Senators Jakob Chychrun explains how injury woes have impacted his time on ice

The Ottawa Senators defenseman Jakob Chychrun's journey has been marked by injuries, impacting his on-ice performance. Selected 16th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Chychrun's potential was overshadowed by a string of setbacks due to injuries.

Recently, the American–Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman appeared on "Frankly Speaking" hosted by Frank Seravalli and discussed his struggles.

"They have been unfortunate," said Jakob Chychrun, "but it's never got me discouraged. You know, I always knew I was going to be able to, you know, overcome kind of everything, any, everything and anything I was going to go through. And the unfortunate thing with the wrist was the rehab that I was doing, I think compromised the surgery a bit. So it stretched it, and then I had to get it done again."

"And then I was having skate issues," said the defenceman regarding his injuries, "really bad skate issues, where my left skate was always misaligned. So I remember the first time they sent me these new pair of skates. I was walking to the rink, and my ankle was rolling. And I wore the same skates my whole life, and I didn't think anything of it. I never had any equipment issues."

The unseen battles that hockey players face are emphasized by Chychrun during the conversation with Seravalli.

"Yeah, we've been working, Chychrun said. "It got to the point where in Arizona, I had the team go and get me a pair off the shelf from a hockey store in Chicago, got me a stock pair of skates of a different company. And I wore them in morning skate that day and then wore them the rest of the season just because I was so sick of fiddling around to try to get them right. I mean, I was putting wedges in the holders, like, it's just like ridiculous stuff. And then you got to go out and try to defend Connor McDavid."

Jakob Chychrun developed a bone spur in his ankle

Recently, a development in the bone spur of Jakob Chychrun's ankle was detected after enduring two full seasons with the persistent skate problem. The Ottawa defenseman said,

"Exactly nobody really knows those little things. And what happened was, since I played two, it was like two full years with this issue, I developed a bone spur in my ankle. And then at the end of that season, I got a high ankle sprain that lit up the bone spur. And so, I was coming back from the high ankle sprain and feeling great. My ankle was feeling great, but I literally couldn't bend my ankle because the bone spur."

Despite the adversity, Chychrun expressed that he feels better than ever and finds himself in one of the best places.

"So that was another surgery, Chychrun said, "I had to go in and get that shaved out. So it's like equipment issues and unfortunate training, stepping in a pothole. It's just things that you can't really plan for. But, I mean, we're here, and I feel better than ever, and I've gone through a lot, but I'm keeping a positive outlook, and I feel like I'm in one of the best places I've been in a while."

Chychrun's openness about the unseen battles behind the scenes shows the sacrifices players make to compete in the NHL.