Nearly four months after an ankle injury put him on the shelf, Prince George Cougars forward Koehn Ziemmer is getting ready to return to the lineup.
The LA Kings draft pick and signee fell awkwardly after a fight during a game against the Everett Silvertips in late-November, breaking his ankle.
“The day I hurt it I flew down to LA, had an MRI the next day, they put me through a bunch of tests, figured it was broken, had to wait a week for the swelling to go down to get into surgery,” Ziemmer said.
“Surgery went well and then they sent me back home for Christmas, and then rehab was in Edmonton as well, so it was good to be home with family.”
During his time home in Mayerthorpe, a small town of 1,320 people around 120 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, Ziemmer spent much of that time doing physio and exercising.
“All week it was work out and physio,” he said.
“I think I did physio about three times a week and was in the gym every day, just trying to keep myself in shape, it was a little hard to do cardio down there and not being able to walk on it for the first six weeks, but yeah, it’s been a tough process here.”
He said most of the physio involved getting the range of motion back, working on balance, and getting the leg strength back.
“My trainer as well did a good job, Taylor Burns at home, he put me through some work throughout the injury process.”
Ziemmer has been back on the ice practicing with the Cougars in the yellow ‘no-contact’ jersey over the past few weeks, and doing lots of skating drills with Assistant Coach Carter Rigby.
“It’s what I needed, but it’s been a tough couple weeks with him, he’s been putting me through the ringer,” Ziemmer said.
“At the start your legs are the first thing you want to get back, and your lungs,” Rigby said.
“He’s been working out back home before he got here, but you can ride the bike as much as you want, sprint, do whatever, but skating is a little bit different.”
Rigby said having Ziemmer back in the lineup adds a little bit of everything to the team.
“It adds to the depth of our scoring, leadership, everything,” he said.
“He’s a role player too, he’s physical, he fights if need be, he brings a lot of aspects to the game in playoff type hockey that you want.”
“We missed out on a ton of talent throughout the year, he brings an edge, and he can do it all,” said Linemate Riley Heidt.
“I love playing with him as well, he’s just a great guy on and off the ice to have around the room, and he’s a leader.”
Ziemmer warmed up with the team before each game this past weekend, but didn’t play.
“Just to get my routine back and what I would do on a regular game day,” he said.
“It was really good, Jimmy [Playfair] put me through that, and gave me the rundown of what to do and just be ready for when I’m back in the lineup.”
Ziemmer will return to the lineup this weekend as the Cougars wrap up their regular season with a home-and-home against the Kamloops Blazers.
“It’s been a long time coming, I haven’t played since the end of November there, so it’s exciting to get back on the ice and play with the boys again,” Ziemmer said.