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Summer Of Therapy Eases Yzerman's Pain - September 16, 2003 - Volume 57, Issue 3 - Nicholas J. Cotsonika

Steve Yzerman is as eager as anyone to see how he does when the Red Wings open training camp.

“I’m hoping I’ll be better this year,” Yzerman said. “The added time off over the summer and working pretty hard, I expect to be able to do more…If I can’t do more, I might have to re-evaluate things.”

Last summer, Yzerman had radical surgery on his right knee, limiting him to two goals and eight points in 16 regular season games and one assist in four playoff games - and he turned 38.

But because everything ended so early for the Wings - Anaheim eliminated them April 16 - he suffered less wear-and-tear on the joint and started training May 1.

“Summer went good,” Yzerman said. “The exercises that I do, I can really go all out. I assume I’ll just participate as normal in camp, see how I feel, I guess, and go from there.”

ROOKIES TO WATCH The Wings hoped Igor Grigorenko would give them a boost up front, as Henrik Zetterberg did last season and Pavel Datsyuk did in 2001-02. But Grigorenko suffered serious injuries in a car accident, so they’ve turned to the skilled-but-small Jiri Hudler. Opportunities are available at center.

“He has played very, very well in Europe, but he’s 19 years old,” said GM Ken Holland. “He’s a very young player. Our biggest concern is that he plays. I’m not going to be satisfied if he’s good enough to be on the roster, but he’s not good enough to play.”