Braden Schneider’s recent upper-body injury has multiple layers to it that nobody knew about until Monday. 

Schneider underwent surgery on a torn labrum, an injury he’s been dealing with since the 2022-23 season. 

It was during the 2022-23 campaign when it began to bother him, but it wasn’t until the next year that he realized his labrum was torn. This season, the tear became more of an issue or as Schneider described it in his own words “pretty bad.”

It sounds worse than it actually was. Schneider was still able to play and he decided to hold up on the surgery in order to be available for the New York Rangers. 

“It's been probably two years since I've had the initial injury,” Schneider said. “It was something that we and the staff did a really good job at communicating and making sure that I was able to go and I wanted to go because we had a big run, and I wanted to be here for this year just because I knew we had a good team coming into this year… 

“It's something that they said I could play with for the rest of my playing career, but it puts me at more risk for other things down the road in my life and that it would be tougher to deal with.”

With the Rangers ultimately missing the playoffs, Schneider seized the opportunity to get the surgery now as he’ll have more time to recover and is still expected to be ready by the start of training camp. 

It’s a decision that was made to both help his career and long-term health. 

“It's something that I obviously was able to play through,” Schneider said about his injury. “There were times where it would hurt and it would be tougher than other days, but it's something that just given the circumstances of the way this year went, and having the time that we have now. 

“It's something that I wanted to get fixed to help prolong my career and play at a level where I can bring a bit more physicality to our team and things like that. So it's more something that I want to get done to make sure that I'm better for next year and for the rest of my time.”

The 23-year-old defenseman played 80 games and recorded six goals, 15 assists, and 21 points while averaging 17:52 minutes. 

Schneider could still do all the stuff he was previously doing on the ice before the injury, so that wasn’t necessarily a problem. 

However, it was his mentality that changed, which was a part of Schneider’s game that he was unwilling to compromise any longer. 

“It was definitely something that it was more so that you just think about, like you're hesitant,” said Schneider. “I think that I take a lot of pride in being a physical player. I feel like there were times where I’d aggravate it and there would be a string of games where I wasn’t as physical as I wanted to be or was a little hesitant with it.

“I think that was more the reason why I wanted to get it done so bad was because I didn't want to be dealing with that anymore. I knew that there could be more physicality to my game. I didn't think it took away from other things like puck handling, shooting felt fine, but it's something that I definitely was thinking about and it needed to get done.”

In terms of his recovery process, Schneider believes he’ll be out of his arm sling in four weeks, an additional four weeks to get his mobility back, and by the three month mark he should be cleared to skate. 

This surgery could be a pathway for Schneider to transform into an even more lethal defenseman down the road.

“I have no doubt that I'll be ready to go and more healthy than I've ever been,” Schneider said.