Herald photo by Ian Martens
Lethbridge Hurricanes' Ryan Vandervlis, seen here in pre-season action last year, intends to return to the game one day. Vandervils was badly burned in a campfire accident June 15, 2018 that left him with burns on 50-60 per cent of his body.
Alberta Newspaper Group
Ryan Vandervlis wants to play hockey again.
For the first time since being badly burned in a campfire accident June 15 that left him with burns to 50 to 60 per cent of his body, the forward for the Lethbridge Hurricanes met with the media Thursday afternoon outside the team’s dressing room at the Enmax Centre.
The Canes start a home-and-home series with the Medicine Hat Tigers in Western Hockey League play starting tonight in Medicine Hat before the second game comes back to the Enmax Centre Saturday night at 7 p.m.
As the 20-year-old from Red Deer continues to make impressive progress in his recovery, Vandervlis said his goal is to one day return to the game.
“Obviously I want to be back on the ice and I want to be back playing,” he said. “There are some things I’m going to have to sort out medically, a lot of stuff that is still out of my control just with regards to how my body is going to heal. I’ve healed extremely well, a lot better than anyone at the Foothills (Hospital in Calgary) really thought that my body was going to heal. Its reacted very well to everything that they’ve tried and put me through. My goal is to be back playing.”
Last season, Vandervlis missed the majority of the season with a shoulder injury.
“Stuff like this really puts things in perspective. I think last year, being out of the lineup, I only played 19 games and my biggest motivation last year to get better was to be back playing. Obviously, it’s a very different injury, But that motivation hasn’t changed.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Vandervlis stood in front of a multitude of cameras and microphones for the first time since in the accident four months ago and gave upbeat update on his recovery.
“Obviously it’s been a bit of a process,” he said. “My strength is starting to come, my weight is starting to come back, my muscle mass is coming back and I’m feeling pretty good.
“I’ve learned more about the human anatomy than I ever thought I would, but my body has reacted really well to all the surgeries and everything the healthcare staff at Foothills has given me. So I’m extremely thankful for that and I feel really good.”
Vandervlis, who was initially placed in a medically-induced coma after the accident before being transferred to the Foothills Hospital burn unit, said he lost a lot of muscle mass with his injury.
“I lost about 30 pounds. So half the battle is just getting that weight back on. With a burn injury your metabolism kind of skyrockets and burns muscle mass versus fat. So half the battle is just getting your weight back up and keeping it there. So that’s been my biggest focus, getting some of my strength back and as my strength has come back I felt better and better every day. My mobility has gotten a lot better. Stretching is one of the key things because everywhere that I was burned, the skin and the scarring wants to tighten up. There’s a minimum of 40 or 45 minutes of good, solid stretching a day on top of the workouts that I’ve been doing.”
As his teammates filtered past the media scrum to get ready for practice, the Hurricanes forward noted the importantance of being around his teammates during the recovery process.
“They’ve been outstanding, they might biggest motivation to get back and be healthy,” said Vandervlis, whose teammate and friend, Hurricanes captain Jordy Bellerive, was also injured in the accident. “It was a bit of a different feeling coming back. There are five or six guys the team that I have only met once or twice in my life, just from previous years at camp. Its been different walking into the locker room in seeing some guys you’re not too familiar with. But even those guys and the guys I played with like Belly, (Ty) Prefontaine, Addy (Calen Addison) and Igor (Merezhko), they’ve been outstanding with their support. Anything they can do to help, they’re doing it. I’m very fortunate for that.”
The support and well wishes haven’t been confined to the Enmax Centre walls as Vandervlis spoke of the community support and fans offering well wishes.
“That means so, so much to me,”?he said. “I have support from the fans and the community and from my family and the players and from guys around the league that have reached out. Its been outstanding. I can’t express enough how much that means to me.”
Vandervlis joined his teammates on the ice for Wednesday’s practice.
Like everything else, the skating is coming along nicely.
“I was a little rusty the first time I stepped on the ice, but it doesn’t feel bad,” he said. “I’m actually very surprised at how well my body has reacted to a lot of the different stuff I’ve tried. Talking to healthcare professionals at Foothills, they’ve all said that a big part of it is just going to be muscle memory. So the more stuff I can do on a regular basis, the quicker my body will adapt and heal and feel more natural skating-wise. I guess I was a little rusty, but other than that I can’t complain too much.”
Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt was not only glad to have Vandervlis around, but to also ensure he has a spot on the team.
“He’ll be part of our organization and part of the group for this year, whatever that brings. I know we had lots of talks with him about wanting to continue to play and we are not going to restrict him in any way, shape or form. We’ll let him work through that process. He has certainly proven he’s got a long way to go, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. But we’re not going to harness him in any way in that regard. Let’s let it go a day at a time. He’s working out with the guys and doing extra work in other areas. But he certainly has some challenges in front of him.”
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