Avalanche forward says his 'body's healthy,' is looking forward to full year By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News September 14, 2002 Fair warning to those in the podiatry profession: Your services no longer will be required by a fellow who owns two of the most valuable feet in sports. And NHL opponents won't be pleased to hear that Colorado Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg on Friday said he hasn't felt this healthy - or energized - at the start of a season since his days as a teenager in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. "My body's healthy," Forsberg said after the Avalanche conducted its first training camp workouts of the 2002-03 season at the South Suburban Family Sports Center. "It's the first day, but I feel real excited to play after missing a whole year. I'm kind of happy that camp has started. I've been waiting for this." Forsberg, 29, missed the entire 2001-02 regular season after taking a leave of absence early into Avalanche camp in Stockholm, Sweden, to allow his battered body an opportunity to heal. He returned to Denver in January and was stunned to learn that surgery on his left foot would prevent him from playing in the Olympics and keep him out of the Avalanche lineup until, as it turned out, the playoffs. How much did the Avalanche miss its Super Swede? Even though it had been a full calendar year since Forsberg had played in a game - he underwent an emergency splenectomy in May 2001 during the team's run to the Stanley Cup - he was the league's leading postseason scorer in the spring with 27 points in 20 games. "I don't want to be disrespectful of anybody here because I thought the guys did a great job last year, but a player like Peter is very difficult to replace," goaltender Patrick Roy said. "Hopefully, Pete's going to play with the same type of intensity that he had when he came back for the playoffs. He played so well for us, and I think that's the Peter we want to see. He's one of the premier players in this league for a reason." Forsberg, who would just as soon smash an opponent into the boards as maneuver around him with a mind-boggling move, looked like his former self Friday during one of the Avalanche's two intrasquad scrimmages. "He was flying out there," head coach Bob Hartley said. It was a far cry from a year ago, when Forsberg grounded himself because there was no relief from the twinges of pain that shot through his body each time he stepped on the ice. He had hoped that operations on each of his ankles the previous July would allow him to skate without pain, but it wasn't to be. Forsberg even had an inkling when he reported for work a year ago that he might not be able to make it through an entire season. "Of course I thought about it the first day of camp when my feet were hurting and the spleen thing was going on," he said. "I had a little feeling when I started camp last year that it (was) going to be hard to go through that season. Now I feel great. "What happened, happened, and there's nothing I can do about it. I felt bad. I really wanted to come back in January, but I had the other surgery. It was really hard." Camp workouts the first four days last from 9 a.m. until noon, and Forsberg said he passed the test Friday without any problems. "I don't think I could be out there for three hours if it would kill my feet," he said. "Now it's fine to be out there for three hours. It's a big relief because when you get out there and you just want to get off the ice because you're hurting so bad as soon as you step on the ice, it's a hard thing. "As soon as the coach blows his whistle (to end practice), you're the first guy off. That's not what I'm all about. I like to have fun and shoot pucks a little bit. It was just tough the last two years and now I'm really happy it doesn't hurt anymore." It seems as though Forsberg can't stay away from pain for too long. He was targeted during the playoffs last season and wound up with a broken pinkie when he was slashed in a game against Detroit in the Western Conference finals. "It hurt a lot in the playoffs, but now it doesn't hurt at all," he said. "I'm going to wear a (protective device) over it, but it doesn't bother me at all. It's going to be fine. When you break your finger it swells up a little bit and I had to (take painkilling injections). "That's way over now." sadowskir@RockyMountain News.com |
