Alex Čiernik Excited To Be In Flyers Development Camp After Suffering Two Concussions
Alex Čiernik missed a significant portion of the 2023-24 season due to sustaining two concussions, but did everything in his power to recover properly so that he was fit to participate in the Philadelphia Flyers' development camp this year.
Megan DeRuchie-The Hockey News - Alex Čiernik Excited To Be In Flyers Development Camp After Suffering Two ConcussionsAlex Čiernik missed a significant portion of the 2023-24 season due to sustaining two concussions, but did everything in his power to recover properly so that he was fit to participate in the Philadelphia Flyers' development camp this year.
Čiernik described how difficult it was having to be sidelined, saying that "it was a little bit lonely and a little tough at times, but [I'm] just happy to be back here with the guys and get on the ice and work out and all that fun stuff."
It may be a bit surprising to learn that neither of Čiernik's concussions came from any huge hits—he describes them coming about from simply just landing the wrong way after some contact.
"It wasn't even a dirty hit or anything," he said. "It was just the way I landed. The second time was the same, so it wasn't even anything like a brutal hit, just unfortunate."
One concussion is already a major cause for concern, but the 19-year-old suffered a second one, which motivated him to take his recovery even more seriously to avoid any complications.
"After the second one, I had to be really careful," he said. "I communicated with the Flyers to make sure they knew everything and got advice from them because I think they have a lot of experience with this kind of stuff.
"I asked guys around here—the doctors and all the physio guys—[because] they have a lot of experience with head injuries and take all the advice I can get. Obviously my dad [former NHL player Ivan Čiernik] played for a long time and had some troubles with that too, and he knows guys who've had problems with that too, and he wants to make sure I don't try to be a hero."
Čiernik made sure he took it slow as he recovered, taking careful steps to not try and make the process go by any faster that it needed to.
"I waited until I could start to do exercise," he described. "[It took] about a month, and then I spent a month gradually doing more and more, like going on the ice, so it took about two months altogether before I did contact.
"The second time, I had to do it little step by little step because I guess the first time wasn't enough, so it was just making sure that I didn't do too much at a time and get any setbacks or anything. Just tried to do the right things."
It's natural to think that Čiernik would be a bit apprehensive about getting back on the ice after two head injuries, but he says he was able to comfortably get back to playing without any real fear.
"I thought I would, but when I got back after the second time, I didn't really think about it," he said. "I trusted that I did everything the right way and felt that my head was good, so it wasn't really a problem for me when I came back."
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