In an exclusive interview with The Hockey News' Kristy Flannery, New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler discusses his concussion and recovery.
In an exclusive interview with The Hockey News' Kristy Flannery, New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler discusses his concussion and recovery.
On March 11, the New Jersey Devils played the New York Rangers in front of tens of thousands of fans at Madison Square Garden.
In the waning seconds of the middle frame, New Jersey was trailing New York 2-0. Devils' defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler skated toward the red line and shot the puck up ice to get it deep in the offensive zone.
At that moment, the 26-year-old saw 6-foot-7 Matt Rempe skating toward him and was ready to take the hit. As prepared as he was for the hit, he was not ready for Rempe's elbow to come up and make contact with his head.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXYCwlP1H9A[/embed]
The result?
Rempe was given a four-game suspension, and Siegenthaler was diagnosed with a concussion that consequently cost him nine games.
Recently, the blueliner discussed his concussion and recovery in an exclusive interview with Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News.
"The first couple of days, I did not do a lot," he said. "The goal was not to exhaust the body too much, so I had to be careful. I couldn't walk around that much. I basically had to stay at home for most of the time."
Siegenthaler did experience some headaches, and when he eventually ventured out, he made sure to avoid crowded or loud places and instead opted to walk near the waterfront.
When it comes to any player's recovery, it is a step-by-step process to get back to the ice. In Siegenthaler's case, his first step was cardio.
"First, you start off with biking and doing some cardio," he explained. "If that is fine, you can start working out, but obviously, it (starts) slowly and ramps up. Then you start skating."
The defenseman shared that he was off the ice for a week and a half.
The first time he stepped onto the ice, he immediately noticed he had difficulties with his eyes and, to start, did not skate for long periods.
"Stepping out into the rink, everything is so bright. I had some trouble with that."
In addition to getting accustomed to the light sensitivity he was dealing with, Siegenthaler felt something was off when he looked side to side.
"When I looked from left to right, I felt that my vision was a little bit behind."
He worked his way through it and eventually returned to the ice on April 2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing close to 18 minutes. Siegenthaler shared that it took a couple of games to get up to speed and that playing the game helped his eyes improve.
He appeared in 57 games this season and earned nine points (one goal, eight assists). He additionally missed time in January when he broke his foot against the Vancouver Canucks.
Siegenthaler spoke about the unknowns and differences between his recoveries this season.
"You know your foot is going to be healed in a certain amount of time, and after that, you should not have any problems with it," he said. "I knew my fracture was pretty clean. I knew I should be ready in six or seven weeks."
"With a concussion, you never know," he continued. "Every concussion is different, and every human is different. In the end, you can't really tell what timeframe you're going to miss. Some guys need a longer (amount of time), and some guys don't need that long. Then there are the other parts that come together as well, with your eyes and neck."
Siegenthaler said he currently feels fine and, with the season over, will head home to picturesque Switzerland to train with his conditioning coach.
He told Devils media that he is in discussion with his National Team to participate in the IIHF Men's World Championship, which will take place in Prague and Ostrava starting on May 10.