Thrashers' Esposito to have knee surgery Tuesday

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Angelo Esposito admits to having a ‘why me?’ moment.

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Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.com Thrashers prospect Angelo Esposito will undergo surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee Tuesday, his second such procedure in 10 months.

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That’s over now. There is work – more work -- to be done.

The 20-year-old Thrashers prospect will undergo surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee Tuesday, his second such procedure in 10 months. He then faces the same rehabilitation process he just completed.

“Yes,” Esposito said Monday when asked if he wondered why such misfortune has followed him. “There always is, but I’ve had so many ups and downs since I was 16. It’s just making me a better player. My family and myself believe that everything happens for a reason. So it happened and I just have to get stronger.

“[I’ve been] talking to friends and family. That’s what helps me move forward in this. It took me a few days there and now I’m feeling good. I came here and started working on my knee to make sure I get it strong before surgery and then I will do whatever it takes after surgery to get it even stronger.”

A former first-round pick acquired by the Thrashers in the Marian Hossa trade with Pittsburgh in 2008, Esposito was playing his first season for the team’s AHL affiliate in Chicago. He was returning from reconstructive surgery last February which prematurely ended his season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

In a game on Nov. 21, Esposito said his was simply rushing the net when his skate got stuck in the ice. His knee – that same right knee -- buckled.

Esposito said he felt pain but thought it was just a sprain. A MRI three days later revealed the bad news.

“You feel so bad for the kid,” Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said last week.

Esposito’s first phone call was to his parents. It was his father, he said, who calmed him down. He returned to Atlanta, where an examination by Thrashers doctors confirmed a second surgery was necessary.

“It’s not something that you want to go through all over again after you just went through it," Esposito said."It was pretty emotional.”

Esposito played in 12 games for Chicago with four assists.

“It was going all right,” Esposito said. “Obviously, coming back from an injury, it’s always tougher. I think it shows in any sport that you play. Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning [went through it]. At the start of the year it’s always tougher but it started to go well the last few games, which was a positive. I’ll just have to go through that again next year.”

Esposito’s first injury came at a time when he was just beginning to show why the Penguins picked him with 20th selection of the 2007 draft. He made Canada's Junior Team (on his fourth try) and won a gold medal at the 2009 Junior World Championships. He had three goals and an assist in six games, scoring a goal in Canada's 5-1 win over Sweden in the title game.

Moving on to the QMJHL last winter, he found his stride, recording 24 goals and 18 assists in 35 games for Montreal when, in a game on Feb. 11, he tore his ACL when another player fell on his leg.

“It is very disappointing," he said. "I went through it last year, but I was lucky because it was at the end of the season and it wasn’t as bad because I got to play most of the season. This year, it's at the start, which is a bummer."

Two such injuries will not derail his career, Esposito said.

“I’m still young,” he said. “I’m only 20 years old. I have a lot of time ahead of me. That’s a positive. After I get my surgery done, I just have to come back even stronger than I was last year. I know I can do it. I’ve got everyone supporting me so it makes it easier.”