WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:10.510 --> 00:00:29.154 (♪♪♪) 4 00:00:29.237 --> 00:00:32.949 CONNOR: Around the city they'll care, and that's why 5 00:00:33.033 --> 00:00:36.036 it's special to play here. 6 00:00:36.661 --> 00:00:39.748 These fans, they care about the game, they care about you. 7 00:00:39.873 --> 00:00:47.088 (♪♪♪) 8 00:00:47.213 --> 00:00:48.715 CONNOR: It's a special place to play. 9 00:00:48.840 --> 00:01:07.901 (♪♪♪) 10 00:01:08.026 --> 00:01:09.194 (door shuts) 11 00:01:12.822 --> 00:01:14.157 CONNOR: You know, if it was probably up to my mom, 12 00:01:14.240 --> 00:01:17.577 we would have been a skating family, but I think she had 13 00:01:17.702 --> 00:01:22.874 two boys and my dad loved hockey as well, so I think we 14 00:01:22.957 --> 00:01:25.543 were going to win that battle. 15 00:01:25.627 --> 00:01:28.505 Obviously we became a bit of a hockey family and loved 16 00:01:28.588 --> 00:01:29.589 every minute of it. 17 00:01:32.425 --> 00:01:37.430 tournaments in Europe, you know, events in China, 18 00:01:37.555 --> 00:01:39.808 you know, in Russia and places I would normally never get to go, 19 00:01:39.933 --> 00:01:46.147 and you see hockey is really been everything to me. 20 00:01:48.024 --> 00:01:51.277 (♪♪♪) 21 00:01:51.361 --> 00:01:52.821 CONNOR: I don't like losing. 22 00:01:52.946 --> 00:01:55.657 Nobody does. 23 00:01:58.118 --> 00:02:00.370 BRIAN: The drive, that's just who he is. 24 00:02:00.453 --> 00:02:02.455 He's been that way since he was, he would have been what, 25 00:02:02.580 --> 00:02:07.335 3-4, and we'd, you know, he refused to let us help him get 26 00:02:07.460 --> 00:02:09.629 dressed when he was going to play hockey, he had to carry 27 00:02:09.754 --> 00:02:13.633 his bag everywhere, whereas you know, most places, 28 00:02:13.716 --> 00:02:15.260 you know, when you go to the rink when the kids are 29 00:02:15.343 --> 00:02:17.345 four years old, the mom or the dad are carrying the bags in, 30 00:02:17.470 --> 00:02:19.556 but not Connor, the bag was bigger than he was. 31 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:21.641 He insisted on getting himself dressed. 32 00:02:21.766 --> 00:02:24.144 He's, you know, Kelly uses the word "determined" 33 00:02:24.227 --> 00:02:26.604 all the time. 34 00:02:26.688 --> 00:02:27.063 KELLY: Well he is. 35 00:02:27.147 --> 00:02:27.814 He's intense. 36 00:02:27.939 --> 00:02:28.898 And he's competitive. 37 00:02:28.982 --> 00:02:30.608 I think that's the biggest word. 38 00:02:31.609 --> 00:02:33.278 MAN: Can I get your name and where you go. 39 00:02:33.361 --> 00:02:34.988 YOUNG CONNOR: Um, Connor McDavid. 40 00:02:35.113 --> 00:02:39.033 Go to Premier Elite Athletics Collegiate. 41 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:41.744 Yup. 42 00:02:41.828 --> 00:02:43.121 CONNOR: Speed, I think, that's the main thing. 43 00:02:43.204 --> 00:02:44.414 My game is all about speed. 44 00:02:44.497 --> 00:02:46.166 ANNOUNCER: Right wing point. 45 00:02:46.249 --> 00:02:48.042 Fumbled the puck, lost it on out centre to McDavid. 46 00:02:48.168 --> 00:02:49.919 He's trying to speed off. 47 00:02:50.003 --> 00:02:50.920 Just blows right by Spencer. 48 00:02:51.004 --> 00:02:51.880 Coming in on goal. 49 00:02:52.005 --> 00:02:52.964 Here's McDavid with a back hand. 50 00:02:53.047 --> 00:02:58.178 (cheering) 51 00:02:58.303 --> 00:03:00.847 MAN: He gets outside or he gets a step on you, man, 52 00:03:00.930 --> 00:03:01.931 the kid's speed. 53 00:03:02.015 --> 00:03:03.099 I've never seen anything like that. 54 00:03:03.183 --> 00:03:04.309 ANNOUNCER: Connor McDavid's speeds up. 55 00:03:04.392 --> 00:03:05.476 Gotta go through an intercept. 56 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:06.519 Get it towards the goal, gets around, goes before 57 00:03:06.603 --> 00:03:07.896 and scores! 58 00:03:08.021 --> 00:03:09.814 Sweet sassy molassey. 59 00:03:09.898 --> 00:03:12.817 Conor McDavid does it again. 60 00:03:13.526 --> 00:03:16.196 JEFF: Bobby Orr says it to me all the time, like Connor goes 61 00:03:16.321 --> 00:03:19.657 too hard to the net, but I think it's just the way that 62 00:03:19.741 --> 00:03:23.369 he plays, and he sees openings and he goes for it, 63 00:03:23.453 --> 00:03:26.122 and that's what makes him so great. 64 00:03:26.206 --> 00:03:27.081 ANNOUNCER: Left on the take. 65 00:03:27.207 --> 00:03:28.791 Trying to split, back hand shot, 66 00:03:28.875 --> 00:03:30.877 He scores! 67 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:32.503 GARY: Bobby Orr's telling me that this player's going to 68 00:03:32.587 --> 00:03:34.631 be, and remember, Bobby Orr's word's to me is, 69 00:03:34.714 --> 00:03:37.383 "Everybody said I was the greatest skater to ever play." 70 00:03:37.467 --> 00:03:42.430 He said, "This kid's going to be the best skater to ever play," 71 00:03:42.555 --> 00:03:44.641 and Connor McDavid was 15 years old when Bobby Orr 72 00:03:44.724 --> 00:03:47.810 said this. 73 00:03:47.894 --> 00:04:04.202 (♪♪♪) 74 00:04:04.285 --> 00:04:05.453 (puck bouncing) 75 00:04:05.578 --> 00:04:08.414 BOB: Yeah, you know, just because of his speed, 76 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:12.752 how he utilizes his edges as he drives to the net. 77 00:04:12.877 --> 00:04:15.588 He's just that much quicker than anyone else. 78 00:04:15.672 --> 00:04:19.384 That's what Connor McDavid is. 79 00:04:19.926 --> 00:04:22.720 TRACY: What I love about Connor is it's all about power. 80 00:04:22.804 --> 00:04:25.848 It's all about speed and getting there. 81 00:04:25.932 --> 00:04:27.267 How you look doesn't matter. 82 00:04:27.392 --> 00:04:30.603 It's the intensity and the focus. 83 00:04:30.728 --> 00:04:31.479 (whistle blows) 84 00:04:34.315 --> 00:04:35.525 A huge event. 85 00:04:35.608 --> 00:04:37.735 Jack Eichel, the time to beat. 86 00:04:37.819 --> 00:04:40.071 13.582. 87 00:04:40.154 --> 00:04:43.241 Here comes the two-time defending champ, 88 00:04:43.324 --> 00:04:45.201 Connor McDavid. 89 00:04:45.285 --> 00:04:46.786 (cheering) 90 00:04:46.911 --> 00:04:48.579 JEFF: The ice hasn't gotten any bigger over the years, 91 00:04:48.663 --> 00:04:53.251 but he skates exceptionally fast, and hard to tell a player 92 00:04:53.334 --> 00:04:57.297 like Connor McDavid that, to slow down, you know. 93 00:04:57.380 --> 00:04:58.298 ANNOUNCER: McDavid. 94 00:04:58.423 --> 00:05:00.466 McDavid trying to split the defense. 95 00:05:00.550 --> 00:05:00.967 McDavid. 96 00:05:01.092 --> 00:05:01.759 What a play. 97 00:05:01.843 --> 00:05:03.386 What a goal. 98 00:05:03.469 --> 00:05:09.309 0-5, Connor McDavid, welcome back. 99 00:05:09.434 --> 00:05:11.686 The Oilers with a 2-1 lead. 100 00:05:11.811 --> 00:05:13.646 ZACK: He can skate so well, he can handle the puck so well. 101 00:05:13.771 --> 00:05:16.649 He does everything at such an elite level but then brings 102 00:05:16.733 --> 00:05:20.486 that speed element that, maybe we haven't seen a player 103 00:05:20.570 --> 00:05:24.198 like that in the game in maybe forever. 104 00:05:24.324 --> 00:05:25.658 ANNOUNCER: McDavid sinks a shot. 105 00:05:25.742 --> 00:05:26.993 Oh, what a goal. 106 00:05:27.076 --> 00:05:29.078 (bull horn) 107 00:05:29.162 --> 00:05:31.456 Connor McDavid. 108 00:05:32.707 --> 00:05:35.877 DAVE: Some of the things he does is, and you never see 109 00:05:36.002 --> 00:05:37.378 players do that before. 110 00:05:37.503 --> 00:05:39.464 And it's not just skating speed, it's skating with 111 00:05:39.547 --> 00:05:42.592 the puck, which is a whole other dimension. 112 00:05:42.675 --> 00:05:44.844 There's a lot of fast skaters in the league, but the people 113 00:05:44.927 --> 00:05:49.098 that skate that fast with the puck is an incredible ability. 114 00:05:49.182 --> 00:05:50.516 ANNOUNCER: (indistinct) 115 00:05:50.600 --> 00:05:53.227 McDavid, he scores. 116 00:05:53.353 --> 00:05:54.187 ANNOUNCER: McDavid cutting (indistinct) 117 00:05:54.312 --> 00:05:56.481 His backhand, scores. 118 00:05:56.564 --> 00:05:58.691 ANNOUNCER: Breaking away is Connor McDavid barreling down 119 00:05:58.775 --> 00:06:00.860 the right hand side, to the net, (indistinct) 120 00:06:00.943 --> 00:06:02.570 Scores. 121 00:06:02.695 --> 00:06:04.197 BOB: It just amazes you. 122 00:06:04.322 --> 00:06:06.657 I love watching Connor live. 123 00:06:06.741 --> 00:06:10.536 But I don't like watching him live unless I have a TV, 124 00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:13.289 because you just go watch it live and you go what did he 125 00:06:13.373 --> 00:06:14.832 just do? 126 00:06:14.916 --> 00:06:17.210 ANNOUNCER: Scores! 127 00:06:17.293 --> 00:06:22.965 ANNOUNCER: Conor McDavid, with a career high, 31st goal 128 00:06:23.049 --> 00:06:24.050 of the season. 129 00:06:24.133 --> 00:06:25.343 ANNOUNCER: McDavid to the net. 130 00:06:25.426 --> 00:06:26.469 Great job, score. 131 00:06:26.552 --> 00:06:27.387 ANNOUNCER: McDavid. 132 00:06:27.512 --> 00:06:30.390 (audience cheering) 133 00:06:30.473 --> 00:06:32.892 ANNOUNCER: Scores. 134 00:06:33.017 --> 00:06:35.019 ANNOUNCER: I don't know the words for Conor McDavid. 135 00:06:35.103 --> 00:06:38.564 MIKE: A lot of guys have been fast in the past and have been 136 00:06:38.689 --> 00:06:41.651 really good players, but to have a guy that can stick 137 00:06:41.734 --> 00:06:44.362 handle the puck as many times as he can in a short period 138 00:06:44.445 --> 00:06:46.781 of time while going fast is pretty special. 139 00:06:46.906 --> 00:06:52.328 (♪♪♪) 140 00:06:52.412 --> 00:06:53.413 (bull horn) 141 00:06:53.538 --> 00:06:54.956 KEN: Yeah, I mean obviously watch him. 142 00:06:55.081 --> 00:06:55.998 That's how he plays. 143 00:06:56.082 --> 00:06:57.125 I mean, he plays the game. 144 00:06:57.250 --> 00:06:58.584 That's one of his gifts. 145 00:06:58.668 --> 00:07:02.880 He's got, he's got incredible speed, incredible lateral 146 00:07:02.964 --> 00:07:09.095 movement in combination with incredible hockey sense. 147 00:07:09.220 --> 00:07:13.641 (♪♪♪) 148 00:07:13.766 --> 00:07:15.935 KEN: I mean, he plays the game hard. 149 00:07:16.018 --> 00:07:17.145 He plays the game fast. 150 00:07:17.270 --> 00:07:37.623 (♪♪♪) 151 00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:47.884 CONNOR: April 6 was a bit of a different day in general. 152 00:07:47.967 --> 00:07:51.721 I mean it's the end of the season. 153 00:07:51.804 --> 00:07:54.140 You know, and we're out of the playoffs, and you know, 154 00:07:54.265 --> 00:07:55.600 not a lot of good stuff going on. 155 00:07:55.683 --> 00:08:01.355 But at the end of the day you still got to play an NHL game. 156 00:08:01.814 --> 00:08:03.858 That's something I try to take pride in. 157 00:08:03.983 --> 00:08:06.819 It's not much to hang your hat on at the end of the year 158 00:08:06.944 --> 00:08:08.613 when you're out of the playoffs, but yeah, you just 159 00:08:08.696 --> 00:08:11.657 don't mail it in, and you know, you play as hard 160 00:08:11.782 --> 00:08:14.327 as you can, and I think we were doing that. 161 00:08:14.452 --> 00:08:16.704 (♪♪♪) 162 00:08:16.829 --> 00:08:18.247 MARK: You know, I'm not going to come in here and just hand 163 00:08:18.331 --> 00:08:22.835 the Calgary Flames a freebie, so it was a high intense game. 164 00:08:22.960 --> 00:08:24.337 ANNOUNCER: Here comes McDavid straight down the middle, 165 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:26.672 back hander, Smith down. 166 00:08:26.797 --> 00:08:27.840 ANNOUNCER: All the angles. 167 00:08:27.924 --> 00:08:30.676 Here comes McDavid, McDavid (indistinct) 168 00:08:30.760 --> 00:08:35.056 And the crashes into the Flames' net. 169 00:08:35.181 --> 00:08:37.934 CONNOR: Right on the post, square, and just felt 170 00:08:38.017 --> 00:08:39.894 the pain right away. 171 00:08:40.019 --> 00:08:44.440 I thought I broke my leg into a couple pieces. 172 00:08:45.274 --> 00:08:50.363 GARY: You know, our fear for Connor throughout his career 173 00:08:50.488 --> 00:08:55.076 so far is he's going too fast. 174 00:08:55.201 --> 00:08:57.370 (♪♪♪) 175 00:08:57.495 --> 00:08:58.037 MARK: Yeah, it bothered me. 176 00:08:58.120 --> 00:08:59.163 A lot of speed. 177 00:08:59.247 --> 00:09:01.624 Obviously, he's the fastest player in the game. 178 00:09:01.707 --> 00:09:03.626 He got a step to the outside on me. 179 00:09:03.709 --> 00:09:07.255 Basically, it was I think a combination of my stick and 180 00:09:07.380 --> 00:09:09.340 the arm taking out his legs. 181 00:09:09.423 --> 00:09:12.385 He's so fast that he was going in real quick and it happened 182 00:09:12.510 --> 00:09:15.179 so fast, and then the result. 183 00:09:15.263 --> 00:09:17.682 I saw him down and I knew he was hurt right away. 184 00:09:17.765 --> 00:09:20.309 A hockey play trying to break up a guy from getting a 185 00:09:20.393 --> 00:09:23.854 scoring chance and when I saw the result, I knew he was 186 00:09:23.938 --> 00:09:25.022 hurt right away. 187 00:09:25.106 --> 00:09:26.399 You could tell by the look on his face, so there was 188 00:09:26.482 --> 00:09:29.735 immediate concern, and listen, we're all on the ice together 189 00:09:29.819 --> 00:09:32.697 at the end of the day, and we're entertaining the fans, 190 00:09:32.780 --> 00:09:34.907 and you don't want to see anyone go down, especially, 191 00:09:34.991 --> 00:09:37.702 you know, a guy who brings so much to the game, 192 00:09:37.785 --> 00:09:39.996 so it was concerning. 193 00:09:40.079 --> 00:09:40.496 ZACK: Game play. 194 00:09:40.580 --> 00:09:41.872 Game mode. 195 00:09:41.956 --> 00:09:44.166 Didn't look dirty by any means, it looked like a guy 196 00:09:44.250 --> 00:09:46.919 that was beat and did everything to try and get 197 00:09:47.003 --> 00:09:49.338 the puck from him to stop him from scoring a goal. 198 00:09:49.422 --> 00:09:50.464 MARK: Kassium's been around a while, 199 00:09:50.590 --> 00:09:53.092 all of us understand when it's a dirty play 200 00:09:53.217 --> 00:09:55.011 and you're trying to hurt a guy and when it's just a 201 00:09:55.094 --> 00:09:59.390 hockey play, and I think, you know, we all were in that 202 00:09:59.473 --> 00:10:02.101 moment sort of more concerned with the injury and the guy 203 00:10:02.184 --> 00:10:06.856 laying on the ice than, you know, all that other stuff. 204 00:10:06.939 --> 00:10:08.941 ZACK: Flew in pretty hard with a lot of force into the net, 205 00:10:09.066 --> 00:10:11.277 and the net comes off the ice, which, if anyone plays hockey, 206 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:15.114 you realize those pegs are in their pretty good. 207 00:10:15.197 --> 00:10:17.158 He's not getting up right away, so then you're like, 208 00:10:17.283 --> 00:10:20.536 oh no, something's wrong, cause he's a tough kid and he gets 209 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:22.455 up from a lot of things, he takes a lot of abuse 210 00:10:22.538 --> 00:10:26.250 out there, so went right over obviously and got close to him 211 00:10:26.334 --> 00:10:27.084 and asked him, "Hey. 212 00:10:27.168 --> 00:10:27.501 What's going on? 213 00:10:28.794 --> 00:10:30.504 He whispered to me, "I think it's broke." 214 00:10:30.630 --> 00:10:34.008 MIKE: I could just see the look on his face that something just 215 00:10:34.133 --> 00:10:35.635 wasn't right. 216 00:10:35.718 --> 00:10:38.512 CONNOR: I was having flashbacks to Stamcos' 217 00:10:38.638 --> 00:10:41.849 injury, and I know Stammer really well. 218 00:10:43.142 --> 00:10:45.853 ANNOUNCER: They tangled up, oh and they're jammed up, and 219 00:10:45.978 --> 00:10:49.357 he's holding on to his shin, and then he's in a 220 00:10:49.482 --> 00:11:00.201 (♪♪♪) 221 00:11:00.326 --> 00:11:02.203 CONNOR: You know, watching him go through something like 222 00:11:02.328 --> 00:11:05.289 that, you know, it was pretty scary, and thinking that I was 223 00:11:05.373 --> 00:11:08.626 gonna, and this is all in a split second, where lots go 224 00:11:08.709 --> 00:11:10.378 through your mind in a split second, but. 225 00:11:10.503 --> 00:11:14.799 MARK: Steven Stamkos texts me and the text was, 226 00:11:14.882 --> 00:11:17.885 "Did he break it?" 227 00:11:18.010 --> 00:11:19.679 He thought he fractured his tibia, especially when he was 228 00:11:19.762 --> 00:11:22.306 on the ice - just his reaction, he's grabbing his 229 00:11:22.390 --> 00:11:27.144 leg, and I'm like, "Wow, this is going to be long." 230 00:11:27.228 --> 00:11:30.815 MARK: Obviously, you know, top player in our game and a clean 231 00:11:30.898 --> 00:11:33.067 player and a guy who I respect on the other team, you know, 232 00:11:33.192 --> 00:11:36.570 we compete hard against each other where you play with 233 00:11:36.696 --> 00:11:38.072 that respect, and for that to happen. 234 00:11:38.197 --> 00:11:40.616 I said to him right after, "If I could do it all over 235 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:43.994 again, you'd like to take it back." 236 00:11:46.414 --> 00:11:47.707 BOB: Yeah, I watched 237 00:11:47.790 --> 00:11:50.501 his lips and you know, I just had a lump in my throat. 238 00:11:50.584 --> 00:11:52.670 We hadn't had a great end to the season. 239 00:11:52.753 --> 00:11:55.381 I'm just going "it can't get worse," but looks like 240 00:11:55.464 --> 00:11:58.968 it could be. 241 00:11:59.301 --> 00:12:00.553 TD: I asked him to move his knee. 242 00:12:00.636 --> 00:12:02.096 He could move it slightly, so I wasn't concerned that it 243 00:12:02.221 --> 00:12:03.222 was dislocated. 244 00:12:03.305 --> 00:12:05.349 So then I said "Okay Connor," I said "You know, 245 00:12:05.433 --> 00:12:06.392 we have a couple options here. " 246 00:12:06.517 --> 00:12:07.727 I said, "I'd like to get you up. 247 00:12:07.852 --> 00:12:10.688 If you don't think you can get up, then I'll call out 248 00:12:10.771 --> 00:12:12.356 the gurney and we'll take you off that way," and he 249 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:15.317 looked at me and he says, "No no no, it's painful, 250 00:12:15.401 --> 00:12:18.988 but I think I can get up. " 251 00:12:20.072 --> 00:12:21.157 ANNOUNCER: And they're going to try to get him up 252 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:22.408 onto his feet here. 253 00:12:24.410 --> 00:12:25.703 leg was just gonna give away. 254 00:12:25.786 --> 00:12:29.248 (applause) 255 00:12:29.331 --> 00:12:33.043 ANNOUNCER: Getting helped on the ice, and I - I mean, just 256 00:12:33.127 --> 00:12:35.296 the initial thoughts on seeing how hard he went into that 257 00:12:35.421 --> 00:12:37.173 post and how long he stayed down, I'd be surprised if he's 258 00:12:37.256 --> 00:12:39.425 able to come back. 259 00:12:39.508 --> 00:12:41.927 ZACK: Such a big part of the Edmonton Oilers and then for 260 00:12:42.011 --> 00:12:45.806 the league, he brings so much to the game of hockey that 261 00:12:45.931 --> 00:12:50.019 I think the whole league was kind of in shock. 262 00:12:50.102 --> 00:12:51.395 (applause) 263 00:12:51.479 --> 00:12:53.272 ANNOUNCER: This is a guy that doesn't stay down too often, 264 00:12:53.355 --> 00:12:56.275 doesn't miss games unless he absolutely has to. 265 00:12:56.400 --> 00:13:04.116 (♪♪♪) 266 00:13:04.867 --> 00:13:09.121 (♪♪♪) 267 00:13:09.205 --> 00:13:11.624 CONNOR: I held it together until we got through the 268 00:13:11.707 --> 00:13:13.417 tunnel, and I was a mess. 269 00:13:13.501 --> 00:13:15.628 I think it probably took us ten minutes just to get back 270 00:13:15.753 --> 00:13:17.254 to the room. 271 00:13:17.338 --> 00:13:20.966 TD: Said "Stop, just give me a second," and a lot 272 00:13:21.050 --> 00:13:23.135 of things are going on I'm sure, in his mind, I'm sure 273 00:13:23.260 --> 00:13:25.971 he's thinking about the pain that he's going through. 274 00:13:26.096 --> 00:13:28.307 What's going to happen to the short term career, 275 00:13:28.390 --> 00:13:31.185 what's happening to his long term career? 276 00:13:31.310 --> 00:13:40.653 (♪♪♪) 277 00:13:40.736 --> 00:13:42.822 CONNOR: They did a great job just trying to calm me down 278 00:13:42.905 --> 00:13:44.740 and make me feel better, but obviously I was a bit 279 00:13:44.824 --> 00:13:47.618 of a mess. 280 00:13:47.701 --> 00:14:02.258 (♪♪♪) 281 00:14:02.341 --> 00:14:04.009 LAUREN: It was, it was really hard when he called me. 282 00:14:04.093 --> 00:14:05.719 His immediate reaction was, 283 00:14:05.845 --> 00:14:08.639 "Okay. I broke my leg". 284 00:14:08.722 --> 00:14:11.559 So it was definitely emotional. 285 00:14:11.684 --> 00:14:13.519 (♪♪♪) 286 00:14:13.644 --> 00:14:15.020 BRIAN: He was very upset. 287 00:14:15.145 --> 00:14:18.023 He was in a lot of pain, which as a parent it's kind of 288 00:14:18.107 --> 00:14:20.860 hard to hear when your child's in pain. 289 00:14:20.943 --> 00:14:22.194 KELLY: It was awful. 290 00:14:22.319 --> 00:14:26.115 You know, when your kids are sick or hurt or upset or 291 00:14:26.198 --> 00:14:28.868 anything, I mean for me that is the worst thing 292 00:14:28.951 --> 00:14:30.202 in the world. 293 00:14:30.327 --> 00:14:31.120 You know? 294 00:14:31.203 --> 00:14:33.372 Doesn't matter how old they are. 295 00:14:33.497 --> 00:14:35.666 CONNOR: I remember laying down the x-ray room, they take the 296 00:14:35.749 --> 00:14:39.712 pictures, and then you know, the doc looks at the pictures, 297 00:14:39.795 --> 00:14:42.214 "Nope, nothing's broken. " 298 00:14:42.298 --> 00:14:45.259 I'm like "Well, I guess that's a good thing," 299 00:14:45.384 --> 00:14:48.470 but you know, maybe in hindsight it would have 300 00:14:48.554 --> 00:14:51.390 been better if it was broken. 301 00:14:56.687 --> 00:14:58.397 DR. NAIDU: He's in a lot of pain number one, and then once 302 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:01.066 you get down and then you're examined by the docs and the 303 00:15:01.191 --> 00:15:03.068 head therapist, then you start thinking 304 00:15:03.152 --> 00:15:04.987 "Okay, what am I going to do? 305 00:15:05.070 --> 00:15:07.114 My knee's swollen, I can't put weight on it. 306 00:15:07.239 --> 00:15:09.450 It's sore," and that whole plan you had into the 307 00:15:09.575 --> 00:15:14.246 offseason to get ready for the next season is derailed. 308 00:15:14.330 --> 00:15:29.845 (♪♪♪) 309 00:15:29.929 --> 00:15:31.180 CONNOR: Fairly positive right now. 310 00:15:31.263 --> 00:15:32.848 I'm going to go for an MRI in a little bit here and 311 00:15:32.932 --> 00:15:34.475 clear up more. 312 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:37.269 CONNOR: I've never had like a lower body injury before, so 313 00:15:37.353 --> 00:15:41.607 this is something new for me, but like I said, we still 314 00:15:41.732 --> 00:15:43.108 don't know too much. 315 00:15:43.233 --> 00:15:44.818 But that result, is there any way to get it 316 00:15:44.944 --> 00:15:46.111 out of your game. 317 00:15:46.236 --> 00:15:47.112 You know what, they pay me one hundred million 318 00:15:47.196 --> 00:15:48.614 dollars to play my game. 319 00:15:48.697 --> 00:15:52.451 Part of my game is beating guys wide and going to the 320 00:15:52.534 --> 00:15:55.621 net, so Daryl's going to have to, I'll have to give my money 321 00:15:55.704 --> 00:15:59.792 back if I stop doing that, so I'm not doing that, so. 322 00:15:59.875 --> 00:16:01.168 (interviewers laugh) 323 00:16:01.293 --> 00:16:05.130 CONNOR: And you know, I get in the MRI machine, they had 324 00:16:05.214 --> 00:16:12.680 said "Grade 2 strain" of my PCL. 325 00:16:12.805 --> 00:16:16.517 And it looks pretty good. 326 00:16:16.642 --> 00:16:18.686 (♪♪♪) 327 00:16:18.811 --> 00:16:20.270 DR NAIDU: You know, I have been through elite athletes 328 00:16:20.354 --> 00:16:24.733 in hockey and in other sports at this type of injury, and there 329 00:16:24.817 --> 00:16:27.736 are certain things that I saw on the exam and on the MRI 330 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:29.196 that were very good news. 331 00:16:29.321 --> 00:16:33.409 Obviously, there are things that were bad news as well. 332 00:16:34.326 --> 00:16:35.327 MARK: There was so much swelling initially. 333 00:16:37.871 --> 00:16:42.668 damage, so he was referred to a couple other specialists 334 00:16:42.751 --> 00:16:44.670 for their opinion. 335 00:16:44.753 --> 00:16:46.672 JEFF: You immediately go get a second opinion or a third 336 00:16:46.755 --> 00:16:49.800 opinion or whatever you need, so I talked to Bob Nicholson 337 00:16:49.883 --> 00:16:52.344 and we set up a second opinion. 338 00:16:52.469 --> 00:16:53.554 BRIAN: "Hey dad, just want you to let you know I'm 339 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:56.181 going for a second opinion on Colorado Springs." 340 00:16:56.265 --> 00:16:59.059 We were both thinking "Okay, well this is just sort of 341 00:16:59.184 --> 00:17:02.563 reaffirming what we already knew, everything's fine. " 342 00:17:02.688 --> 00:17:04.189 (wheels screaching) 343 00:17:04.314 --> 00:17:05.649 CONNOR: The doctor had told me that it was actually 344 00:17:05.733 --> 00:17:11.155 a full PCL tear, tears both sides of my meniscus, torn the 345 00:17:11.238 --> 00:17:16.452 popliteus right off the bone, so I mean at that point that 346 00:17:16.535 --> 00:17:19.163 was enough to have a full reconstruction of the knee, 347 00:17:19.246 --> 00:17:23.125 full reconstruction of the PCL and the popliteus which would 348 00:17:23.208 --> 00:17:28.213 have been over a year recovery and we don't know how it 349 00:17:28.297 --> 00:17:30.841 would have really recovered. 350 00:17:30.924 --> 00:17:32.551 BRIAN: And basically he said that the doctor told him that 351 00:17:32.634 --> 00:17:35.679 if he didn't have surgery like now, he needed surgery, 352 00:17:35.763 --> 00:17:37.765 there was no question of that, and by the way the sooner 353 00:17:37.890 --> 00:17:42.728 the better, and like the next few days would be good. 354 00:17:43.187 --> 00:17:44.396 Your career is only so long, you never know how long 355 00:17:44.521 --> 00:17:45.689 it's going to be. 356 00:17:45.773 --> 00:17:48.025 And the opportunities to win the Stanley Cup are few and 357 00:17:48.108 --> 00:17:51.653 far between, so missing an entire year is, you know, 358 00:17:51.737 --> 00:17:54.114 he's, not only is this his personal goal, but he's 359 00:17:54.239 --> 00:17:55.574 letting his team mates down too, and that's like, 360 00:17:55.699 --> 00:17:56.700 he's the leader. 361 00:17:56.784 --> 00:17:59.870 He's, again, distraught would be the best word 362 00:17:59.953 --> 00:18:02.206 I can use, and that's underdescribed. 363 00:18:02.289 --> 00:18:04.458 He was very very upset. 364 00:18:04.583 --> 00:18:06.168 LAUREN: I think that's when things got really tough 365 00:18:06.251 --> 00:18:10.380 because at first we were thinking okay, this is 366 00:18:10.464 --> 00:18:11.965 an injury we can come back from it. 367 00:18:12.091 --> 00:18:14.885 And then all of a sudden there was a thought, 368 00:18:14.968 --> 00:18:20.099 "I'm never going to play again". 369 00:18:20.182 --> 00:18:21.433 (♪♪♪) 370 00:18:21.517 --> 00:18:22.601 KELLY: Well you know, I went back and forth. 371 00:18:22.684 --> 00:18:28.273 But I did think he should have the surgery. 372 00:18:28.690 --> 00:18:31.110 DR HARNESS: Surgery would be to increase the stability. 373 00:18:31.235 --> 00:18:35.906 Because when you tear a joint that much, the problem 374 00:18:35.989 --> 00:18:37.074 is instability. 375 00:18:37.157 --> 00:18:39.451 And the joint simply won't work properly if 376 00:18:39.535 --> 00:18:40.452 it's not stable. 377 00:18:40.577 --> 00:18:44.206 So the surgical intervention is to give it its 378 00:18:44.289 --> 00:18:45.541 stability back. 379 00:18:45.624 --> 00:18:49.378 Unfortunately that's done through internal implements, 380 00:18:49.461 --> 00:18:53.006 screws, anchors, and so on and so forth, rather than trying 381 00:18:53.132 --> 00:18:58.470 to get the tissue to fuse back to the bone in a natural way. 382 00:18:58.554 --> 00:19:01.140 BOB: We have to make a decision in 48 hours 383 00:19:01.265 --> 00:19:04.226 whether or not to operate. 384 00:19:04.309 --> 00:19:07.354 I remember just sitting there going, "48 hours, 385 00:19:07.479 --> 00:19:10.983 gotta make a decision". 386 00:19:11.066 --> 00:19:12.317 That was me. 387 00:19:12.442 --> 00:19:16.029 You can imagine what was going through Connor's mind. 388 00:19:16.321 --> 00:19:17.698 JEFF: He was very emotional. 389 00:19:17.823 --> 00:19:21.326 And it was very difficult for him to talk, and I could just 390 00:19:21.410 --> 00:19:24.454 sense that he was devastated by the thought that his career 391 00:19:24.538 --> 00:19:30.169 was either very much going to be altered or come to an end. 392 00:19:30.252 --> 00:19:34.715 (♪♪♪) 393 00:19:34.840 --> 00:19:37.342 CONNOR: Jeff, he said, "Listen the surgery is scheduled 394 00:19:37.467 --> 00:19:40.262 for Tuesday, but we'll go get another opinion". 395 00:19:40.345 --> 00:19:44.266 And he set that up and with the help of Mr. Katz, 396 00:19:44.349 --> 00:19:45.767 and the Oilers, he set up a third opinions. 397 00:19:45.851 --> 00:19:47.102 So, that's where we go to L.A. 398 00:19:47.186 --> 00:19:49.396 to meet with another doctor and he goes, "Yup. 399 00:19:49.521 --> 00:19:54.067 Second doctor is right: you got all that stuff, 400 00:19:54.193 --> 00:19:56.904 but the surgery is risky. 401 00:19:57.029 --> 00:20:00.532 I don't believe in the surgery. 402 00:20:00.616 --> 00:20:04.953 I would try to rehab this," so, I mean, now 403 00:20:05.037 --> 00:20:07.456 what do you do? 404 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:08.957 I mean. 405 00:20:09.041 --> 00:20:13.086 MARK: Yeah, I think at that point I didn't want 406 00:20:13.212 --> 00:20:14.379 to be involved, to be honest with you. 407 00:20:14.463 --> 00:20:15.380 (laughs) 408 00:20:15.464 --> 00:20:17.466 INTERVIEWER: And why? 409 00:20:17.549 --> 00:20:19.801 MARK: Because to go a nonsurgical route with that 410 00:20:19.885 --> 00:20:21.887 severe of an injury, I've never done that before. 411 00:20:21.970 --> 00:20:26.391 I mean, I've rehabbed a lot of post surgical knees and hips 412 00:20:26.475 --> 00:20:31.480 and shoulders, but to do that with no surgical intervention, 413 00:20:31.563 --> 00:20:33.774 I mean, I don't know many people that have ever done 414 00:20:33.899 --> 00:20:38.528 that before. 415 00:20:38.612 --> 00:20:41.907 CONNOR: I have to make this crazy decision, I mean, that 416 00:20:42.032 --> 00:20:46.495 is either going to either make or break, 20 years of my life 417 00:20:46.578 --> 00:20:48.080 plays out, the rest of my life plays out. 418 00:20:48.163 --> 00:20:49.998 I've got to make this decision at 22 and I got to make it in 419 00:20:50.082 --> 00:20:55.003 24 hours, because they had scheduled the surgery with the 420 00:20:55.087 --> 00:21:00.217 second guy for, like, four days later. 421 00:21:00.300 --> 00:21:01.093 It was already scheduled. 422 00:21:01.176 --> 00:21:02.844 The surgery was scheduled. 423 00:21:02.928 --> 00:21:06.765 (♪♪♪) 424 00:21:07.766 --> 00:21:12.145 (♪♪♪) 425 00:21:12.271 --> 00:21:13.522 ANNOUNCER: --McDavid flying in! 426 00:21:13.605 --> 00:21:18.777 And he ceases into the Flames' net. 427 00:21:19.236 --> 00:21:20.320 DR MASCIA: When I saw that, it reminded me back of my 428 00:21:23.156 --> 00:21:25.575 We call that a dashboard injury, when the dashboard 429 00:21:25.659 --> 00:21:33.792 hits the knee, and the knee almost dislocates. 430 00:21:33.875 --> 00:21:35.669 DR MASCIA: PCL's cut right in half, so that's a complete 431 00:21:35.794 --> 00:21:39.548 tear of his Posterior Cruciate Ligament. 432 00:21:39.631 --> 00:21:42.592 The back of the knee joint, there's a lining. 433 00:21:42.676 --> 00:21:46.763 It was completely torn. 434 00:21:46.847 --> 00:21:50.642 Because a rotational component to the injury, his popliteus, 435 00:21:50.726 --> 00:21:53.812 which is a muscle at the back of the knee, on the outside, 436 00:21:53.937 --> 00:21:55.689 it was completely torn also. 437 00:21:55.814 --> 00:21:58.025 He's got a tear of his lateral meniscus. 438 00:21:58.150 --> 00:21:59.484 He has a tear of his medial meniscus. 439 00:21:59.609 --> 00:22:01.903 So both menisci, or cartilage, are torn. 440 00:22:01.987 --> 00:22:05.699 The other thing that surprised us, not only a bone bruise, 441 00:22:05.824 --> 00:22:08.827 but a crack in the front of his tibia where the impact, 442 00:22:08.910 --> 00:22:11.455 where the tibia hit the goal post, he actually had 443 00:22:11.538 --> 00:22:12.622 a fracture. 444 00:22:12.706 --> 00:22:14.708 It did not show itself until about 10 days later. 445 00:22:14.833 --> 00:22:21.506 (♪♪♪) 446 00:22:21.590 --> 00:22:23.300 JEFF: No, I think any athlete that things that they're going 447 00:22:23.383 --> 00:22:26.094 to miss an entire year, and then at the end of that not 448 00:22:26.178 --> 00:22:29.681 know what they're going to come back like is 449 00:22:29.765 --> 00:22:32.809 terrifying for them. 450 00:22:33.018 --> 00:22:34.186 CONNOR: For me, hockey is my life. 451 00:22:34.311 --> 00:22:35.687 Playing sports is my life. 452 00:22:35.812 --> 00:22:39.191 Being active is my life, and all of a sudden that was 453 00:22:39.316 --> 00:22:41.485 all up in the air, so. 454 00:22:41.568 --> 00:22:44.279 JEFF: The doctor that he saw in Los Angeles, Dr Alatrosh 455 00:22:44.363 --> 00:22:46.782 that consulted with several doctors and told him 456 00:22:46.865 --> 00:22:51.078 "It's bad, but I wouldn't do surgery right now". 457 00:22:51.203 --> 00:22:52.537 That's what he wanted to hear. 458 00:22:52.662 --> 00:22:53.455 He didn't want to hear that he was going to miss the year 459 00:22:53.538 --> 00:22:55.207 and that he had to have surgery. 460 00:22:55.332 --> 00:22:56.625 I don't think he was convinced that he didn't 461 00:22:56.708 --> 00:22:58.835 need it, but he still liked the fact that 462 00:22:58.919 --> 00:23:03.090 "Okay, I'm gonna try this". 463 00:23:03.215 --> 00:23:04.841 MARK: It had to be his decision 464 00:23:04.925 --> 00:23:07.594 And there was a silence interval there where he 465 00:23:07.719 --> 00:23:08.804 was pretty down. 466 00:23:08.887 --> 00:23:11.431 And that's when, you know, I discussed with Jeff, 467 00:23:11.556 --> 00:23:12.891 I mean if I'm gonna do this I'm gonna have to actually 468 00:23:12.974 --> 00:23:17.396 live with him because it's an emotional grind to go 469 00:23:17.521 --> 00:23:20.649 through, and for someone that's never gone through it 470 00:23:20.732 --> 00:23:25.570 before, a young guy like that, it's a full time job, 471 00:23:25.695 --> 00:23:28.156 and that's really what I emphasized to him. 472 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:29.282 This is seven days a week. 473 00:23:29.408 --> 00:23:33.662 It's 10 hours a day until it's done. 474 00:23:33.745 --> 00:23:35.664 And that's just the reality of it. 475 00:23:36.081 --> 00:23:38.542 DR MASCIA: Here we have this bone bruise in the front, 476 00:23:38.625 --> 00:23:41.503 this is where the impact was on the goal post on the tibia. 477 00:23:41.586 --> 00:23:45.257 Let me bring you to another picture here. 478 00:23:45.340 --> 00:23:47.259 Showing this crack right there. 479 00:23:47.342 --> 00:23:49.386 See there's a dark line? 480 00:23:49.469 --> 00:23:50.429 That's the crack in the bone. 481 00:23:50.512 --> 00:23:53.348 That's the fracture. 482 00:23:53.432 --> 00:23:55.851 Surgery, for a PCL injury is major surgery. 483 00:23:55.934 --> 00:23:59.229 ACL surgery, most athletes get back to the elite level 484 00:23:59.312 --> 00:24:00.981 in six months. 485 00:24:01.106 --> 00:24:02.691 PCL is a much bigger deal. 486 00:24:02.774 --> 00:24:03.900 It takes up to a year. 487 00:24:03.984 --> 00:24:06.778 Not wanting to have surgery, we told him that, alright, 488 00:24:06.903 --> 00:24:10.532 if you start this process that's non-operative, we got about 489 00:24:10.615 --> 00:24:15.328 a 50% chance, you know, by the end of the summer to get you 490 00:24:15.454 --> 00:24:19.166 maybe skating again, maybe. 491 00:24:19.291 --> 00:24:20.417 MARK: What's the best plan of action? 492 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:23.795 And so it came down we were going to brace the knee, 493 00:24:23.879 --> 00:24:28.633 and we had to deal with the plateau fracture, the bone 494 00:24:28.717 --> 00:24:33.805 issue, and so he was in a hyperbaric chamber daily 495 00:24:33.889 --> 00:24:36.892 for about 40 days. 496 00:24:36.975 --> 00:24:39.978 CONNOR: Mark had suggested that I would go do a 497 00:24:40.061 --> 00:24:41.688 hyperbaric chamber every day. 498 00:24:41.813 --> 00:24:46.151 And so I was not very excited about that. 499 00:24:46.234 --> 00:24:47.569 INTERVIEWER: What was it about that you didn't like about it? 500 00:24:47.652 --> 00:24:48.695 Was it the claustrophobicness of it? 501 00:24:48.820 --> 00:24:50.780 CONNOR: Yeah well you're just in a tube. 502 00:24:50.864 --> 00:24:53.825 MARK: And we've had a lot of success in the past on 503 00:24:53.909 --> 00:24:57.078 bone tendon injuries with hyperbaric oxygen treatment, 504 00:24:57.162 --> 00:25:01.750 and it's a static treatment, so he could lay in there with 505 00:25:01.833 --> 00:25:05.670 his brace on and everything, and then we could evaluate 506 00:25:05.795 --> 00:25:06.963 healing potential. 507 00:25:07.047 --> 00:25:09.633 Because you can't load it until that foundational thing 508 00:25:09.716 --> 00:25:12.469 was established. 509 00:25:12.552 --> 00:25:15.472 CONNOR: I remember at one point a doctor had cleared me 510 00:25:15.555 --> 00:25:19.851 to flex my quad muscle. 511 00:25:19.976 --> 00:25:22.812 So I would be in there and you're in there 512 00:25:22.896 --> 00:25:24.064 for two hours. 513 00:25:24.189 --> 00:25:27.859 I would just flex my quad muscle for 10 seconds on, rest 514 00:25:27.943 --> 00:25:30.779 for 10 seconds, 10 seconds on, and I would do that over and 515 00:25:30.862 --> 00:25:34.282 over again just trying to save the muscle. 516 00:25:34.366 --> 00:25:35.951 JEFF: If we could get the bone to heal and we could get some 517 00:25:36.034 --> 00:25:38.870 fibers attaching, then we knew we had a chance to do it. 518 00:25:38.995 --> 00:25:43.708 So if that bone wasn't gonna heal, he was gonna have to 519 00:25:43.833 --> 00:25:45.961 have some kind of surgical intervention. 520 00:25:46.044 --> 00:25:48.088 (♪♪♪) 521 00:25:48.213 --> 00:25:50.131 BOB: We know that there's frustration with the fans, 522 00:25:50.215 --> 00:25:54.135 but I can tell you today, with naming Ken Holland as a 523 00:25:54.219 --> 00:25:57.889 General Manager and President of Hockey Operations, this is 524 00:25:57.973 --> 00:26:01.726 a perfect step for us to move forward in a positive way. 525 00:26:01.851 --> 00:26:04.354 KEN: Talking with Bob Nicholson as I was going through 526 00:26:04.437 --> 00:26:06.856 the process to eventually make a decision to 527 00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:10.652 become the general manager of the Edmonton Oilers. 528 00:26:10.735 --> 00:26:14.447 We did talk about Connor's injury, but it didn't seem 529 00:26:14.573 --> 00:26:18.118 to be all that significant. 530 00:26:18.243 --> 00:26:20.620 BOB: When I got to Kenny, he asked that question. 531 00:26:20.745 --> 00:26:22.872 It wasn't the first question he asked, but he certainly 532 00:26:22.956 --> 00:26:26.209 asked it fairly quickly through the process and before 533 00:26:26.293 --> 00:26:29.421 he signed, and I gave him information. 534 00:26:29.546 --> 00:26:31.423 I didn't give him all the information. 535 00:26:31.506 --> 00:26:33.049 KEN: I don't want to throw Bob under the bus. 536 00:26:33.133 --> 00:26:35.802 Certainly Bob did tell me he was hurt and he was healing, 537 00:26:35.927 --> 00:26:39.055 I really wasn't quite aware how seriously he was hurt. 538 00:26:39.139 --> 00:26:41.600 CONNOR: When Kenny came in, I don't think he really 539 00:26:41.683 --> 00:26:44.728 even knew the severity of the injury. 540 00:26:44.811 --> 00:26:46.730 BOB: We really talked about "Hey, we have to keep this as 541 00:26:46.813 --> 00:26:50.525 tight as possible, hey, there is a lot of people poking 542 00:26:50.609 --> 00:26:53.320 around, trying to get more information," and we 543 00:26:53.445 --> 00:26:54.988 just clamped it down. 544 00:26:55.113 --> 00:26:58.283 MARK: We sat down, and I think it was sort of a wakeup call 545 00:26:58.366 --> 00:26:59.701 for Ken Holland. 546 00:26:59.784 --> 00:27:01.953 Here's his best player with his new job, and like, 547 00:27:02.037 --> 00:27:04.122 we really don't have an exact timeline. 548 00:27:04.205 --> 00:27:09.002 (♪♪♪) 549 00:27:09.127 --> 00:27:09.544 CONNOR: How are you? 550 00:27:11.254 --> 00:27:13.214 JEFF: Mark Lindsay, he had a very structured plan that was 551 00:27:13.298 --> 00:27:16.468 progressive, and again, back to the imaging, that was the 552 00:27:16.551 --> 00:27:18.970 huge difference in this thing. 553 00:27:19.054 --> 00:27:23.892 We did ultrasounds and MRI imaging every 2-3 weeks. 554 00:27:23.975 --> 00:27:26.144 And you could actual see what was going on in the knee and 555 00:27:26.227 --> 00:27:29.272 then he would adjust the rehab. 556 00:27:29.356 --> 00:27:31.483 DR MASCIA: So, this multi-team approach, 557 00:27:31.608 --> 00:27:34.194 my part as a radiologist or as a 558 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:37.822 sports medicine imager is we would image on a regular 559 00:27:37.906 --> 00:27:40.659 basis, either MRI or ultrasound. 560 00:27:40.784 --> 00:27:43.703 The imaging was as kind of little markers to say 561 00:27:43.828 --> 00:27:46.623 "Okay, we're doing well, let's continue this path, maybe not, 562 00:27:46.706 --> 00:27:50.960 let's back off this," so it's very finely tuned. 563 00:27:51.044 --> 00:27:52.879 CONNOR: I'm in this monstrous brace. 564 00:27:53.004 --> 00:27:55.173 You know, this brace went from probably here down to 565 00:27:55.298 --> 00:27:57.842 just above my ankle. 566 00:27:57.926 --> 00:27:59.511 I would go in. 567 00:27:59.594 --> 00:28:02.555 they would say okay, 568 00:28:02.681 --> 00:28:04.349 looking better, no surgery. 569 00:28:04.474 --> 00:28:05.850 What's the next steps? 570 00:28:05.975 --> 00:28:07.936 We would do the next steps, come back four weeks later. 571 00:28:08.019 --> 00:28:09.604 Another MRI. 572 00:28:09.688 --> 00:28:12.107 Is it good enough to continue with the rehab, or 573 00:28:12.190 --> 00:28:13.733 should we do the surgery? 574 00:28:13.858 --> 00:28:15.652 And there was a lot of times when we'd be sitting in that 575 00:28:15.735 --> 00:28:19.364 office, me, Dr. Mascia and Dr. Lindsay and they'd be 576 00:28:19.447 --> 00:28:23.368 like "Well, do we do the surgery or not? " 577 00:28:23.451 --> 00:28:25.537 DR MASCIA: This is the back of the knee. 578 00:28:25.662 --> 00:28:28.873 Here we see this mush here, all this white. 579 00:28:28.957 --> 00:28:31.501 This is the ligament, the two ends of the PCL which are 580 00:28:31.584 --> 00:28:33.211 shredded and kind of dangling like that. 581 00:28:33.336 --> 00:28:37.799 (♪♪♪) 582 00:28:37.882 --> 00:28:40.176 KELLY: I remember ever time he had an MRI appointment, 583 00:28:40.260 --> 00:28:42.220 you know, it was always like "When did you say the 584 00:28:42.345 --> 00:28:43.221 MRI appointment is? 585 00:28:43.346 --> 00:28:44.723 What time is it at? 586 00:28:44.848 --> 00:28:45.890 Okay, call me right after. " 587 00:28:46.015 --> 00:28:48.685 You know, so we were always sort of on pins and 588 00:28:48.768 --> 00:28:51.396 needles waiting for the results of each MRI I think. 