He’s made lots of progress from the concussion he suffered last May. The future really does still seem bright for Conor Timmins.
But the young defensive prospect of the Colorado Avalanche will have to wait until this fall to even think about playing in an actual pro hockey game, BSN Denver has learned. While neither the Avs or the Colorado Eagles is expected to make that official, sources tell BSN Denver that Timmins still is not 100 percent recovered from the concussion, and that it would be potentially foolhardy to try and play him in a game this late in either teams’ seasons.
There had been significant hope – an expectation really – that Timmins would have been ready by now to have played a game with the Eagles, where he has been the last few weeks rehabbing. But, even though Timmins went with the Eagles on a recent road trip to California, he simply has not passed all the medical criteria to resume playing in games.
Timmins, taken 32nd overall by the Avs in the second round of the 2017 NHL draft, last played a game of any kind in May, 2018, for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. He suffered the concussion in a playoff game for the Greyhounds, and the symptoms have not completely gone away.
Sources say Timmins still is bothered by headaches occasionally, though he truly has made a lot of progress overall. He has practiced regularly with the Avs and Eagles for much of the 2018-19 season.
But he’s not 100 percent yet. The Eagles only have eight regular-season games remaining, and the Avs have nine left. Whether Timmins continues to practice daily with the Eagles remains to be seen. He has occasionally left Colorado to either train or rest back home in St. Catherine’s, Ontario during the rehab process.
0 Comments (8 conversations)
jpwheels
What a bummer for the kid!
If he isn’t already there, I hope he gets to a place where he understands that this is the best for his future hockey career and his life after hockey too.
mkleinholz
Was there another setback or do they just think he won’t be medically cleared soon enough for the end of the season?
Chris
Thanks for the update AD. Hope for the best for this kid
MJW80013
As many setbacks as he had ( at least publicly reported), one wonders if he shouldn’t pursue some other less physically risky career like computer coding or banking or real estate
bpeterson76
Software engineer here. You don’t know head pain until you’ve been on-call support engineer when a global datacenter goes down……
Nels
Yeah, banking and real estate too. No headaches there lmao
Jon
Consider Sidney Crosby’s concussion history and it provides a bit of optimism.
phawksmulder
I hope he makes it back to full health. Long term concussion symptoms can be a nightmare. The guy’s spent almost a year suffering a brain injury that doctors barely know how to treat, let alone cure. He’s unable to play a game he’s dedicated his life to and that’s probably the least of his troubles. You hear a lot of athletes talk about “building back the confidence” when discussing things like knee injuries and the like. He’s spent most of a year not knowing if his brain will ever function the same way again.
Given the length of time it’s taken to heal, if he even plays again that alone will be a huge achievement and worthy of celebration. Hopefully his health can get back in good order and, hockey or not, this won’t be a long term impairment for the guy.
Hockeyhead
Adrian, this relates to the piece you wrote about concussions(see my comment for that piece). Can you ask the Avalanche management, Joe etc, if they have ever considered Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (Hbot) for players dealing with concussions which I would assume are a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI). I really think Hbot might help players recover from concussions. Timmins seems like a good candidate for Hbot. Just wondering….
JustinErickson
I’m curious as well. Doesn’t hurt at all to try.
toddbeckerphoto
I wonder if they have explored other possibility’s, like when Crosby had a concussion back in 2012ish for several months then a specialist found soft tissue damage in his neck causing the symptoms. My brother in law had headaches for a year then pooped out some round worms(he works on a farm). His headaches went away after he was given dewormer. I’m Not saying Timmmins has worms but hope his doctors have looked into other causes.
ThePhotoGorilla
Starting to see shades of Joey Hishon… 🙁