Report: Patrick’s injury woes could threaten career

In his latest article for CSN Philly, Philadelphia Flyers writer John Boruk takes up the unenviable task of combing through Flyer’s prospect Nolan Patrick’s lengthy injury history to uncover the reasons behind it.

By now you’ve probably heard the narrative that Patrick is damaged goods. An 18 year-old with a bad back and possibly a bad shoulder. He’s a bandaid and the Flyers just blew a top pick on him in the draft. Think again. As Boruk explains, Patrick’s injury history is overstated and exaggerated. In truth, the big center has fought through one particular hernia injury that was never treated correctly in the first place. 

Talk to anyone who has ever had hernia surgery before and they’ll tell you that the recovery process can be a gruelling affair. If not done properly and with the right amount of rest and care, a patient can undo all of the healing and progress in an instant. One muscle tear and you’re right back where you started.

This certainly seemed to be the case with Patrick and it was the main reason he elected to have corrective surgery on the issue last month before the NHL Entry Draft. And it’s a good thing he did too, because Boruk asserts that if he hadn’t, Patrick’s career could have been over before it ever began. Imagine the pressure on a top pick to play through injury in his rookie season? It would likely have been too much for Patrick to bear and it would have affected him physically and mentally. Now with the procedure out of the way, he can finally recover and get back to playing at 100% rather than the “75% tops” Patrick claims he felt during the 2016-17 season.