589 00:28:51.479 --> 00:28:53.857 DR MASCIA: The more pliable it is, the more sound waves 590 00:28:53.940 --> 00:28:55.066 get absorbed. 591 00:28:55.191 --> 00:28:56.901 GARY: Is that the right side that you've already done? 592 00:28:56.985 --> 00:28:58.445 You already did the right side? 593 00:28:58.570 --> 00:29:00.488 DR MASCIA: We're just doing the films. 594 00:29:00.572 --> 00:29:02.741 GARY: I had doubts initially. 595 00:29:02.824 --> 00:29:05.368 Process seemed a little slow initially. 596 00:29:05.452 --> 00:29:10.665 We knew if he had surgery it was gonna be a 10 month rehab. 597 00:29:10.749 --> 00:29:14.586 Obviously the fear was that we would go along this road to 598 00:29:14.669 --> 00:29:19.674 August, September, and it wasn't healing, it wasn't 599 00:29:19.758 --> 00:29:21.718 coming together, and initially, eventually he would 600 00:29:21.801 --> 00:29:23.428 have to have surgery. 601 00:29:23.511 --> 00:29:26.347 CONNOR: You know, we were in July and we were still saying 602 00:29:26.431 --> 00:29:27.390 should we do the surgery? 603 00:29:27.474 --> 00:29:28.892 You know? 604 00:29:28.975 --> 00:29:30.393 So it always kept coming back, you know? 605 00:29:30.477 --> 00:29:32.771 It's healing, but is it healing enough? 606 00:29:32.854 --> 00:29:36.274 Is it, is it, is it ever gonna cross? 607 00:29:36.399 --> 00:29:38.818 Because sometimes it can line up, but it's never gonna 608 00:29:38.943 --> 00:29:42.614 cross, the gap's too big, it can't cross. 609 00:29:42.739 --> 00:29:44.908 KEN: Well I would say to you, first off, my fears going 610 00:29:44.991 --> 00:29:52.248 there is you know...you know, how severe the injury is and 611 00:29:52.332 --> 00:29:56.044 how long is he going to be out, and you know, is it gonna 612 00:29:56.127 --> 00:30:00.465 be significantly longer? 613 00:30:00.590 --> 00:30:01.341 WOMAN: Hey, how are you? 614 00:30:01.466 --> 00:30:02.133 MAN: How are you? 615 00:30:02.217 --> 00:30:04.803 WOMAN: Good, good. 616 00:30:04.886 --> 00:30:06.679 JEFF: I went to the hospital when we did the imaging 617 00:30:06.805 --> 00:30:08.515 every time that he had it. 618 00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:12.268 There was a point there was a point where before we saw the 619 00:30:12.352 --> 00:30:14.813 results, it was one of those, if it's not reconnecting 620 00:30:14.938 --> 00:30:19.108 today, the PCL, the fibers, we might have to think 621 00:30:19.192 --> 00:30:20.443 about surgery. 622 00:30:20.527 --> 00:30:23.279 And he was extremely nervous that day. 623 00:30:23.363 --> 00:30:25.365 WOMAN: I think you're going to be going just now, and then 624 00:30:25.490 --> 00:30:27.116 the ultrasound after. 625 00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:29.369 Hold on. 626 00:30:29.494 --> 00:30:43.132 (♪♪♪) 627 00:30:43.216 --> 00:30:44.759 JEFF: Lo and behold that day you could see the fibers 628 00:30:44.843 --> 00:30:45.969 had started to cross. 629 00:30:46.052 --> 00:30:49.347 They said, like, "It's starting to heal," 630 00:30:49.430 --> 00:30:55.311 And at that point Connor, Connor just, you could see the relief. 631 00:30:55.395 --> 00:30:59.440 CONNOR: That's a straight line, and here, it's better. 632 00:30:59.524 --> 00:31:03.194 The meniscus is still a little white, but it's good. 633 00:31:03.278 --> 00:31:06.865 MARK: So once we got past the first six weeks, we were 634 00:31:06.990 --> 00:31:11.202 seeing the fibres were attaching, and then the bone 635 00:31:11.327 --> 00:31:12.704 fully healed. 636 00:31:12.829 --> 00:31:14.414 CONNOR: But that looks good, no? 637 00:31:14.539 --> 00:31:15.206 Better. 638 00:31:15.290 --> 00:31:15.707 JEFF: Yeah. 639 00:31:15.790 --> 00:31:19.043 (♪♪♪) 640 00:31:19.168 --> 00:31:22.046 CONNOR: Third MRI, the fibers started to cross. 641 00:31:22.130 --> 00:31:23.798 Now let's start loading it a little bit. 642 00:31:23.882 --> 00:31:27.176 And then, you know, and that's where the pool comes in. 643 00:31:27.260 --> 00:31:29.804 I mean, I spent so many hours in that pool, 644 00:31:29.888 --> 00:31:31.681 it was ridiculous. 645 00:31:31.764 --> 00:31:35.518 (♪♪♪) 646 00:31:35.602 --> 00:31:37.395 CONNOR: We tried light jumping, all with the brace 647 00:31:37.478 --> 00:31:38.479 on, still. 648 00:31:38.563 --> 00:31:39.480 Just see how it reacted. 649 00:31:39.564 --> 00:31:41.024 Then we'd MRI it again. 650 00:31:41.107 --> 00:31:43.401 (♪♪♪) 651 00:31:43.526 --> 00:31:45.361 GARY: That was something that our team had to manage every 652 00:31:45.445 --> 00:31:48.656 day was the level of stress and the anxiety that he was 653 00:31:48.740 --> 00:31:50.742 feeling, you know, when somebody tells you that, 654 00:31:50.825 --> 00:31:53.244 you know, if you don't have surgery, your career's in 655 00:31:53.369 --> 00:31:57.206 jeopardy at 22 years old, you can imagine the extreme 656 00:31:57.290 --> 00:32:01.419 anxiety and emotional stress that comes with that. 657 00:32:01.502 --> 00:32:02.921 GARY: How are you, buddy? 658 00:32:03.046 --> 00:32:05.632 I'm just gonna say these gowns make these guys look so old, eh? 659 00:32:05.757 --> 00:32:08.259 WOMAN: He's not coming back through. 660 00:32:08.343 --> 00:32:10.929 LARUEN: He put many hours into it and dedicated a lot of his 661 00:32:11.054 --> 00:32:12.764 time and a lot of his summer. 662 00:32:12.889 --> 00:32:15.350 It was hard, but worthwhile. 663 00:32:15.433 --> 00:32:17.560 (♪♪♪) 664 00:32:17.644 --> 00:32:20.897 MARK: He's in the water with a flotation suit on, and he's 665 00:32:20.980 --> 00:32:25.526 doing drills in the water, but up to throat, chest deep, 666 00:32:25.610 --> 00:32:30.990 so he's between 5-10% body weight, and then we use the 667 00:32:31.115 --> 00:32:34.535 imaging then to see how, what the response was of the 668 00:32:34.619 --> 00:32:39.123 tissue, and then we would change our bias of the loading 669 00:32:39.248 --> 00:32:44.295 from the imaging and from, daily diagnostics on it. 670 00:32:44.420 --> 00:32:46.839 LISA: I was sent the video of his injury, and the injury 671 00:32:46.965 --> 00:32:49.258 looked pretty devastating. 672 00:32:49.342 --> 00:32:51.594 And I figured I'd have to meet him, see what 673 00:32:51.678 --> 00:32:52.929 the situation was. 674 00:32:53.012 --> 00:32:55.556 I do know Mark wanted an unconventional treatment plan, 675 00:32:55.640 --> 00:32:58.643 meaning he did not want him to be immobile for four months 676 00:32:58.768 --> 00:33:00.895 and then start rehab. 677 00:33:00.979 --> 00:33:04.983 LISA: Good, and turn the thumbs down. 678 00:33:05.066 --> 00:33:06.859 MARK: So when you're rehabbing a tendon or a ligament, it's 679 00:33:06.985 --> 00:33:08.987 a little bit different than just rehabbing a muscle. 680 00:33:09.070 --> 00:33:11.447 So there's a certain amount of stiffness that you're trying 681 00:33:11.531 --> 00:33:13.658 to reestablish in that tendon. 682 00:33:13.741 --> 00:33:18.371 ADRIAN: Every exercise has a set requirement to progress 683 00:33:18.496 --> 00:33:19.747 to the next one. 684 00:33:19.831 --> 00:33:22.083 Can he do 10 single leg squats in the pool? 685 00:33:22.166 --> 00:33:23.167 Okay, great. 686 00:33:23.292 --> 00:33:25.420 Now he can do 10 single leg squats with weight 687 00:33:25.503 --> 00:33:27.171 in the pool. 688 00:33:27.296 --> 00:33:31.342 LISA: Mark saw through Connor's this is a great 689 00:33:31.467 --> 00:33:34.178 opportunity to work on all aspects on his training that 690 00:33:34.303 --> 00:33:37.015 had been lacking up to that point, and probably wouldn't 691 00:33:37.098 --> 00:33:40.101 have been noticed unless he had the injury, so it was 692 00:33:40.184 --> 00:33:43.021 Mark's idea to bring me in at that point and not just 693 00:33:43.104 --> 00:33:45.189 work with the knee, again, pelvic floor, core movement, 694 00:33:45.314 --> 00:33:47.483 rotational movement from the hip to the knee to the ankle, 695 00:33:47.567 --> 00:33:50.028 how is the body integrated. 696 00:33:50.153 --> 00:33:51.529 MARK: So we're not just looking at his knee, 697 00:33:51.612 --> 00:33:53.781 we're training around the knee, we're training his spine, 698 00:33:53.865 --> 00:33:55.366 we're training his pelvis. 