Miromanov is on a long-term conditioning stint with the Henderson Silver Knights, as he works his way back from ACL and meniscus surgery.

Daniil Miromanov knew what to expect after undergoing major knee surgery earlier this year.

He studied, researched and read books on the subject on returning from reconstructive knee surgery.

But even that couldn’t prepare him for the mental test that the process and journey was going to take him.

Even with the mental preparations and research he did, the thoughts of self-doubt still lingered. It’s only natural, Miromanov said, to have those enter his head.

“You can’t fight the demons every day in your head because it’s a time game,” he said of the recovery from ACL and meniscus surgery.

Miromanov admitted that he went through a few stages: disbelief, rejection, and then ultimately acceptance. Once he got to accepting that the injury was in his past, he immediately got on the journey back to playing.

“It's a life test to see what you're worth, to see what you're made out of,” he said. “You cultivate a lot of patience, a lot of a lot of mental toughness, a lot of grit, fortitude, self-belief and self-esteem.”

Aside from the mental aspects of recovering from his knee surgery, there was still the physical aspects he had to deal with.

The first step was learning how to walk again. Then use his leg in an athletic manner. Once those boxes were checked came the more difficult ones: skating.

First came the straight-line skating, then came the crossovers. Through it all were the trainers and the coaching staff, who worked with Miromanov through his rehabilitation process.

“I'm so grateful to have this organization and they have my back,” he said. “Those amazing trainers and coaches that were in the hallway with me, so I'm just really grateful.”

Miromanov skated in a red no-contact jersey for a handful of practices before moving into a full-contact jersey Jan. 17.

The team assigned him to the Henderson Silver Knights on Jan. 23 for a long-term conditioning loan to help him get back into playing shape.

He’s appeared in three games thus far for Henderson, scoring a goal with two assists.

The games were his first game action since March 31, 2023.

“Overall for Miro to come back and play the minutes he played against good teams, high-level teams in our league in our division, it should be a real positive weekend,” Henderson coach Ryan Craig said. “He'll take some time to recover, and we'll see what goes on with him.”

Miromanov was disappointed the team lost all three games with him in the lineup, but said he felt good physically and knows that the process of getting back into game shape will take a little bit of time.

“I'd say I feel better than it was before. It's kind of a process,” Miromanov said. “For those athletes that I've read and research, I understood that. It's going to come – that feeling, that understanding of, OK, you're good.’

“It's a step by step on the ice. You tit ake hit by hit. You'll go through so many drills and then every single day you're able to trust your instincts more and be able to trust your body every single day.

Through it all, Miromanov is grateful that he will be able to continue his career and gained a deeper appreciation for the finite nature of being a professional athlete.

“When you have those injuries, when you're away from the game for a really long time, you just appreciate the game from a different level. You have so much appreciation and gratitude every single day that you put on the skates to play this game,” he said. “That’s pretty much how it’s been.”

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