Deeper comments here:
Flyers’ Nolan Patrick is attempting to put this trying season behind him: ‘I came in behind the eight-ball.’
“Maybe a little bit at the start,” he said, “I think when you’re dealing with an injury that long, it’s always on your mind a little. At the start of the year, I was thinking about it quite a bit. It probably affected my play a little bit, but I’m back to 100% health now, so it’s nice.”
“It’ll be the most important offseason of my life,” said Patrick, a pending restricted free agent. “The last couple years have been tough, so I’m looking forward to having a healthy summer of training. ... I think having a full offseason and a full camp, and hopefully back to normal next year will help.”
An offseason of conditioning and a normal training camp, Fletcher believes, will boost Patrick’s game. This season, “he wasn’t skating the same, particularly in back-to-back games,” Fletcher said. “You could see a drop-off in his skating. I do think there’s some things that could be improved just by being healthy and having a normal summer. Our expectation is that he has a great summer, gets a little stronger, and gets a little more explosive.”