Slater hopes dark days behind him
Veteran centre has endured run of bad luck over last several seasons
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/09/2014 (4024 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
You’ll forgive Jim Slater if he gives a wide berth to black cats these days.
The Winnipeg Jets centre has been a magnet for bad luck for most of the last four years. Due to injuries, only one of those years has been anything close to normal.
To start 2014-15, the 31-year-old Michigander is on the verge of restarting his career — again — now that he expects to be cleared to play after having hip surgery at the end of May.
That was the conclusion of a season to forget, when Slater was absent so much he nearly became a mystery player.
He left the lineup after Game 8 to have sports hernia surgery, which cost him 52 games, then managed to play 19 of the last 22 before leaving the season finale with the hip complications. His total production on the year was almost non-existent, one goal and one assist.
Prior to that, Slater missed more than half the season prior to relocation with concussion issues, then missed nearly half the lockout season with a broken hand.
Tuesday, after another full day of participation at training camp, Slater was preaching positive thinking, while remembering how far he’s come from his most recent rehabilitation.
“I’m feeling better than I was for sure,” he said. “There were some dark days in the summer for sure. Just going through that rehab, this thing, I’ve put a lot of time and effort into getting this thing back.
“Right now I’m just trying to control what I can control and that’s coming out here and knowing that I put the work in during the summer and I don’t have any regrets that I should have done this or that.
“I did everything I could to get back and that’s what I feel good about. I do feel good and I’m excited and ready. I’m glad I can put the pain of last year both physically and mentally behind me.”
Slater said he has not been cleared for a pre-season game yet, but expects team doctors are on the verge of giving him the green light.
Even Jets coach Paul Maurice was optimistic, believing Slater will get into Saturday’s pre-season game in St. Paul, Minn.
“It was 16 weeks last week and that was the timetable for full contact,” Slater said. “I feel really good on the ice. I’ve participated in every day so far, the bag skates, the testing and that all feels good.
“Obviously the game’s a different story when you get into it and that’s why you play these pre-season games. It’ll be good for me to get back in.”
‘I do feel good and I’m excited and ready. I’m glad I can put the pain of last year both physically and mentally behind me’
— Jim Slater
When he does get into a pre-season game, he admits there will be many items on his mind.
“You obviously want to get into the physical part of it first to make sure this thing holds up,” he said. “You want to get into some scrums, into some competition in the corners, that’s a big thing for me.
“And defensive zone, stopping and starting real quick. That’s a big thing for me. And obviously getting systems down. When the season comes around, I want to have in my mind that I’m not thinking, just reacting to the play, knowing I’m in the right place.”
While Slater’s been focused on rebuilding his health, the Jets have quietly assembled an interesting collection of those auditioning for a job on the third line and probably more than one on the fourth.
It’s unknown if the job as the team’s regular fourth-line centre is secure but his experience — he passed the career 500-game mark late last season — has to count for something.
“I’m just controlling what I can control,” Slater said. “I know what I bring to this team. I’ve brought it for nine years now and my game’s not going to change. I’m getting too old for my game to change. I know what I bring to this team and I know I can help this team win. What happens, happens. That’s the coach’s and GM’s call. I’m just going out there to play team-first style of hockey like I always do, and just bring it.”
tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca
