Wild's Foster shares his calming wisdom

Thomas Royea is 15 years old. He's only a sophomore in high school, so trust the hockey player when he says he wishes he hadn't broken his femur.

But one special thing came from it. "It's not every day a kid gets a call from an NHL player," Royea said.

Royea, who lives in the small northern Michigan town of Negaunee, is a diehard Detroit Red Wings fan, but he's now a Kurtis Foster fan for life.

On Tuesday, a very glum, achy and drowsy Royea picked up the phone and heard the upbeat voice of Foster, the Wild defenseman who's in the midst of proving that with hard work and determination, hockey players can return from breaking the biggest bone in the body.

Foster, who shattered his femur against the San Jose Sharks on March 19, 2008, is back with the Wild after a remarkable six-point, six-game, six-victory two-week conditioning stint with the Wild's American Hockey League affiliate, the Houston Aeros.

After an exhaustive 11-month rehab, Foster's comeback attempt is nearly complete as he patiently waits to crack the Wild's lineup, which might occur on the team's upcoming six-game road trip.

"I just wanted to put a smile on Tom's face because I know what I was like the first couple weeks," Foster said. "I was very down in the dumps, and to get a call from anybody was huge. I just wanted to make him realize he'll be OK and he can come back someday.

"He seemed like a pretty happy kid for what's going on with him. It's just nice to talk to a kid who's asking for a little bit of help. I tried to push him in the right direction."

Foster not only talked with Royea for 25 minutes, he gave the teenager his phone number and told him not to be afraid to call any time he has questions or wants to talk.

Royea was actually the second hockey player Foster talked to in a week. He was put in touch with Derrick LaPoint, a Florida Panthers draft pick and University of North Dakota defenseman who underwent surgery Feb. 16 after breaking his leg in a game against Minnesota State Mankato.

Like Foster, LaPoint had a rod and pins inserted.

"[LaPoint] was very anxious and very nervous, and it's funny," Foster said, "but the one question he asked was, 'Do you feel the metal in your leg?' I said, 'No, I don't feel it. Unless they're doing a deep tissue massage, you don't feel anything inside it.'

"If that's all the kid's worrying about, he's got a good mindset already."

On Feb. 17, Royea was checked during a midget (ages 15-17) game. His leg was stationary, and the left winger remembers his knee collapsing before falling straight down.

"I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't tell what was wrong," Royea said. "Then I tried to stand up and I fell again and then I knew something was really wrong. They helped me into the locker room, and when I took my shin guard off, my knee was on the right side of my leg.

"It was gnarly."

In excruciating pain, Royea was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent surgery the following afternoon to insert two screws into his broken femur. Royea wondered whether he'd play hockey again until he watched a number of features about Foster's comeback on YouTube.

"I watched Kurtis' rehabilitation and saw the hard work he put in, and I believe now that I'll play again, especially after he called me," Royea said. "He just said, 'Do what you can, make sure you take all the steps during the physical therapy, and don't take the easy way out.'"

Foster picked the perfect day to call, too. Royea had returned to school the day before, but, exhausted and in pain, he had to come home early. "I told him not to rush it and make sure you rest," Foster said.

Foster, 27, understands his comeback is inspiring to many. Nobody ever said so to his face, but some wondered if his career was over. So as he takes this final phase in his comeback, Foster hopes to continue making encouraging phone calls.

"After I broke my leg, I read the message boards and the blogs and read stories, and nobody really knew if I'd ever play again," Foster said. "Hopefully I show guys who have this happen to them from now on that you can come back.

"I've gotten lots of letters and e-mails from kids and parents that said I made them realize their injury wasn't as bad and they can flight through it to come back. It makes me feel good that everything I've been through and everything I've done can help somebody else out. Sometimes you just need to talk to somebody who's gone through it to really trust it'll be OK."