Gabriel Landeskog has been out on injury from the National Hockey League (NHL) since his win as captain in the 2022 Stanley Cup Championship.
After 1,020 days, Landeskog makes his return to professional hockey with the Colorado Avalanches affiliated American Hockey League (AHL) team, the Colorado Eagles. But what happened during all those days to lead him to this point?
Landeskog recently decided to tell his story in a docuseries, for his children to watch one day and to explain his experience.
Landeskog was drafted second overall by the Colorado Avalanches in 2011. As a rookie, he felt he had something to prove coming into the league. He ended up with 52 points in his first season with 22 goals with 30 assists, and was tied with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for first in the league in points as a rookie. In his second season in Colorado he was made captain of the team and was the youngest reigning captain at the time in the NHL.
In a 2020 playoff game against the Dallas Stars, Landeskog was cut with a fellow teammate's skate. He was unaware that this was the cause of the pain in his knee. Once doctors discovered the problem, he decided to keep skating through pain for the chance to lift the Stanley Cup.
Post Stanley Cup and in May of 2023, Landeskog underwent a cartilage transplant for his knee injury, and was cleared to start skating again later in the year. After a week of skating he had a sharp pain in his knee. A diagnostic ultrasound found there was a slight tear to his patellar tendon. Despite the upsetting setback, he changed his outlook and focused on what he could control by channeling his energy into his family, rehab and training.
The documentary breaks down journal entries written throughout his process of surgeries, down-time and rehab. It does a great job of prioritizing an understanding of his thought process towards the injury, not just what happened and when. Landeskog did feel uncomfortable reading through his journals for the documentary but knew his perception during this time might be able to help someone going through something similar.
Other NHL stars, including Nathan MacKinnon and Steven Stamkos, are featured in the documentary, sharing their opinions of Landeskog’s skill level on the ice and his leadership abilities. This docuseries also allows viewers to see Landeskog’s support system and life off the ice. His inspiration is his family; they are what keeps him going and drives his motivation when he does want to give up on post-surgery training. He credits his wife and kids for being there when he needed them the most.
Episodes three through five show the many setbacks, which he deems lessons, that he had with rehabbing his knee and getting back to professional hockey standards. There were many times where he felt good, and then one day would feel pain again in his knee and felt helpless. Landeskog shared in the documentary that there were a few times he considered retirement after the many issues ensued post-surgery.
A part that I specifically loved about the documentary was when one of his trainers shared his point of view on his post-surgery training. Dr. Matt Jordan, player health and performance scientist, from University of Calgary, shared his respect and admiration for the way he has handled this situation. He also shared that Landeskog is much farther along than almost anyone else would be in his journey with this specific surgery. This really allowed the viewer to understand the level he operates at, but also his perfectionism.
Another key moment during the series is after traveling with the team and sharing in some of the teams pre-game rituals how much he misses just the mundane activities about hockey. He reflects on his identity and relationship with hockey.
“I miss every single aspect of it. And I don't miss it because it's who I am or what I do, I miss it because I love it,” he said.
It is a powerful moment, of a connection between someone who found their passion and having to be held back from it. How do you find meaning in this time? This moment also points out a cliche, you can't enjoy something until you don't have it anymore. The documentary is super great for scenes like these where you really get to see how he feels through every step, rather than a play-by-play of the events that occurred.
This documentary makes you think: How does someone handle the juxtaposition of the best day of his career, winning the Stanley Cup, also causing him more tread to his knee now no longer allowing him to play at the highest level?
He welcomes the feelings, despite it being hard in the beginning.
The story shows the power of how you handle hard times. Landeskog’s reaction to his situation is what proves him to be an amazing hockey player - when things are not going his way he still works just as hard as when he was healthy and playing in the NHL. It also shows the power your mentality has when your physical health is lacking. The power of hard work is what has gotten him this far and will allow him to get back where he wants and needs to be.
If you are interested in watching the full series, all episodes have been released on TNT and TruTV.
The opinions desk can be reached at opinions@ubspectrum.com
