Bruins notebook: Brandon Carlo inching close to a return

The good news for Brandon Carlo is that he is back to being a full participant in Bruins’ practice and feeling like himself again.

The not-so good news is that he confirmed that he did indeed suffer a concussion back on October 15 when he took a big hit from Arizona’s Liam O’Brien, the latest in a string of brain injuries the lanky defenseman has incurred in his still young career.

Coach Jim Montgomery said that he’ll be cautious with Carlo, so do not expect him back in the lineup on Tuesday when the B’s play the Dallas Stars (NESN, 7 p.m.). But while Carlo did not downplay the issues of head injuries, he was happy about his progress and is comfortable to get back into action soon as it’s deemed the time fr him to go in.

“It’s unfortunate and something I’ve experienced a couple of times throughout my career but, in talking with the doctors and just the way that I’ve recovered through my concussions, it’s not anything to be too concerned about at this point,” said Carlo after Monday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “So I’m feeling good in that regard and definitely feeling confident and still feeling confident in going out there and playing this physical game.”

Carlo has had a handful of concussions, starting very early in his career. A couple of the more notable ones stemmed from a hit from behind Alex Ovechkin in his rookie season in the 82nd game, knocking him out of the playoffs. That knock affected him well into that summer. He also suffered one on a hit from Tom Wilson in 2021, for which Wilson was handed a seven-game suspension.

“I’m definitely concerned with that. But I think from a hockey aspect, I still feeling very good, still feeling not unsafe to play by any means,” said Carlo. “But with these things, it’s hard because you want to be reliable for your team. But in these situations, it’s a weird injury where you can’t really see it except for what I’ve been experiencing with it all. It’s hard with what you’re talking about (lingering effects), because I always want to be reliable for my friends and family and that’s a component in life that you have to take into account. It’s good with the conversation that’s been had over the past couple of years with concussions and things that are going on, because they’re very real and I’ve experienced a lot of those symptoms and those different things. But overall, I still feel very good about where I’m at.”

Still, to the lay person, the symptoms he suffered on this latest concussion do sound a bit scary.

“There have been hits where you kind of see stars. As I was skating up the ice, I really couldn’t see the play,” said Carlo. “Once I got to that far blue, I don’t know if it was one of my eyes or what, but it was black and I couldn’t really assess what was going on further down the ice, so I went back to the locker room to let that cool off and that’s when the doctors diagnosed it.”

But those symptoms quickly dissipated. He said he felt pretty good three days after the hit and has not suffered any kind of setbacks.

“That was huge for me this time,” said Carlo. “I think through talking with the doctors about the severity of the concussions and how long you’re out, with the first one being a couple of weeks, the second being more, that’s where there’s concern. But if you can bounce back and recover well, it shows that everything is leading in the right direction.”

When he gets back in remains to be seen. Montgomery said it was still to be determined if there were going to be any changes on the back end. And Carlo is not the only one looking to get in. There’s also Anton Stralman, who had his work visa cleared up last week. That means the B’s are now up to eight defensemen for six spots (Charlie McAvoy will make nine when he’s healthy). Much like he has created with the bottom six forwards, Montgomery said there could be something of a rotation on the D. But that’s a lot easier in theory than in practice.

“You’re going to have to keep guys involved or else it becomes a long year,” said Montgomery. “So there’s got to be some sort of a rotation, but if you play well, it’s hard to take guys out. We’ve already got the same problem up front. We’re blessed with a lot of good depth at every position, but it gets hard to find guys icetime and sometimes you have to make changes based on that a guy should come out. I think A.J. Greer (a scratch on Saturday) is the perfect example. But you want fresh legs. And I thought the fresh legs were going as far as (Craig Smith and Jakub Lauko). I thought they caused problems (for Minnesota) last game.”…

After being forced to Zoom because of the pandemic last year, the Bruins renewed their tradition of visiting children at local hospitals in person while dressed up in Halloween costumes. This year’s theme was Super Mario.

“It’s just a special day to be share a moment with the kids,” said captain Patrice Bergeron, who went as Mario while his sidekick, Brad Marchand, went as Luigi. “The kids are going through a lot, the families are going through a lot, to be able to be there and be able to brighten up their day as much as we can, and bring up a smile or two. The costumes always help for that, especially around Halloween. I think it’s a great event for a lot of the guys, and for the younger guys to learn that it’s important to get involved and give back to the community that has given us so much.”

Derek Forbort, he of the perpetual five-day beard and forever deadpan expression, was perfectly cast as Princess Peach.

“I have to stop for gas before we go, so I may get a couple of looks filling up the tank,” said Forbort….

Montgomery sounded like he was inclined to stick with Linus Ullmark to face the 4-0-1 Stars, though he said that with the B’s playing three games in four nights, Jeremy Swayman should see “at least” a game this week.

 

 

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/SnNZ3CB