Valabik: Ankle injury "kills me"

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Boris Valabik knew it right away.

The Thrashers defenseman was all too aware of the pain involved with a high ankle sprain. So when he caught a blade and fell during practice Oct. 5 he already knew the diagnosis.

Valabik had surgery two days later. A metal pin was used to attach the tendon in his left ankle to the bone. The physical pain is bad enough. The mental anguish is tougher still.

"What kills me is all that hard work in the summer, " Valabik said Wednesday, wearing a walking boot and using crutches. "I focused the whole summer, mentally and physically, on one goal -- having a good season. This happens, and it absolutely kills me. It's frustrating beyond belief. I'm trying to put that behind me. I'm going to be pretty busy getting back into shape and back on the ice, so I won't have time to think about it."

Valabik said he has missed time with sprains while in the minor leagues -- to both ankles. He chose surgery to speed the healing process and to help prevent the injury in the future. He is expected to be out four to six weeks.

"It's a lot of stretching, a lot of icing, massaging, just trying to get the swelling down because it's pretty big right now, " Valabik said of his rehab. "Hopefully it won't be too long."

Valabik, who has appeared in 57 games with the Thrashers over two seasons, made the roster out of training camp. He was a healthy scratch in the season opener Oct. 3. With an off-day following the opener, Valabik was eager to get back to practice.

"It was very disappointing when I didn't play the first game, " Valabik said. "I was going to put that behind me, focus on having a good practice because I knew I had a lot of things to work on. ... I finally had it figured out in my head, ‘This is what I want to do. This is what I have to do.'

"I felt good in the practice and then this happens. For three days I was just staring at the wall saying ‘What's going on?' I've put that behind me. So now I will focus on getting back."

One of the Thrashers' offseason plans was to get bigger on defense, and Valabik was part of the plan. At 6-foot-7, 245 pounds he gave the Thrashers size at the blue line. A first-round draft pick (No. 10 overall) by the Thrashers in 2004, he re-signed in July for two years.

Valabik's appearance in the Thrashers' locker room Wednesday was his first since the surgery. Between his rehab schedule and the Thrashers' travel he hasn't seen much of his teammates.

"Everybody said stuff like ‘This happens, ‘ " Valabik said. "They know. They've been pros longer than me. They know stuff like this happens."