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Report: Chris Pronger could miss training camp, may not be ready for season opener

Chris Pronger

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger laughs during a news conference on Sunday, May 30, 2010, in Chicago. Game 2 of the Stanley Cup hockey finals between the Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks is scheduled for Monday. The Blackhawks lead the series 1-0. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

AP

One of the after effects of the Philadelphia Flyers making it to the Stanley Cup finals is often having to deal with injuries suffered during the playoff run. Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger wasn’t immune to such perils and now is likely to miss training camp thanks to a knee injury initially suffered in the second round of the playoffs against the Bruins.

The Flyers said about a week ago Pronger underwent an outpatient surgical procedure on his knee, to remove some loose bodies from the area. The arthroscopic surgery showed there was no further damage to his knee, but the Flyers’ 35-year-old defenseman said he will not be completely healed by the time training camp begins, Sept. 17.

That contradicts general manager Paul Holmgren’s statement last week, that Pronger will, indeed, be completely healed by the time camp begins.

“No, I can tell you that much,” Pronger said, when asked whether he would be 100 percent when camp arrives. “With the amount of atrophy it is going to take a lot of hard work to build the leg muscles back up. Obviously, I will be spending a lot of hours in the gym trying to strengthen my knee and the rest of my body.

“A lot of times when you hurt your knee you walk different and you hurt your back or you hurt your other knee because you are loading that up more. It is really about your body becoming symmetrical again and you’re not over taxing any one part of your body.”

An older guy missing out on training camp isn’t anything too new. A lot of vets don’t mind getting the break early in the year like that because they’d rather be ready for the regular season and eventually the playoffs as well. Busting one’s hump in camp and in pre-season games isn’t any veteran’s idea of a good time, especially with training camp being as relatively short as it is. As for how it’ll affect him come the start of the season, Pronger’s not quite sure how that will play out.

“I hope to be in the lineup on October 7, but it is still very early on in the process to begin guessing on a timeframe,” Pronger said. “A lot can happen over the next few weeks and months, but absolutely that is one of the goals.”

Pronger said the injury impacted his play throughout the remainder of the playoffs. He cited his range of motion as am issue, saying it was “restricted,” and that his knee felt “tighter.”

Pronger was still a pretty damn good defenseman all things considered in the playoffs and perhaps the Blackhawks should be thankful that Pronger was as banged up as he was, otherwise they might not be carrying the Stanley Cup around all summer. Of course, suffering to try and win last year might hamper the start of this year and with the Flyers defense needing to be better in order to save goaltenders Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher a world of trouble, having Chris Pronger completely healthy is an absolute must for the Flyers. Coming off a Stanley Cup finals loss, however, getting bad news is tough to digest.