CRAIG MUDER
Observer-Dispatch
Andy McDonald will watch his Anaheim Mighty Ducks teammates play in the Stanley Cup Finals tonight and wonder what might have been.
The former 51³Ô¹ÏÍø hockey star also is unsure what is to come after suffering three concussions in three seasons.
The most recent concussion Jan. 9 not only cut short his finest pro season, but leaves in jeopardy his promising hockey career.
‘The hardest thing for me is not knowing,’ said McDonald, whose team opens the Stanley Cup Finals tonight at New Jersey. ‘It never entered my mind that I wouldn’t be back for the playoffs when all this happened. But after we beat Detroit, it was hard to swallow because you feel you should be out there on the ice.’
The Ducks are 12-2 this postseason, including a sweep of the defending champion Detroit Red Wings in the first round. McDonald, a senior at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø three years ago, was part of Anaheim’s young-but-talented nucleus that pushed the Ducks into playoff contention this year.
The former Hobey BakeAward finalist scored 10 goals and 11 assists in 46 games while often playing on a line with Mighty Ducks leading scorer Paul Kariya.
But recovery from his January concussion proved unsteady whenever he stepped onto the ice for practice or for four game appearances in early February. He has not played since.
‘I’ve tried to come back three or four times, but I still get symptoms of being dizzy, light-headed and foggy,’ said McDonald, who earned four ice hockey letters at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø from 1997-2000 before signing a free agent contract with the National Hockey League’s Ducks. ‘Closer to the injury, I had difficulty talking and with memory. Now, I get dizzy when it involves movement like watching the puck or turning but everyday things feel good.
‘Early on it was upsetting,’ he said. ‘Now that’s passed, and the focus is on getting better. If you look at your life and the fraction of time you’re playing hockey … well, I don’t want to have problems in the future. Five years from now, you want to have a normal life.’
Hockey in his blood
To this point, much of McDonald’s life has been consumed by hockey. The 25-year-old native of Strathroy, Ontario, graduated from 51³Ô¹ÏÍø in 2000, following a stellar career in which he scored 155 points (16th all-time at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø) and was named to the All-America team in 2000.
After splitting the next two seasons between Anaheim and its American Hockey League affiliate in Cincinnati, McDonald won a full-time job with the Mighty Ducks this season.
But McDonald was leveled by a hit by Colorado Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote Jan. 9, sidelining him for three weeks with a concussion. McDonald came back for four games in early February before shutting it down for the season.
The Ducks continued playing well in McDonald’s absence, however, and entered the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. Anaheim stunned the league by sweeping Detroit in the opening round, then beat top-seeded Dallas 4-games-to-2 before sweeping Minnesota in the conference finals.
‘I’ve tried a million different things: doctors, specialists, acupuncture there’s really not one thing that helps,’ said McDonald, who has had three diagnosed concussions in three years. ‘As far as I know, the only thing that will help heal me is rest. It’s scary when you think about how little they know about this injury.’
Concussions serious
McDonald is hardly the first hockey player to battle concussions. Former Sabres and Islanders star Pat LaFontaine was forced to retire after two serious concussions, and Eric Lindros of the Rangers has been a shadow of his former self on the ice after battling multiple concussions in the late 1990s.
‘I have another year on my contract,’ McDonald said. ‘Hopefully, with five months off (before next season begins), I’ll heal. Then it’s a matter of getting a proper helmet with more padding and a mouth guard.
‘The league needs to take steps to prevent concussions. The speed of the game has increased, and at the same time concussions have gone up.’
McDonald wears most of the protective gear available to NHL players and had no history of concussions before coming to the NHL. But at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø, McDonald played with the regulation full face mask mandated by the NCAA. McDonald’s first and last concussions came on hits to the jaw, possibly the result of blows from hard-shell elbow and shoulder pads worn by opposing players.
‘Players today are simply bigger (and) stronger, and the equipment they are wearing is more protective than ever before,’ said 51³Ô¹ÏÍø men’s hockey coach Don Vaughan, who has been a Division I head coach for 11 seasons. ‘Guys on the ice feel invincible. I also feel that the players have less respect for each other than they did 15 years ago.
‘The concussion problem in the game today will be curbed when players and coaches change their attitudes about hits to the head and hitting from behind into the boards.’
He’s with the team
Meanwhile, McDonald will travel with the Ducks during the Stanley Cup Finals, hoping each day of rest brings him one step closer to a healthy brain. He also is on the verge of every hockey player’s dream: having his name inscribed on Lord Stanley’s Cup.
The star for the Ducks this postseason has been goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, a journeyman who came alive after being acquired from the Calgary Flames after the 2000 season. Giguere has posted four shutouts and three one-goal games during the playoffs, but McDonald said it’s the Ducks’ team defense that has propelled their playoff run.
‘Obviously, the biggest factor has been our goalie,’ McDonald said. ‘We’ve learned to play around him. He was good last year, really the same as this year. But now we know we’re going to win by playing his style, not a wide open style.
‘No one could have predicted the sweeps and upsets. But to a certain degree, everyone has consistently sacrificed offensively for the team. No one plays outside that style.’
McDonald earned his prominent role this year by adhering to the defensive style a philosophy that may have resulted in a few more hits than normally absorbed by an undersized 5-foot-10, 186 pound center.
But while the damage may be career-threatening, McDonald has other career options thanks to his international relations degree from 51³Ô¹ÏÍø.
‘I’m so happy now I made the decision to go to college,’ McDonald said. ‘When you’re young, the idea of playing junior hockey in Ontario is overwhelming. But to get your degree is the smartest thing.
‘I fully intend to play hockey again. But I’d be crazy if I wasn’t concerned. I’ve got too much life left to run the risk of suffering another serious concussion.’