The Arrogant Worms Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Kuzma: Andrew Alberts' career looks done and his suffering still lingers 15 months after severe concussion, symptoms remain and career is likely over By Ben Kuzma, The Province March 8, 2015 10:38 AM Defenceman Andrew Alberts, right, gets slammed into the boards by Brian McGrattan on Dec. 29, 2013. It was Alberts' last game. Photograph by: The Canadian Press Files , The Province As a professional athlete, Andrew Alberts knew it was imperative to keep moving forward and not dwell on wins or losses. There was always another game to play, and remaining positive was of paramount importance. Alberts remains positive in an emotional 15-month struggle with severe post-concussion syndrome, but there are no more games for the former Vancouver Canucks defenceman to play. Despite treatment from specialists and seeing wavering improvements, the unrestricted free agent continues to suffer headaches after being drilled from behind and taking a forearm to the head from Brian McGrattan in Calgary on Dec. 29, 2013. The sickening sideboards attack knocked Alberts unconscious before he hit the ice and ended his season and his career. McGrattan was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct, but there was no supplemental discipline. While that lack of justice remains a sore point for the 33-year-old Alberts - he suggests an independent arbitrator should weigh the facts and not the participants for additional discipline - saying goodbye to the NHL after 459 regular season and 31 playoff games with the Canucks, Hurricanes, Flyers and Bruins is a mental strain that will take a long time to subside for the Eden Prairie, Minn., native. "You think about it, but the only position I'll be playing is a lot of goaltender for my little guy (Jackson)," Alberts said following a recent treatment with noted therapist John Pallof of Mike Boyle Strength Conditioning in Boston, at the recommendation of former teammate Cory Schneider. "I don't see myself going back to play. An injury like this, I don't even think it's worth it, and to tell you the truth, I don't want to get hit again and have to go through this again and have my whole family go through this again. "As much as I hate the fact that somebody else took my opportunity to play away - and as frustrating as that is - I can't go back. I can't see it. It's just too risky. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be sitting here 15 months after it (concussion). "I haven't watched any hockey. I pay attention to the Canucks a little bit and check the boxscores, and always hope they're doing well." For Alberts, doing well now means trying to enjoy life away from the game with his wife, Kelly, and their son. While Alberts would entertain a scouting offer at the college or NHL level to re-connect at some point - perhaps in hockey-mad Minnesota - all his energy is devoted to clearing his head of aches and pains that are attributed to the blow and the damage it caused his neck. "That was one of the first things he noticed when John saw me," Alberts said of his first of 10 treatments with Pallof in December. "My neck flexion left and right and going down to my chest is minimal. We worked on that first, getting my flexibility back and my neck moving correctly. You start with that as a base. "I had started to have some relief from the headaches. But I haven't worked out in two or three months because no matter what I did, I was getting headaches with any movement. And I started having headaches again the last few weeks and that's frustrating. "With me, it's kind of a unique situation. You see different doctors and they say you still have a concussion and some say it's "I don't see myself going back to play. An injury like this, I don't even think it's worth it, and to tell you the truth, I don't want to get hit again and have to go through this again and have my whole family go through this again. "As much as I hate the fact that somebody else took my opportunity to play away - and as frustrating as that is - I can't go back. I can't see it. It's just too risky. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be sitting here 15 months after it (concussion). "I haven't watched any hockey. I pay attention to the Canucks a little bit and check the boxscores, and always hope they're doing well." For Alberts, doing well now means trying to enjoy life away from the game with his wife, Kelly, and their son. While Alberts would entertain a scouting offer at the college or NHL level to re-connect at some point - perhaps in hockey-mad Minnesota - all his energy is devoted to clearing his head of aches and pains that are attributed to the blow and the damage it caused his neck. "That was one of the first things he noticed when John saw me," Alberts said of his first of 10 treatments with Pallof in December. "My neck flexion left and right and going down to my chest is minimal. We worked on that first, getting my flexibility back and my neck moving correctly. You start with that as a base. "I had started to have some relief from the headaches. But I haven't worked out in two or three months because no matter what I did, I was getting headaches with any movement. And I started having headaches again the last few weeks and that's frustrating. "With me, it's kind of a unique situation. You see different doctors and they say you still have a concussion and some say it's post-concussion and some say it's the neck. "You're not really sure what to believe. The only thing I know is whatever helps me, I'm going to keep doing it." Alberts has had three concussions during his nine-year NHL career and two of them were severe. In 2008, he missed half a season, and repeated blows to the head or whiplash can extend the recovery time. Some players return in a week, some in a month while others never return. While most specialists advocate complete rest and inactivity to start the post-concussion healing process to address sensitivity to light, dizziness, headaches, vomiting, mood swings and depression, others suggest a more aggressive approach. There is brainwave optimization through a series of sensors attached to the head - much like an EKG to assess the heart - and it reads the electrical output of the brain. It creates a map to show how the brain is functioning and with a concussion that program gets scrambled. The activity is read and fed back to the brain to create a mirror feedback. The process allows the brain to adjust everything - physiology, chemistry, behaviour and muscles - through musical tones. It's something in practise at the Valentus Clinic in Oak Bay and Vancouver and it has piqued Alberts' interest. "I need help," stressed Alberts. "It's been a frustrating journey because nobody has the right answer. Everyone is different. And every single case is different and how you treat