699 00:33:55.450 --> 00:33:58.619 And then that transitions onto the ice so he's stable 700 00:33:58.703 --> 00:34:01.414 in his motions on the ice. 701 00:34:01.539 --> 00:34:04.500 You're walking a tightrope between doing too much and 702 00:34:04.584 --> 00:34:07.628 irritating those early fibers that are attaching, not doing 703 00:34:07.712 --> 00:34:10.381 enough, so you're not getting an attachment, so this 704 00:34:10.506 --> 00:34:12.925 is where you have to have the right people around you and 705 00:34:13.051 --> 00:34:16.637 the right backgrounds in order to do it. 706 00:34:16.721 --> 00:34:18.681 LAWSON: So in collaboration with all of those things, 707 00:34:18.765 --> 00:34:21.559 we look and say okay, well this is what I'm doing, this is 708 00:34:21.684 --> 00:34:24.103 what else is being done out there, and just making sure 709 00:34:24.228 --> 00:34:26.981 that one wasn't causing harm to the other, and that 710 00:34:27.065 --> 00:34:30.943 everybody was going at the right pace to help him. 711 00:34:31.402 --> 00:34:33.279 MARK: Doing this kind of rehab, there's a segmental 712 00:34:33.404 --> 00:34:37.116 context to it, muscle, but there's also the brain's 713 00:34:37.241 --> 00:34:40.161 interpretation of that movement of the muscle. 714 00:34:40.244 --> 00:34:43.956 So you're creating a new map, if you will, in the brain. 715 00:34:44.082 --> 00:34:46.876 It's like, the reason he's good is because he has an 716 00:34:46.959 --> 00:34:48.377 amazing GPS map. 717 00:34:48.461 --> 00:34:52.090 He knows exactly where his body is in space. 718 00:34:52.173 --> 00:34:55.760 So on two feet moving in space. 719 00:34:55.843 --> 00:34:59.555 And so when you have an injury at that magnitude, you have to 720 00:34:59.639 --> 00:35:02.600 reestablish that map. 721 00:35:02.725 --> 00:35:13.361 (♪♪♪) 722 00:35:14.612 --> 00:35:18.324 (♪♪♪) 723 00:35:18.449 --> 00:35:19.784 MARK: They didn't really want him to skate 'til September, 724 00:35:19.909 --> 00:35:23.079 and so I talked to him 725 00:35:23.162 --> 00:35:24.455 and I said "I think you should go out on the ice with 726 00:35:24.539 --> 00:35:26.666 your father, and just get on the ice and don't even think 727 00:35:26.791 --> 00:35:27.583 about it. 728 00:35:27.667 --> 00:35:29.627 Just move with your dad". 729 00:35:29.710 --> 00:35:32.547 CONNOR: The funny part is we were not supposed to skate 730 00:35:32.630 --> 00:35:35.967 until September. 731 00:35:36.092 --> 00:35:39.137 So it was just me and Dr Lindsay that decided to go 732 00:35:39.220 --> 00:35:42.098 skate, and my dad came out with me. 733 00:35:42.181 --> 00:35:44.433 BRIAN: Watching him get dressed and slip that brace 734 00:35:44.517 --> 00:35:47.687 over his leg and that was hard for me to see. 735 00:35:47.812 --> 00:35:51.357 (♪♪♪) 736 00:35:51.482 --> 00:35:55.611 BRIAN: Because you know there's something wrong, but 737 00:35:55.695 --> 00:35:58.489 you know, he put his shin pads on and we just got dressed 738 00:35:58.614 --> 00:36:00.449 and we went out on the ice. 739 00:36:00.533 --> 00:36:01.659 CONNOR: It was something that I'll never forget. 740 00:36:01.742 --> 00:36:04.328 I didn't really know what it was gonna feel like, 741 00:36:04.412 --> 00:36:06.247 and I didn't know if it was gonna hurt. 742 00:36:06.330 --> 00:36:08.666 I didn't know if it was gonna, you know, I had the big 743 00:36:08.791 --> 00:36:11.919 brace on, so it wasn't gonna give out, but I don't know 744 00:36:12.003 --> 00:36:13.296 what it's gonna feel like. 745 00:36:13.379 --> 00:36:17.425 MARK: That was really a pivot point I think in the whole 746 00:36:17.508 --> 00:36:22.263 Summer, because at that moment he wasn't injured for a 747 00:36:22.346 --> 00:36:27.476 moment, he was just out there with his father. 748 00:36:27.560 --> 00:36:28.561 And he totally changed emotionally from that day. 749 00:36:28.686 --> 00:36:31.689 (♪♪♪) 750 00:36:31.814 --> 00:36:34.150 CONNOR: And then I get out there and it feels great. 751 00:36:34.233 --> 00:36:36.527 MAN: How good does that feel? 752 00:36:36.652 --> 00:36:38.779 CONNOR: Mark Lindsay's like, "Okay, don't do any 753 00:36:38.863 --> 00:36:40.364 stopping, don't do anything risky." 754 00:36:40.448 --> 00:36:49.123 (♪♪♪) 755 00:36:49.207 --> 00:36:50.541 CONNOR: And in my mind I'm like, I gotta get ready 756 00:36:50.666 --> 00:36:51.459 for opening day. 757 00:36:53.794 --> 00:36:55.630 I always do. 758 00:36:55.713 --> 00:37:04.639 (♪♪♪) 759 00:37:04.722 --> 00:37:06.682 CONNOR: Yeah, it was great. 760 00:37:06.766 --> 00:37:09.560 MARK: You could just see that his face changed. 761 00:37:09.685 --> 00:37:14.482 He started to smile and he started to laugh, and that was 762 00:37:14.565 --> 00:37:17.235 a really big moment. 763 00:37:17.318 --> 00:37:20.321 CONNOR: Just to know that even if this thing doesn't heal 764 00:37:20.404 --> 00:37:23.574 anymore, I'll wear this brace and I can still play. 765 00:37:23.658 --> 00:37:26.702 Obviously that wasn't the end goal, but it was still 766 00:37:26.786 --> 00:37:27.995 a special moment. 767 00:37:28.079 --> 00:37:34.001 (♪♪♪) 768 00:37:34.085 --> 00:37:36.337 MARK: And they would do it a couple times a week then once 769 00:37:36.420 --> 00:37:39.382 that first time he did it. 770 00:37:39.465 --> 00:37:40.883 KELLY: It was huge, yeah. 771 00:37:40.967 --> 00:37:43.135 BRIAN: I remember telling Kelly I was so excited just to 772 00:37:43.261 --> 00:37:44.011 be skating with him again. 773 00:37:44.095 --> 00:37:47.515 It was cool. 774 00:37:48.015 --> 00:37:49.433 GARY: He was skating, believe me, initially in the summer 775 00:37:49.517 --> 00:37:52.395 he wanted to skate, and was pushing to skate. 776 00:37:52.478 --> 00:37:55.940 I was crossing my fingers every day he went on the ice, 777 00:37:56.023 --> 00:38:00.444 and he'd be doing a drill out there that I thought was, you 778 00:38:00.569 --> 00:38:03.197 know, too excessive for where he was at, and I'd be standing 779 00:38:03.281 --> 00:38:06.701 on the boards looking at him going...no. 780 00:38:06.784 --> 00:38:08.202 (laughing) 781 00:38:08.911 --> 00:38:13.749 (puck clattering) 782 00:38:13.833 --> 00:38:17.920 KEN: The question certainly was on my mind. 783 00:38:18.004 --> 00:38:20.631 On one hand the athlete can come back. 784 00:38:20.756 --> 00:38:25.428 But where's the athlete in relation to where his 785 00:38:25.511 --> 00:38:28.389 performance had been in the past? 786 00:38:28.472 --> 00:38:30.641 CONNOR: It's one thing to be out there playing the game, 787 00:38:30.725 --> 00:38:34.145 but it's another to, you know, be doing it at a 788 00:38:34.228 --> 00:38:37.857 high level and at that I think I'm capable of. 789 00:38:37.982 --> 00:38:42.486 MARK: We started skating him with no brace, and so he would 790 00:38:42.611 --> 00:38:45.323 do hockey skating in the morning, and then he would 791 00:38:45.406 --> 00:38:49.452 do Tracy Wilson's, for edging. 792 00:38:49.535 --> 00:38:52.496 So what I mean by edging is his position on his skates 793 00:38:52.580 --> 00:38:57.877 in different transitions of movement. 794 00:38:58.794 --> 00:39:00.838 TRACY: I think it's really important that you put the 795 00:39:00.963 --> 00:39:03.674 athlete through a whole bunch of different movement so they 796 00:39:03.799 --> 00:39:07.595 gain that confidence, because it's always in the back of 797 00:39:07.678 --> 00:39:10.139 your mind when you undergo that kind of an injury with 798 00:39:10.222 --> 00:39:11.474 that kind of a pain. 799 00:39:11.557 --> 00:39:14.894 Any athlete is going to have that lack of confidence, 800 00:39:15.019 --> 00:39:17.730 and you want to eliminate that. 801 00:39:17.855 --> 00:39:20.900 You can't put your finger on one thing with Connor, because 802 00:39:21.025 --> 00:39:22.276 it isn't one thing. 803 00:39:22.360 --> 00:39:26.697 Physically he's a force, and his athleticism, but also 804 00:39:26.781 --> 00:39:31.035 his mindset and intensity, and he is a student. 805 00:39:31.535 --> 00:39:33.954 MARK: He was getting better and better with Tracy's 806 00:39:34.038 --> 00:39:36.207 edging and transitioning of movements. 807 00:39:36.290 --> 00:39:40.586 No pain, like really dramatic improvement, and I think 808 00:39:40.711 --> 00:39:43.923 that's where really it all started to come together then. 809 00:39:44.048 --> 00:39:46.842 (♪♪♪) 810 00:39:46.926 --> 00:39:49.053 KEN: Twice a week I'm getting video tapes sent to me from 811 00:39:49.136 --> 00:39:51.972 Mark Lindsay with Connor on the ice skating and they're 812 00:39:52.056 --> 00:39:53.391 taking pictures of him. 813 00:39:53.516 --> 00:39:55.393 They're taking, showing me pictures of him in the gym. 814 00:39:55.476 --> 00:39:58.896 Dr. Lindsay's talking about opening 815 00:39:59.021 --> 00:40:02.900 night's a possibility. 816 00:40:03.484 --> 00:40:04.527 LAWSON: I looked at my calendar and I said 817 00:40:04.610 --> 00:40:05.236 "Training camp?" 818 00:40:05.319 --> 00:40:06.404 and he said "Yep." 819 00:40:06.529 --> 00:40:08.072 And I said "okay, we've got work to do." 820 00:40:08.155 --> 00:40:39.353 (♪♪♪) 821 00:40:40.855 --> 00:40:42.606 CONNOR: Just focusing on my rehab and on the 822 00:40:42.690 --> 00:40:44.024 injury itself. 