Yesterday's perfunctory press conference with Ilya Bryzgalov did not reveal anything out of ordinary. It was the standard photo opportunity fare with all the usual soundbites about how excited the player is to be in his new city, how much he's always respected his new organization and how his only goal is to bring a Stanley Cup.
Of much more note was Paul Holmgren's post-session injury updates on Chris Pronger and Andrej Meszaros.
Regarding Pronger, the Flyers GM said that the team's most important defenseman is scheduled to see a back specialist in New York today and, hopefully, receive clearance to begin lifting weights. The GM had little choice but to concede that the player is a little bit behind schedule in starting the next phase of his recovery from back surgery. The player himself said as much in his recent conference call with the beat writers. He is pain free but needs to rebuild his strength before he can think about returning to the ice.
Regarding Meszaros, Holmgren said the player was
fully healed from the wrist surgery he underwent in May. Holmgren's account differed a bit from what the player himself
said earlier this week in an interview with Slovakian publication Čas.
Meszaros said that while his wrist was progressing, it was not yet where it needs to be in order to shoot pucks. If there were a game tomorrow, he would be unable to play. The defenseman added, however, that he should be healed fairly soon and hopes not miss any time in training camp.
NHL teams in general and the Flyers in particular have always been quick to declare a player healthier than he really is (and also to downplay the severity of injuries immediately after they occur). I see no need on Aug. 25 to pronounce Meszaros fully healthy when a simple -- and more accurate -- declaration of "Andrej is making progress and we're optimistic but there's still a little way to go and we'll have to evaluate him in a few weeks" would have been more appropriate.
That way, there's no need to backpeddle if the player's further progress comes along more slowly than hoped or, worse, if he suffers a setback. I'm not saying that will be the case with Meszaros. My point is that a team should not say an injured player is fully healed until he's, well, fully healed. That's especially true in the off-season when there's no "competitive advantage" for misdirection (as is the rationale for the vague in-season and especially playoff injury updates).
Last summer, goalie Johan Backlund self-reported to a Swedish newspaper that he was well behind schedule in his recovery from off-season hip surgery. Days later, the Flyers declared him right on track. Confronted with the discrepancy, the Flyers claimed either that Backlund had been misquoted, his comments had been mistranslated or the player himself had misunderstood the doctor's instructions.
Lo and behold, it turned out that Backlund was behind schedule at training camp. He was still struggling to regain full strength and mobility when the AHL season started and he really wasn't himself for much of the first half of the season. He did not play up to par and the Phantoms as a team were a hot mess.
Whenever there is a discrepancy in an injury report, I will always believe what a player says over what the team reports. In Meszaros' case, it seems to be a minor discrepancy. Nevertheless, until the player is back on the ice and shooting, passing and handling the puck with full strength and confidence, he will not be fully recovered from his surgery.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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