This likely was something like "Pronger needs to come in once every 3 months to have the Flyers Medical Staff confirm that he is still concussed for insurance purposes." I would be surprised if he even stayed for that long or spoke to more than a few other players and Lavi. He is (to his credit imo) trying to avoid being any more of a distraction that he has to be.
Sporting a beard, Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger visited with his teammates at their practice facility in Voorhees on Wednesday.
"It was nice to see Chris," center Danny Briere said. "We all know and understand he’s been having a hard time and we all would if we were in his situation. It’s tough to be away from the game that long. We’re all competitors. We want to be out there. It was nice for us to see him walk around here, smiling and chatting with the guys."
Pronger is sidelined for the season with a concussion.
“He seemed happy. Not lots of joy. I’m sure he’d rather be dressing with us. He seemed like he was in a good mood."
Asked if the team's captain was making progress, Briere said, "I didn’t ask him about that. I tried to leave him alone as much as possible. I'm sure he gets that everywhere he goes."
Pronger stayed at the rink for about 90 minutes, chatting with teammates. He declined a request to speak with the media.
"I'm hanging in there," one staffer said Pronger told him.
Pronger was invited to a Super Bowl party with his teammates at Scott Hartnell's Old City loft on Sunday, but declined because he wasn't feeling well.
The Flyers are 1-5 in shootouts this season and an NHL-worst 20-39 in franchise history. That explains why they spent the first part of Wednesday's practice working on the shootout.
At one point, goalie Ilya Bryzgalov stopped seven straight before Wayne Simmonds beat him with a backhander.
Bryzgalov entered the season with a respectable track record in shootouts: He was 19-22 with a .660 save percentage.
This season, he is 0-4 and has stopped just two of 10 shots (.200).
As a team, Flyers shooters are only 5 for 17 in shootouts this season.
I imagine even when he "recovers", that Pronger and his family makes the decision he won't play again.
Was Crosby progression this bad?
I'm not sure Crosby was diagnosed with severe PCS. I don't know if I've ever heard of that being diagnosed (though I assume that's what Primeau had).
It's depressing how depressed he is. I had hoped he would be around the team much more often, even helping coach during practices. But it's gotta be pretty bad.
I'm not sure Crosby was diagnosed with severe PCS. I don't know if I've ever heard of that being diagnosed (though I assume that's what Primeau had).
It's depressing how depressed he is. I had hoped he would be around the team much more often, even helping coach during practices. But it's gotta be pretty bad.
He wouldn't be able to take the lights and the sounds. It blows.
He may be able to get back to where he feels good enough to play again, but he still shouldn't play. He's gotten as much as you could ever hope out of hockey: a championship, a ticket to the Hall of Fame, and a ton of money. It's time to give it up and be around his family. I'm perfectly fine with that, even if it does mess up or cap.
"Maybe he's growing his playoff beard already," left winger Scott Hartnell quipped.
"It was good for me to see him . . . that there is a Chris Pronger still in this world," Hartnell said with a smile. "I hadn't seen him for a month and a half. I chatted with him a little bit but didn't want to ask how he was doing. You get from our trainers that he'd had two good days and three bad ones, so I just tried to see what's up and just talk to him."
Hartnell, who leads the Flyers with 25 goals, said Pronger "looked a little down. [I'm] not going to lie. But to see him at the rink was good. We haven't seen him in a long while. For him to be here might lift his spirits as well."
"It was nice to see Chris," center Danny Briere said. "We all know and understand he's been having a hard time, and we all would if we were in his situation. It's tough to be away from the game that long. We're all competitors. We want to be out there.
"He seemed happy. Not lots of joy, [because] I'm sure he'd rather be dressing with us," Briere added.
"I know the city loves to have their captains, but in the room it doesn't matter who has the C or not," Briere said. "It's not something that is needed. It's a team, and you need everyone to chip in, leadership-wise. He's still our captain."
"Just seeing him around the locker room gives us a little bit of encouragement," rookie winger Matt Read said. "He's still part of our team, and we know he's our captain. It's good to see his face once in a while, come in and say a few words. It means a lot to all of us."
Added Read: "He's missed a lot on and off the ice. We just hope he's going to be healthy someday, 100 percent; if it's not in hockey, just [in] his family life."
I imagine even when he "recovers", that Pronger and his family makes the decision he won't play again.
Was Crosby progression this bad?
Quote:
Originally Posted by sobrien
I'm not sure Crosby was diagnosed with severe PCS. I don't know if I've ever heard of that being diagnosed (though I assume that's what Primeau had).
Pens fan: I come in peace.
FWIW Crosby's symptoms even in the very early days after diagnosis, were not as severe and debilitating as the symptoms Pronger seems to have even today. I haven't followed Pronger's situation that closely, but my understanding has been that he's really messed up / unable to even get up and move around normally at times? I may not have the correct understanding, so correct me if I'm wrong on that.
Based on what we heard last year, Crosby's main thing was bad headaches and problems balancing / seeing things peripherally when he started his on-ice rehab work. But off skates I think he was OK / didn't have any problems getting around doing normal off-ice stuff. There was something about the motion of skating that (at that time) that messed up his balance and/or sense of vision. Part of the problem there is, in addition to seeing lots of regular doctors at UPMC and elsewhere, he was also seeing that quack Ted Carrick in Atlanta who isn't a medical doctor at all, and has this new age "system" where he creates a placebo effect with patients and claims it's all tied into his mystical "chiropractic neurology" theory. So looking back, we really don't know to what degree the concussion caused vision problems (bad headaches / migraines can also cause vision problems with some people, even absent any concussion), which then caused balance issues on the ice, or if it was some other combination or sequence.
Hopefully Pronger gets the rest he needs this summer / doesn't try to rehab too rapidly once he starts feeling better, to "get ready for next season". Better than he proceed very slowly even when feeling better, so he can come back sometime first half of next season, fully healthy. There are certain things you don't want to see happen to any hockey player (regardless of team), and this type of situation is one of them.
