Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is used to wowing fans on the ice. But in his latest documentary “Whatever It Takes”, he wowed us off the ice too.
Whatever It Takes gives hockey fans around the NHL an inside look into Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid‘s injury last April.
McDavid suffered a brutal injury on April 6th, 2019. The injury could have derailed his career. He was faced with a very difficult decision. Surgery was needed right away and it went without saying that rehabbing was going to take some time.
Connor made it clear that he wanted to be ready to go for training camp. His rehab was going to require 1000 hours. In order to meet his goal, he was going to need to give five and a half hours a day, five hours a week. That’s a whole new level of commitment.
Many of us struggle to make it through twenty minutes on the treadmill. The mental strength it must take to commit to that regiment is something I will never be able to comprehend.
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It was never a question of if McDavid would come back but rather when. Recovering from that severe of an injury on a timeline that strict seems impossible. How can anyone, let alone someone who is in insane shape, recover in a matter of months?
Was it irresponsible for the doctor to give him a hard yes on his timetable?
As much as I appreciated seeing the greatest hockey player of my generation make a comeback, I had to take a step back. I
t’s a double-edged sword…
It felt like it was sending the wrong message. Players play through injuries well into the playoffs and they’re dubbed heroes. Player safety is never a top concern for the league or the team. It doesn’t take a genius to lie and say they aren’t dizzy and feel like they’re ready to be on the ice again.
Rushing an athlete back due to their strict self imposed timetable is irresponsible. It doesn’t seem right to push anyone to five and a half hours of rehab after a traumatic injury. Then again, what else is he going to do? Sit around and watch re-runs of The Office?
After watching the documentary and watching fan reactions, I think the conversation is, “Was this irresponsible of medical professionals to push him to his limits? Or does this go to show that Connor McDavid is not human?”