Misstep adds confidence in recovery

On the ice to help out for a TV show, Kurtis Foster stumbled and fell. That's when the injured Wild defenseman realized he's doing OK.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: November 17, 2008 - 2:49 PM

Print this story

WILD

Up next: 6 p.m. Tuesday at Pittsburgh

TV: VS. (830-AM)

More from Minnesota Wild

Wednesday will mark eight months since that devastating March night in San Jose, Calif., when Kurtis Foster slammed into the boards and broke his femur.

The Wild defenseman is still a long way from playing again, but every day provides further progress in his lengthy, grueling and often frustrating road back to the ice.

Take Saturday for instance.

Matt Blashaw, the host of Project Xtreme on the DIY Network, was in town to feature how an arena transforms from a hockey rink on Thursday to a Coldplay concert on Friday and back to a hockey rink on Saturday.

Foster went on the ice Saturday to show Blashaw a thing or two, and unknowingly took the next giant step in his recovery.

"I'm showing the guy how to hit and I bumped him pretty good, stumbled and actually fell," Foster said, still looking a little spooked. "I landed right on my knee for the first time. It kind of hurt for a second and then ... it went away."

Foster, who took a while on the ice before he realized he was fine, smiled wide.

"It gave me the feeling like, 'OK, it hurts and then it goes away. I'm not going to break it again,' " he said. "It was almost like another step in the comeback process where I felt, 'All right, I can do this.' When I do get back, there will be times I might feel it, but then it goes away."

Blashaw was delighted to help. "If I helped him in his pursuit of getting back into the NHL and starting to play, I'm glad I could be a part of it," Blashaw said.

Foster, who turns 27 next Monday, said every day is Groundhog Day, but it is that positive outlook that has gotten him this far. He was given further inspiration opening night when the Xcel Energy Center crowd gave him a spine-tingling ovation.

"I've had a lot of support through e-mails and Facebook and letters and people on the street," Foster said. "But that cheer meant so much. It just motivates you when people care that much."

Besides his taxing daily off-ice workouts, Foster skated five times last week for the first time at 30 to 40 minutes a shot. There are days that he is really sore, forcing him to skate lightly and only mess around with injured Marian Gaborik.

"I'd rather see Gaby on the ice with the guys, but at least there's somebody out there with me that I can pass pucks with and feel like I'm with the guys again," Foster said. "I'm probably skating at 60 percent. I can do every motion, I can do every turn. I'm just a little slow at everything. There's just not the power when I want to push. But [Friday] was the best I felt skating laps."

The biggest obstacle that Foster will have to tackle is getting over the fear of going into the corners or chasing down icings again. On Saturday, Foster had lunch with his sports psychologist, who was in town with the Portland Trail Blazers.

"Watching games, I still find myself wincing when guys are going back for pucks," he said.

Foster hopes to return after New Year's, and he raved about how positive and how much patience Wild GM Doug Risebrough, coach Jacques Lemaire and the rest of Lemaire's staff have shown him.

Eventually, Foster will probably have to go to AHL Houston for a rehab stint. "I'd rather make mistakes there than make them here," he said.

There is pressure on Foster to return, because he can become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The Wild re-signed him this year to give him motivation to rehab, but there's no guarantee it'll re-sign him again.

"In the back of my mind, I know it's my unrestricted year," Foster said. "Last year, things were starting to go so well, I was feeling confident that maybe I can sign here long-term and be here for a long time. Then this happened. So I want to get back and show everybody and this team that I can still play in this league."

Recent Minnesota Wild stories

Kiprusoff's 38 saves, Iginla's 2 goals give Calgary a 5-2 win over Maple Leafs - November 17, 2008

Kiprusoff's 38 saves, Iginla's 2 goals give Calgary a 5-2 win over Maple Leafs - Jarome Iginla scored two goals and Miikka Kiprusoff made 38 saves and the Calgary Flames earned a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. More