Tanner Pearson is recovering just fine from his ankle surgery after being taken care of at Hotel del Kopitar.
Pearson was insistent that he could take care of himself after fracturing his fibula back on Jan. 10. The 22-year-old Kings forward had injured his ankle before, he knew the drill. But trying to do it all on his own proved to be a little much. He took up teammate Anze Kopitar on the offer to let him recover at his house with his family.
"He approached me a few days before and asked me if I wanted to stay but I was kind of too stubborn at the time to say yes," he said. "And then my parents, they gave it to me pretty good. I was staying on my own, so I asked him if I could stay at his house."
Pearson is glad he made the decision, because as it turns out, Kopitar's wife, Ines, and his parents are pretty good cooks.
"I was there for four or five days and I got pretty good care there," he said. "I did not miss any meals, I was on a strict regimen there. They had it down to a tee."
Kopitar himself had the same surgery a few years ago, so all parties involved knew what the first few days post-surgery looked like. Despite Pearson's can-do attitude, the assistance and knowledge of the injury eased his mind.
He's now off of his crutches, another thing that's easing both his mind and his body. Still in the early stages of rehab, he's staying patient but still anxious to move forward.
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"I can walk, bike but I haven't really started lifting a whole lot yet," he said. "It's kind of hard with no strength in my left leg to really do much. But I'm slowly getting stuff back and just walking, which is good, because you kind of get moving again."
Pearson still hasn't put on a skate. Having suffered the same injury previously, he knows that's a step that will require a lot more rehab and strength.
"You're putting a lot of pressure on the fracture," he said. "It was different last time, because I broke it at the end of the season and I was able to gradually put my weight into it throughout the summer and skate lightly as it went on. Now, we're in the middle of the season and I want to get back as quickly as possible. So it's going to be different, but I think we're going about it the right away and we'll see if I can get back around."
There's no timetable for a return right now and Pearson himself hasn't ruled out a return in the playoffs, should the Kings reach the postseason. However, he knows that ultimately, it's not up to him.
Regardless of whether or not Pearson makes a return to the ice by the end of this hockey season, there is one place he knows he will return this summer: the golf course.
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"I'm dying to get out there," he said.
Don't worry, he doesn't think the injury will effect his golf swing.
