Flames agitator Pospisil faces hard questions in return from latest concussion

CALGARY — Martin Pospisil is an expert in a field no athlete should know this much about.

Concussions.

“I could write a book about it,” the Flames forward said after his first practice with the team since training camp on Tuesday.

“It's pretty emotional for me. I just want to look forward. There were some really tough days that I've been through, and I'm happy that it's all gone.”

With concussions, the worry is that they’re never really gone, with the odds of increasing issues multiplying with every head trauma.

Pospisil's latest setback was a four-month battle with what he said is his fifth concussion.

Originally thought to have occurred in a pre-season scrum against Vancouver when Derek Forbort punched him in the face, Pospisil revealed the problems started a game earlier in Seattle.

“If I would be maybe honest to myself, maybe (the recovery) wouldn't be that long, because I remember after Seattle I wasn't feeling good the next day,” he said.

“But I thought it was just like a headache, and then I played the next game against Vancouver, so it was pretty quick. I had a couple hits to my head, and all of a sudden I felt really bad. I think the message to other guys is if you even have just a light headache, just stop it, and maybe you're gonna have way less recovery.”

Another painful lesson learned, in a career full of them.

As a rugged agitator whose fearless forechecking and speed make him a bit of a unicorn in today’s game, the risk involved is significant.

The quandary for the 26-year-old Slovak is simple: while toning down his game could put his career in jeopardy, so could his desire to continue playing the same way.

“For me, it's hard to change something,” said Pospisil, who famously racked up 253 penalty minutes in a 49-game USHL season. 

“When I step on the ice I think I'm different person, and it just is inside of me. When you have passion to the sport, and especially hockey, it's a contact sport, physical and you want to win every game. You want to help, and I think when I play physical and making space for my teammates, and playing fast, that's what makes the team better, and we have better chance to win the game.”

After watching Pospisil play his two games on a conditioning stint with the Wranglers last week, Flames coach Ryan Huska said he thought the six-foot-two, 173-pound Pospisil looked just as he did last year, and was confident he’d return to the same style of play that got him to the NHL.

The key is overcoming the fear he’s had several times over the last few years that another concussion could end his career.

“If you have that kind of type of injury, and you have that many, you never really know when it could be your last game,” said the third-year NHLer.

“It happened to me a couple times, and it kind of makes me stronger. You’re thinking about it sometimes. I love hockey, and it means a lot for me. But on the other side, you want to be healthy and enjoy your life outside of the rink.”

Speaking candidly, as he always has, Pospisil admitted the last four months have included some miserable spells, which is why he’s so thankful to team trainers, medical staff and his girlfriend who all helped him through the dark days that followed several setbacks along the way.

“You're trying all kinds of stuff,” he said of treatments.

“This injury, I had five, and it was like five different ones, and every person is different. Sometimes you recover fast. Sometimes it takes longer. At the end of the day, you have to be positive and just not try to think about, about why you're not playing, or stuff like that.”

Pospisil said his return to the lineup Wednesday night has nothing to do with the fact the Olympics is three weeks away.

He said that after two months without progress, he’s been skating for the last five weeks and reminding himself daily not to rush anything.

“People think that I'm concerned to the Olympics, but I already skated beginning of December, so if I want to rush it I would probably (have been playing for) a couple of weeks,” he said.

“Of course I want to play Olympics. But even if there is no Olympics, I would play, I would be healthy.”

His opening assignment Wednesday will be to crash and bang as centre on a fourth line with Adam Klapka and Ryan Lomberg.

“My belief is he only knows one way to play. I think we've seen that throughout his career, but you do wonder if he's going to be a little bit different in certain situations,” said Huska when asked what he expects to see from Pospisil.

“My gut says that he's going to be the same old 76 that we've seen over the last number of years, because that's what's ingrained in him, and that's how he knows how to play the game.”