Andrew Ladd getting surgery for his sports hernia this Friday

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This article was published 05/05/2015 (4050 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Jets captain Andrew Ladd is going under the knife this Friday in St. Louis.

Speaking on a media conference call Tuesday afternoon about his nomination for the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, Ladd revealed that the sports hernia injury he suffered during the regular season will require surgery. Ladd will meet with the surgeon on Thursday, so any indication as to a recovery timeline won’t be available until later in the week.

“I wanted to get the right guy to do it and sometimes you have to research it and figure out the guy who would be best to do it properly for the long term and the guy in St. Louis seemed like that guy,” said Ladd. “That’s how we came to that decision.”

Ladd is coming off a season in which he set a career high in points with 62, but spent a good chunk of the winter working through the pain of the sports hernia. As the season progressed he often skipped skates to rest the injury, but was still able to fight through to the end of the Jets playoff run.

The Messier Leadership Award nomination became official on Monday and sees Ladd nominated alongside Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks.

“It means a lot for different reasons,” said Ladd. “The two guys I’m nominated with I’ve played with and realized what they mean to their teams and to their communities and I know what they do on a daily basis as leaders. So, to be mentioned in the same group as them is quite an honour. And with Mark Messier having a hand in choosing the nominations is pretty special, too.”

In addition to what he did on the ice and as captain for the Jets, Ladd also partners with Special Olympics for a number of fundraisers and activities. Ladd’s uncle grew up with Down Syndrome and was heavily involved with Special Olympics and Ladd’s family fostered two young men with special needs.

“It’s just been a big part of my life,” said Ladd. “It’s close to my heart and it’s something I wanted to get involved with and when I got to Manitoba it was pretty easy to get involved and they’ve been great with allowing me to do a bunch of different things with them. I just think it’s such a great program and it gives people with special needs and outlet.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait