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Franzen taking radical approach to concussion recovery process |
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Before the real tests are to begin, Johan Franzen intends to discover how he grades out.
The Detroit Red Wings forward, who missed the final 49 regular-season and all seven playoff games last season while dealing with the effects of a concussion, is skating with a number of Red Wings and other NHL players at Joe Louis Arena and to him, every day is about seeing how far he can extend his body until it fights back.
“I just want to go as hard as I can the last couple of weeks before camp, really push it and see if I can take it,” Franzen explained. “My threshold is getting higher and higher every week. I try to listen to my body and push as hard as I can, but if I have a setback I kind of let off a little bit and then start from scratch again and see how much I can take.”
Concussed when hit by Edmonton Oilers forward Rob Klinkhammer in a Jan. 6 game, Franzen hasn’t played since, but he’s come a long way from the first couple of months following the injury, when he could barely make it out of bed without suffering headaches.
It’s great, especially being where I was there in mid-season,” Franzen said. “Not being able to get out of bed, it makes you think. It really makes you appreciate being able to do what we do.”
Franzen is deliberately punishing his body with intensive daily workouts that include on-ice sessions, off-ice training and plenty of work on the stationary bike to see if it will trigger the migraines that plagued him during the winter.
“I’ve had setbacks pretty much once a week when I’m going really, really hard at work and I have to go back to bed for the rest of the day,” admitted Franzen. “It’s four hours of working out, going on the ice, going biking, going full out, it kind of triggers it.”
Franzen acknowledged that his approach to recovery might not be what a doctor would prescribe. His theory is that if he can make it through arduous physical activity prior to training camp, then camp itself shouldn’t be as big a test of his mettle.
“It’s just grind days,” Franzen said. “Right now it’s more like getting really exhausted out there and see if you can take that. The main issue has been the exertion when I get really tired. That’s when my head has been shutting down.
“I don’t know if it’s smart or not, but I do that. I think if I can do that, I can get through a game, or 82 games, hopefully.
“Of course the next step is the battle level and getting hit. But the way I work out then is going to be different than it is now. It’s going to be shorter, more explosive. A game is going to be different and I think it’s going to be easier. You’re going to get bumped a lot and there’s the mental stuff, too, but physically it’s going to be easier than what I’ve been doing the last couple of weeks.”
During his recovery, the four-time 20-goal scorer, who’s missed 155 games due to injury since 2009, insisted retirement was never a thought he pondered.
“I haven’t been there yet, really, in my thoughts,” Franzen said. “It’s been so many tough years here the last 2-3 years with injuries, I just want to have a good year. I want to decide on my own when I quit.
“I’m excited to try to get back and to have a good year.”
Franzen, 35, also indicated that his family is fully supportive of his decision to return to the ice and to try and play again.
“They don’t want to see me the way I was before,” Franzen said. “I don’t think they want to see me grumpy. I think they’re happy to see me improving every day.
“They’re looking forward to seeing me play another year, or five.”
Watch It Go Up
Olympia Development of Michigan announced Wednesday the launch of a 24/7 live streaming webcam that will allow people worldwide to see real-time, rapid progress being made on construction of The District Detroit and the new Detroit Events Center.
A state-of-the-art camera will provide continuous live streaming video of the 12-acre events center construction site. The site includes the new Red Wings arena, as well as surrounding office and retail buildings, the Via and a public piazza. The development area is part of the larger District Detroit project that will connect downtown to Midtown.
The webcam is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at DistrictDetroit.com.
“Now hometown fans and supporters across the globe can see the incredible progress of this transformational development taking place right here in the heart of Detroit,” said Steve Marquardt, Vice President, Olympia Development of Michigan. “With mass excavation complete and concrete being poured on site right now, we are on track to open the new Detroit arena for the 2017 NHL season.”
In addition to the live stream, other new features include regular time-lapse and daily archives of images that provide the ability to look back on any selected date from the start of excavation. Rapid progress continues to be made on the construction site: concrete is being poured daily, and the first steel beams will be put in place in the fall.
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