Dickinson's long journey back rewarding after gruesome injury

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Jan. 29, 2022 will be a date etched in Tanner Dickinson's mind forever.

But for all the wrong reasons.

Injuries are part of sport. Always have been, always will be. But for the St. Louis Blues' 2020 fourth-round pick in the NHL Draft, it was a day in which it could have ended the 21-year-old's dream of becoming an NHL player.

Playing for the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League, Dickinson broke his right femur in a 4-3 overtime win over the Barrie Colts. Everyone knew at the time the injury was serious, and it was.

He was using his speed to get to a puck in the offensive zone when he was shoved from behind by Barrie's Ethan Caldwell, and Dickinson collided with Barrie's Connor Punnett before crashing into the boards.

It all ended in a second, a play Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis at the time called, "a dirty hit."

It was the start of a long road back, both mentally and physically, one in which Dickinson didn't think he'd be able to push through.

At the time, Dickinson was having a very healthy, and positive, season for the Greyhounds with 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) that was derailed in a nanosecond, it seemed.

"It was tough mentally and physically," Dickinson said last Saturday at Blues prospect camp, which completed Tuesday. "There were a couple times where I didn't know if I'd be able to play again, which is pretty tough, but I stuck with it and did what they were telling me to do. It all worked out."

One surgery was inevitable, but a second surgery was needed, just when he thought the arduous road was already tough enough.

The thighbone, or the femur is the longest and strongest bone in the body, one which is important enough for daily human life, but for an athlete, it's of extreme importance.

The surgeries and recovery time forced Dickinson to miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season as well as the entire 2022-23 season.

"They ended up doing the surgery again because there was a non-union with the bone and stuff," Dickinson said. "Obviously that pushed it back and a big part of why I didn't get to play this year, but I'm just glad they figured it out so I could get to come back to playing, training and stuff like that."

The 6-foot-0, 169-pound center was back on the ice feeling good again for Blues prospect camp, hoping to get back on the rails after taking the utmost gut-wrenching derailments.

"It's been a long time since I've been in this environment again, so I'm just excited and I'm looking forward to competing with the guys here," Dickinson said.

But it wasn't easy. Management needed to encourage Dickinson, keep his spirits up knowing the road would be long, it would be difficult but the rainbow at the end would prove to be rewarding, as long as he followed the path.

"I have to give this kid kudos, Dickinson has been really good," Blues director of player personnel Tim Taylor said. "He had an injury, I think it was January 2022, had a rod put in his leg, come back and was getting all set and the growth wasn't there, so they had to re-do the surgery that really set him back mentally and physically and now you're looking at a year and a half later, he's been really, really good.

"... The thing is, we've broken up the monotony of his workouts being at home, going through his rehab. Those guys in (prospect coaches) Matt D'Agostini and Chris Thorburn have done a really good job of making sure that he's in the right spot all the time, that he's in the right frame of mind. It's been a long rehab. We'll say it's been short because we're not the people going through it. It's been a long road for him, but those guys really did a heck of a job."

They continued to encourage the young man and send him clips of when he was playing, and playing well, but what really kept Dickinson going more than anything?

Simple.

"Just my love for the game," he said. "I don't really want to do anything else. I just want to play. I think that was my most motivating factor.

"It's been over a year and a half. Just excited to be here and around everyone, all the staff and all the guys, just to compete with everyone.

"Obviously I want to make a mark. It's been a long time (since) anyone's been able to see me. I just want to show them that I'm a lot farther along than I should be and what they'd expect. I feel good. I feel probably just as good as I was before I got injured, if not a little better."

Dickinson's strength is is speed and the ability to play with and without the puck at both ends of the ice. Gaining that strength back, especially in the right leg, was imperative to accentuate the strengths he possesses.

"He's doing well," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "He had the leg injuries, the major surgeries. ... He wanted to come back and try and play, but this (past) year, we were like there's not enough to gain for what's at risk. He's doing really well skating, training.

"All indications are he's going to be at a couple rookie games this year that we're doing different. ... We started a three-team rotation with Chicago and Minnesota, so we're going to go to Minny next year. The home team will play on night one and three, The visiting teams will play on nights one and two or two and three. So we're going up to Minny for that. I'm excited about that. A little less stress on the players to get ready for camp. Three in four and four in five (games) was a lot to ask so I'm looking forward to that, but Dickinson himself is doing well."

If you think there will be mental hurdles with such a tough injury, there probably will be, but none to Dickinson's admission.

"I don't think that will be an issue," Dickinson said. "I'm just excited and I think the excitement is going to take over for me.

"I'm trying to change my mindset and be grateful what you have, because you never know if something like that will happen again. I'm just grateful to be here and looking forward to competing with everyone."

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Dickinson, who said the goal is to be in Springfield this season to play with the AHL's Thunderbirds, will be at main training camp in September and gladly will join. After having his career put on hold, he's refreshed and reinvigorated

"You have to put the work in, but mentally, it's a struggle for those guys, especially if you've never been hurt before," Taylor said. "He was supposed to turn pro last year (but) really a lot of setbacks. He had an opportunity to go back to the World Juniors and that got cut short too because of the injury.

"Chris Thorburn and Matt D'Agostini have done a great job with him. ... Trying to (show) him that there's light at the end of the tunnel, keep pushing your foot forward and keep doing the right things, and that's why I'm so happy to see where he's at today quite honestly. Last year was painful to watch him because he tried to do things and it was just too much pain for him and the discomfort. But to see where he is today and the speed he has and the strength that he has in his body, it's a year and a half later, he's worked towards this and he looks really, really good."