it, whether it's rest, and there's no secret guideline to follow." That's the mystery of post-concussion syndrome. You can feel good for a few days and then have a setback. Chris Tanev absorbed a couple of heavy hits Feb. 3 against Winnipeg - including an end-boards upperbody collision with Adam Lowry - and the Canucks defenceman missed two games before returning Feb. 9 in Minnesota. Tanev then slid into the goalpost in Calgary on Feb. 14 and struck the back of his head, but finished the game on adrenalin. He hasn't played since and you wonder about a Lowry collision being related to the severity of the goalpost impact and timing affecting his recovery. "I don't know for sure - but they very well could have," said Tanev. "You never know with these things.I felt good when I came back in Minnesota, and it's just the usual things with a head injury that you don't want to take lightly. You proceed with caution." Alberts also believes there should be a better path for the NHL to follow in determining supplemental discipline. To him, there are mixed messages when an incident involves a star player as opposed to a grinder and depth defenceman involved in a collision that targets the head and should be reviewed. "A big strong guy and another big strong guy and somebody got hurt," said Alberts. "The way the league is run, I think they need an independent arbitrator who just looks at the facts and doesn't know the players. You just go by what happened with the hit and the very least of it all, they couldn't identify where I got hit. You should have seen my face after the hit. "I could have shown you where I got it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuongo Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Poor guy, Wish all the best for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 Percent Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I wish all the best for alberts. He was never a Norris candidate but he was a staple in the top 6 for me while he was here. Met him once. Super nice guy. Sad to see this happen to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Mind Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 It's sickening that McGratton got away with that scott-free. Wish Alberts all the best. Hope he can make a full recovery and live a normal life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatedkid666 Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 So sad. Wish him best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webster6 Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Sucks to hear his career is over, I wish the best for Alberts. Also, what's with the weird lookin' kid with electric blue lips. Kinda creeped me out. Honestly not sure if it's male or female either.. Also fk McGrattan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Maybe this was one reason Torts went postal?..Had to protecct his team?? You think about it, in games(that very month) that we fought back, we'd get SEVEN MINUTE TWO-MAN DISADVANTAGES(can't believe had to type that, & never will). Meanwhile, our larger players were getting mowed down, & rivals maybe getting a 2 min Grecian Formula minor. At that time (14/15 mos back) I was hopping-mad too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whale Tail Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Sad to hear. He was a stand up guy and drama free. Didn`t complain and make a scene if he was the extra man on the bench but showed up to play when he was called on. Maybe guys like Alberts should be hired by the NHL Department of Player Safety instead of players like Pronger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillipBlunt Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Thanks for posting this. Alberts was robbed of his livelihood not only by that idiot Brian McGrattan, but by an ignorant and selfish league that looks at the players as a commodity and not people. My only hope is that Andrew eventually finds respite from the pain and that McGrattan gets his comeuppance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdeath Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 He should sue McGrattan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 He got to make a living doing what he loved. I just hope McGrattan didn't rob of his quality of life for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattrek Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 It's an absolute joke there was no supplemental discipline on that hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuck_forever Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Makes it worse that it was McGratton. Best of luck to you Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoted Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 It's an absolute joke there was no supplemental discipline on that hit. As much as that seems unfair, no matter what the discipline was, Alberts would still be where he is. That's the tragedy of that kind of play. Hopefully he is able to move on with a decent quality of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuckin_futz Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 The fact that McGratton has never even texted Alberts an apology tells you all you need to know about his character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter.S-Kerouac Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 There was a big in depth article on this a couple months ago too. Did his condition change? How many writers does it take to say the same stuff? I Hope Alberts has a full recovery and I wish him and his family well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Arrogant Worms Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 There was a big in depth article on this a couple months ago too. Did his condition change? How many writers does it take to say the same stuff? I Hope Alberts has a full recovery and I wish him and his family well. Yes there was...a few new things and more current though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gross-Misconduct Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Heard him interviewed on TSN 1040 a few weeks back. He sounded very down and not in a good place. A shame for anyone to have to go through this. I hope nothing but the best for Andrew and his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nurf Herder Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 That's too bad.. I liked Alberts - good bottom pairing, cleared the net and stood up for teammates. Hope he can get through this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam126 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 This league needs to treat everyone equally. I was very disgusted that the league did nothing to solve this and I still am today. Wish Alberts only the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.