Flyers’ Ryan Poehling ‘still feeling great’ after returning Saturday from a concussion

After the Flyers’ 6-3 win on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, the chatter focused on Owen Tippett — and rightfully so.

After missing five games due to an upper-body injury suffered Jan. 29, the high-flying winger returned to the lineup and scored a pair of goals before almost adding another. But he wasn’t the only Flyers player returning to the lineup after a long hiatus. Defensemen Egor Zamula and Rasmus Ristolainen were back after both missed time with upper-body injuries; Zamula hadn’t played since Jan. 23.

And then there was Ryan Poehling, who returned after missing 11 games with a head injury.

“Feel good,” Poehling said on Monday. “Having the [4 Nations Face-Off] break off, and, obviously, missing a month before that can feel a little slow getting back into it. But no, felt good on the ice, and still feeling great. So it’s good.”

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That’s the key: still feeling great. Concussions can be a cruel beast as even after you think you’ve moved past one, the symptoms can all of a sudden resurface. It’s been a slow process for Poehling, who was injured on a high hit by New York Islanders forward Maxim Tsyplakov on Jan. 16; Tsyplakov was suspended three games by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

It is not the first time the Minnesotan has dealt with a concussion. While a member of the Montreal Canadiens, he suffered his first career concussion on a hard hit by Dryden Hunt of the Florida Panthers during a preseason game in 2019. Poehling also dealt with a concussion while skating with the Canadiens’ American Hockey League affiliate, Laval, in October 2021.

This one was different though, and took longer to heal.

“The toughest part is it’s not linear in terms of progress,” he said. “So some days you’re feeling great, some days you’re not, and so I think you just got to trust the doctors and trust what you’re doing and they did a great job helping me.”

The NHL has a concussion evaluation and management protocol that includes six steps, such as slowly increasing the heart rate, introducing aerobic exercise, and conducting on-ice, noncontact training. Poehling had a slow ramp-up, with some days being better than others. He told The Inquirer he did his best to ensure that the bad days didn’t get to him.

But concussions can be isolating as someone deals with the symptoms. Poehling, who said he experienced some blurriness and vision issues and is now wearing a tinted visor to help with the lights, has had his family and teammates to lean on.

“Showing up to the rink and having them there and supporting me [and] I think just seeing their faces and them treating me like a normal person, I think is important,” he said.

Tortorella was happy with Poehling’s game on Saturday, noting that the return of both him and Tippett added speed to the Flyers lineup. Poehling played a tick above 12 minutes, including 1:06 on the penalty kill, had two shot attempts, and won 67% of his faceoffs. But what made the veteran bench boss even happier was how the room pulled around the centerman.

“Mental health is real,” Tortorella said. “Back in our day, you push it aside, just figure it out, let’s get going. But it’s real. And, I don’t poll the players, but I think he’s very well-liked. ... I’m glad to hear that guys were checking in on him and I knew they would, but that’s when you leave them alone.

“I stayed totally out of it with Poehls, because I left it to the medical people, and I didn’t want him to feel any pressure from me. It’s hard discussions, right? Because you can’t, you don’t see it. You don’t see it on an MRI, you know? So I just left it alone, and really happy about his first game coming back here, because there was zero hesitation in his game.”

Asked about the report that he was on the charter to Philly from Boston with Connor McDavid, Travis Konecny, and Travis Sanheim — who had just beaten his USA Hockey squad at the 4 Nations Face-Off — Tortorella needed to clarify something.

“I didn’t charter back, I drove back,” he said before adding (we think) tongue-in-cheek: “I was planning to drive back anyway, but when I knew a bunch of Canadians were going to be on there, I was definitely driving.”

» READ MORE: John Tortorella is happy to reunite with Mike Sullivan on the U.S. hockey coaching staff

The Flyers bench boss was an assistant coach on Mike Sullivan’s staff at the tournament. Sullivan was an assistant coach under Tortorella for years before the two split up after they were fired by the Vancouver Canucks in 2014. Now the teacher was the student.

“It was so much fun for me to work with him in that role because I’ve watched him grow,” Tortorella said. “I learned so much from him when I was coaching with him, and he was never my assistant, he was my co-coach. To watch him now, in my stage of my career, it was a blast.

“I watched it firsthand and he is one of, if not the top coach in this league, in watching him [and] how he does his stuff. So to be in the background and just give him a couple of thoughts, it was a blast.”

Sanheim did not practice on Monday due to a maintenance day. The Flyers defenseman didn’t have time off during the 4 Nations Face-Off. He won the title with Canada on Thursday and played Saturday against Edmonton, skating 23 minutes and 3 seconds.