a shoulder harness for the remainder of the season upon his return.
Hartley wins. Various sources say the Atlanta Thrashers will name Bob Hartley their coach this morning. Among the candidates was Flyers scout Terry Murray, who interviewed on New Year's Day. Hartley won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche before being fired this season.
Loose pucks. Chris Therien played his second straight game after a concussion last night. He said he felt "refreshed" playing against Detroit on Saturday and is completely symptom-free... . Marcus Ragnarsson is expected to be examined today for the pinched nerve in his back. He could begin skating soon... . Dennis Seidenberg was second among all rookies with 88 shots going into play last night and third among rookies in plus/minus at plus-11... . Robert Esche and Roman Cechmanek were ranked third and fourth, respectively, among goaltenders... . The Flyers' 18 bench minor penalties are fourth highest in the league... . If the Phantoms defeat the Cleveland Barons on Friday, fans attending the game will get a free ticket for the Jan. 22 game against Utah.
Méschda Hoschbess holy
...und nichts ist wie es scheint!!If you dropped the gloves in the office over an injustice and bloodied your boss, you\'d get slapped with a lawsuit and five years in the tank. Drop the gloves in hockey and you get five minutes.
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