Madill completes long road to recovery

By Steve Silver

Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 | 1:30 a.m.

Nearly three months had passed since he last touched the ice.

As a kid growing up outside of Montreal, if enough hours went by without skating he would become anxious.

Yet here he was, dressed in full hockey gear, mere inches from the ice and suddenly doubt set in.

What if he were to make a wrong move and his knee gave out? What if he is never as strong as he once was? What if he just couldn't do it?

Fear, though, can wreck a hockey career as quickly as a torn ACL.

So on that sultry August day, the Las Vegas Wranglers' Mike Madill cleared his head and hit the ice for the first time since tearing his ACL in the first game of the National Conference Finals against the Alaska Aces.

"I went out and I was really worried I would turn to my left and just crumble," Madill said. "I had a hard time believing that my knee would be as strong as it was before. So that was my biggest worry."

Madill skated alone inside the Orleans Arena that day and soon all of those worries faded as his desire to suit up for a game intensified.

Thursday night, almost six months since his knee gave out in Alaska, Madill will finally have that chance to rejoin the Wranglers' lineup against the Bakersfield Condors at the Orleans Arena.

"As good as Mike Madill is as a player, he's even a better leader," said Wranglers head coach and General Manager Ryan Mougenel. "That's one thing that will be huge for our locker room. We need it. We need his leadership and who he is as a guy. His shot blocking, how he plays the game and his approach to the game. I'm excited to get him back in the lineup. It's a testament to him. He was back in six months, which is remarkable. It shows how hard he works and how good our doctors are."

Madill's veteran presence on the blue line will be a welcome change for the 4-3 Wranglers, who have allowed a conference-high 29 goals this season.

Madill will also boost the penalty-killing unit, which is next to last in the league with a 75.5 percent success rate.

"I've seen Madill play enough to understand how important he is to the back end," Mougenel said. "He's the pulse back there. He's a little bit of a throwback to the position. He commits himself 100 percent to the game and he can do a bit of everything. You can't find anyone who can say a bad thing about him."

The Wranglers' seemingly poor defensive statistics are a bit skewed, though, because of a 9-2 blowout loss to Utah last Thursday at the Orleans Arena.

Tonight's game against Bakersfield is the first opportunity for the Wranglers to redeem themselves in front of a home crowd.

"We need to redeem ourselves after that embarrassing loss," Mougenel said. That's what it was. It was embarrassing for me. It was embarrassing for the players and it was embarrassing for the fans. And if the guys don't want redemption, then they are in the wrong business, because that is what this is about. It's about coming and competing and competing for each other and competing for the fans of Las Vegas that have been so loyal to them."

Madill in particular knows about that loyalty.

In two seasons with the Wranglers Madill has notched 40 points and 100 penalty minutes in 140 regular season games. He has also recorded 11 points in 31 playoff games.

Most importantly, though, he has earned the respect and admiration of his teammates and fans.

"Everyone has been real helpful," Madill said. "My teammates are pushing me in practice and things like that. Everyone's been real supportive with getting me back from the front office to the fans here."

While rehabbing from knee surgery, Madill has done everything from run drills in practice to assuming the role of assistant coach behind the bench.

Yet nothing compares to actually playing at full speed again.

"I'm really itching to go," Madill said. "This is the longest I've ever gone without being in a game… It was interesting being behind the bench and seeing the game from a different angle, but it's not something I want to get used to yet."

Madill's addition into the lineup means less playing time for a few of the Wranglers' defensemen. He will be the eighth defenseman and the team typically dresses six.

Mougenel, however, would not comment on which players would get scratched this weekend.

"I understand these things are typically game-day decisions, so even if I have to wait another game, I'll be ready," Madill said. "It's been a really long process, but once I get out there for a game I know I'm going to feel strong. It's still a lot of fun for me to play this game."

Steve Silver can be reached at 948-7822 or [email protected].