Blackhawks forwards Emotional Road To Recovery From Complications Of A Surgery

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Joshua Deeds
October 23, 2023 (6:57 PM)

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As a result of his Sports Hernia Surgery on March 22nd, Colin Blackwell has a long road back to the ice ahead of him.

A 12-week recovery period was expected, but Blackwell suffered complications during training camp.

"The summer kind of sucked. It's been a long, long road and not many ups but a lot of downs."

#Blackhawks' Colin Blackwell gets emotional when opening up about recovery process from sports hernia surgery:

It took Blackwell 7 months to get back to the NHL and only recently has he started feeling like himself again.

"To be honest with you, I haven't really thought that far ahead or anything along those lines," Blackwell said. "Like I said, I took my dog for a walk this morning and I felt good. I was without walking and not taking anti-inflammatory stuff and stuff along those lines. I feel as close to myself as I remember, what I used to be.

"I look around the room. I mean, it's been a month since I've played hockey, and everybody else here got a summer and then got a training camp and then six games so far. I'm a realist, I'm pretty behind schedule, but at the same time, I'm a gamer. So whenever I get thrown in there, or if I get that opportunity, I'll be ready."

The long road to recovery was exacerbated by Blackwell's marriage over the summer.

Thankfully, his wife and the Blackhawks have been a huge support system.

Colin Blackwell got choked up when talking about his wife, family and teammates, all of whom he leaned on heavily while recovering from injury that stemmed from hernia surgery: «It's been pretty draining, to be quite honest with you. They've been unreal.» #Blackhawks

The team's Luke Richardson says that Blackwell is an emotionally driven player who leaves everything on the ice. He was frustrated after all he went through to be healthy again, only to suffer after surgery.

"He's an emotional player, even more than some guys are," Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson said. "He puts everything in on the ice. Putting all that work in on the offseason and maybe not feeling great. ... When you get something surgically fixed or repaired, then you're always thinking that you're going to be perfect. But it takes a lot to come back, for a body to recover, especially a pro athlete level.

As of now, Blackwell is taking things day by day and acknowledges he may not be ready to return to the ice just yet. Even though he has suffered setbacks, he acknowledges that when he gets the chance to get back in the game, he will be ready.