823 00:40:44.108 --> 00:40:45.943 It's tough to focus on anything else. 824 00:40:46.026 --> 00:40:48.362 It's coming back together and everything like that, but 825 00:40:48.446 --> 00:40:50.531 ultimately, you know, you don't want to come back too 826 00:40:50.614 --> 00:40:54.285 early and make sure that it's fully healed and you're not 827 00:40:54.368 --> 00:40:55.619 gonna get hurt again. 828 00:40:55.744 --> 00:40:57.788 KEN: Certainly when the Biosteel there's lots of 829 00:40:57.913 --> 00:41:00.040 questions and media are calling and they're starting 830 00:41:00.124 --> 00:41:03.043 to, then rumours start and but certainly internally there was 831 00:41:03.127 --> 00:41:05.671 a real comfort level. 832 00:41:05.796 --> 00:41:17.266 (♪♪♪) 833 00:41:17.349 --> 00:41:18.934 CONNOR: You know, you want to be healthy. 834 00:41:19.018 --> 00:41:20.144 I hate missing games, and so I was doing everything I could, 835 00:41:23.647 --> 00:41:26.984 make sure that that didn't have to happen. 836 00:41:27.067 --> 00:41:30.154 We say the ultimate goal is to win a championship, 837 00:41:30.237 --> 00:41:33.157 and obviously that's what I'm trying to do. 838 00:41:33.282 --> 00:41:36.619 Yeah, that's the main goal. 839 00:41:36.702 --> 00:41:39.914 DAVE: The biggest thing for me were the doctors finally 840 00:41:39.997 --> 00:41:43.834 getting comfortable with him pushing a little bit, and 841 00:41:43.959 --> 00:41:46.003 Connor getting on the ice and getting comfortable, and the 842 00:41:46.086 --> 00:41:49.048 more he was around his teammates, the more things 843 00:41:49.173 --> 00:41:52.510 he felt comfortable doing out there. 844 00:41:52.593 --> 00:41:55.554 DAVE: Really fight that center. 845 00:41:55.679 --> 00:41:57.181 You're way back, way back, way back. 846 00:41:57.306 --> 00:42:01.143 DAVE: When he first came, we were talking, I said "How many 847 00:42:01.227 --> 00:42:03.020 exhibition games you want?" 848 00:42:03.103 --> 00:42:03.896 He says "Seven." 849 00:42:04.021 --> 00:42:05.147 (laughing) 850 00:42:05.231 --> 00:42:06.357 We had seven. 851 00:42:06.482 --> 00:42:08.359 I said, "well, most veterans play four." 852 00:42:08.484 --> 00:42:11.070 "I gotta get going." 853 00:42:11.195 --> 00:42:15.074 (skates scraping) 854 00:42:15.199 --> 00:42:16.867 BOB: It was tough, because Connor wanted to play, 855 00:42:16.992 --> 00:42:18.118 you know? 856 00:42:18.202 --> 00:42:20.371 Connor wanted to get in and play the exhibition game. 857 00:42:20.454 --> 00:42:24.291 (♪♪♪) 858 00:42:24.375 --> 00:42:29.129 MIKE: I was just in awe of how fast this kid bounced back from 859 00:42:29.213 --> 00:42:31.215 a career-threatening injury. 860 00:42:31.298 --> 00:42:35.219 And how impressive the time he put in and the way his body 861 00:42:35.302 --> 00:42:38.681 responded was unlike anything I've ever seen. 862 00:42:38.764 --> 00:42:41.976 (♪♪♪) 863 00:42:42.059 --> 00:42:43.519 CONNOR: Yeah, I got two pre-season games in, 864 00:42:43.602 --> 00:42:46.230 and didn't feel that good at all. 865 00:42:46.313 --> 00:43:00.911 (♪♪♪) 866 00:43:00.995 --> 00:43:03.247 CONNOR: Like my first game all over again. 867 00:43:03.372 --> 00:43:05.749 I was nervous. 868 00:43:05.833 --> 00:43:09.420 (♪♪♪) 869 00:43:09.503 --> 00:43:14.258 CONNOR: I prepared, rehab wise, a ton. 870 00:43:14.341 --> 00:43:18.429 On ice wise was probably the least prepared I've ever been 871 00:43:18.554 --> 00:43:19.388 for an opening night. 872 00:43:19.471 --> 00:43:23.267 (♪♪♪) 873 00:43:23.350 --> 00:43:25.436 CONNOR: There's lots of questions about my own game. 874 00:43:25.519 --> 00:43:28.564 (♪♪♪) 875 00:43:28.647 --> 00:43:30.024 CONNOW: How am I gonna feel? 876 00:43:30.107 --> 00:43:31.984 How am I gonna play? 877 00:43:32.109 --> 00:43:36.822 (♪♪♪) 878 00:43:36.947 --> 00:43:40.993 KEN: Seeing him on opening night was, to have lived it 879 00:43:41.118 --> 00:43:46.123 from May 6 to October, to see where we had gone over the 880 00:43:46.248 --> 00:43:51.295 course of five months, really for me was incredible. 881 00:43:51.378 --> 00:44:02.765 (♪♪♪) 882 00:44:02.848 --> 00:44:04.475 ANNOUNCER: Picked up again by McDavid, straight up 883 00:44:04.558 --> 00:44:06.435 the middle, it's in, scores! 884 00:44:06.518 --> 00:44:08.646 What a goal! 885 00:44:08.729 --> 00:44:09.813 BRIAN: It was relief. 886 00:44:09.938 --> 00:44:12.316 I got pretty emotional actually when he scored. 887 00:44:12.399 --> 00:44:13.317 KELLY: So happy. 888 00:44:13.442 --> 00:44:15.861 Just so much excitement. 889 00:44:15.986 --> 00:44:17.154 BRIAN: Oh yes, you have no idea. 890 00:44:17.237 --> 00:44:18.656 You could see the relief coming out of him too with 891 00:44:18.739 --> 00:44:19.990 his reaction after he scored. 892 00:44:20.115 --> 00:44:23.702 If you watch, like he's, you know, he gets excited, and he 893 00:44:23.827 --> 00:44:26.288 reacts when he scores, but there was a different level 894 00:44:26.372 --> 00:44:30.042 in that one, you could tell. 895 00:44:30.167 --> 00:44:33.879 BOB: He's back, and Kenny goes "Wow, this is special." 896 00:44:34.004 --> 00:44:35.172 I say "Hey, wait. 897 00:44:35.255 --> 00:44:38.342 There's a lot more games coming." 898 00:44:38.425 --> 00:44:40.344 ANNOUNCER: Down the ice, and look at McDavid going after 899 00:44:40.427 --> 00:44:44.682 that area pass, what a change, what a goal! 900 00:44:44.807 --> 00:44:46.517 In front of McDavid, scores! 901 00:44:46.600 --> 00:44:50.854 Here's McDavid alone, scores! 902 00:44:50.979 --> 00:44:55.275 GARY: There's nobody that has done what Connor has done to 903 00:44:55.359 --> 00:44:59.988 rehabilitate himself back from a serious knee injury 904 00:45:00.072 --> 00:45:02.616 in that period of time. 905 00:45:02.700 --> 00:45:03.992 ANNOUNCER: Zips across the blue line, and with a shot 906 00:45:04.076 --> 00:45:05.953 he scores. 907 00:45:06.036 --> 00:45:08.872 Down the midline to present, here's McDavid, scores! 908 00:45:08.956 --> 00:45:11.041 It's answer time for the Oilers. 909 00:45:11.125 --> 00:45:13.794 MAN: It's incredible that not only did he will himself back, 910 00:45:13.877 --> 00:45:16.046 he willed himself back before the majority of people thought 911 00:45:16.130 --> 00:45:17.381 he would be back. 912 00:45:17.464 --> 00:45:22.219 (♪♪♪) 913 00:45:22.302 --> 00:45:23.887 ZACK: I don't think people realize all the work that he 914 00:45:24.012 --> 00:45:28.100 put into to not miss much time with the injury he had, 915 00:45:28.225 --> 00:45:31.103 so it just shows the type of character and determination 916 00:45:31.228 --> 00:45:32.020 that he had. 917 00:45:32.104 --> 00:45:40.070 (♪♪♪) 918 00:45:40.154 --> 00:45:40.571 MARK: Oh, absolutely. 919 00:45:41.905 --> 00:45:44.575 MAN: He's not a normal person, obviously. 920 00:45:44.658 --> 00:45:47.035 The difference in this rehab is he injured not just a 921 00:45:47.119 --> 00:45:50.914 ligament but, you know, all the tissues, and no one 922 00:45:51.039 --> 00:45:55.043 has really seen the PCL reattach to this level. 923 00:45:55.127 --> 00:45:57.755 (♪♪♪) 924 00:45:57.880 --> 00:46:00.007 ANNOUNCER: McDavid, McDavid drives his way, and here 925 00:46:00.090 --> 00:46:01.216 is Connor McDavid! 926 00:46:01.300 --> 00:46:03.010 Upstairs, what a goal! 927 00:46:03.093 --> 00:46:05.179 Wow. 928 00:46:05.262 --> 00:46:09.975 (♪♪♪) 929 00:46:10.100 --> 00:46:13.020 CONNOR: To think that if I'd done the surgery I'd for sure 930 00:46:13.103 --> 00:46:16.106 wouldn't be playing right now, it was a question whether or 931 00:46:16.231 --> 00:46:18.442 not I'd play before the new year, whether or not I'd 932 00:46:18.567 --> 00:46:19.860 play this year at all. 933 00:46:19.943 --> 00:46:22.988 In fact, I've been able to play 30 games and been able to 934 00:46:23.113 --> 00:46:26.950 play at a fairly high level and the team is doing well. 935 00:46:27.075 --> 00:46:29.077 I definitely feel very lucky and I'm excited for 936 00:46:29.161 --> 00:46:30.370 what's ahead. 937 00:46:30.454 --> 00:46:33.332 ANNOUNCER: McDavid, what a move! 938 00:46:33.457 --> 00:46:34.541 What a play! 939 00:46:34.625 --> 00:46:35.959 What a goal! 940 00:46:36.043 --> 00:46:37.461 (♪♪♪) 941 00:46:37.586 --> 00:46:40.214 ANNOUNCER: Connor McDavid! 942 00:46:40.297 --> 00:46:41.548 (♪♪♪) 943 00:46:41.632 --> 00:46:43.217 ♪ I'm going to another level. 944 00:46:43.300 --> 00:46:48.472 (♪♪♪) 945 00:46:48.555 --> 00:46:51.850 ♪ To another level. 946 00:46:51.975 --> 00:46:53.435 ♪ Let's go, let's go, let's go. ♪ 947 00:46:53.519 --> 00:46:56.146 CONNOR: Very lucky I have the group around me that I do. 948 00:46:56.230 --> 00:46:58.649 Definitely wouldn't be sitting here in this position 949 00:46:58.732 --> 00:46:59.983 without them. 950 00:47:00.067 --> 00:47:01.568 (♪♪♪) 951 00:47:01.652 --> 00:47:04.196 (♪♪♪)