After concussion, Pascal Laberge hopes to get back to ‘the real me’

VOORHEES — The punishment didn’t quite seem to fit the crime.

Zachary Malatesta was suspended for seven games for the hit on Pascal Laberge that was about as predatory as they get. By the time he returned to action, Laberge was still asleep all day every day in a dark room.

“It took a while because the first month I couldn’t wake up,” the Flyers’ second-round pick in 2016 said. “I had to sleep all day because it was a bad concussion. The second month I started to do the workout. I went on the ice. I had to take a step back in the workout. It took a little while, but you want to take your time when you have a concussion.”

The playmaking forward never regained his form. He had 32 points in 46 games. The prior season, his draft year, he 68 points in 56 games.  

This past week at Flyers development camp has been a chance to hit the reset button.

It’s a camp that’s not evaluating the drills on the ice so Laberge can work on his skill and regain his form without feeling like he’s losing ground in the hierarchy of Flyers prospects.

“He had a tough year last year,” general manager Ron Hextall said. “I think sometimes when you go through things like that it actually makes you hungrier, makes you better. You learn as a young man how to deal with adversity. I’m guessing as a young man he’s never had that before. He took a bit of a step back and things didn’t go perfect for him.”  

Even after the lengthy recovery, Laberge didn’t perform well and the Flyers noticed. He had 28 points in the 39 games after returning. In a first-round sweep playoff loss, he started coming around with two goals in the four games.

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It wasn’t enough of what the Flyers wanted to see in someone who was then considered healthy.  

“He wasn’t a star. You hope when players go through it they certainly learn from it,” Hextall said. “We didn’t like what he went through. We didn’t like, at times, the level he was playing to where it wasn’t the level he was capable of, but again sometimes you go through adversity like that as a young man and you become better, you become stronger.”

Laberge wasn’t the only Flyers prospect with a lengthy recovery from a concussion last season. Defenseman Phil Myers was concussed in the World Junior Championships on New Year’s Eve and missed six weeks.

“I didn’t lose my consciousness like Bergs did,” Myers said. “I think my concussion was a little lighter than his was. I just took my time coming back. I didn’t want to rush it. I felt pretty good three weeks in, but I didn’t want to take any chances and my team was on the same page as I was. I took the next three weeks to get back in shape and find my groove. I just jumped in the lineup when I was ready.”

Laberge said that the group around him — his family and agent Allan Walsh — made him feel at ease in a time when the long-term effects of head injuries have dominated sports headlines.

Leagues continue to massage the rules in an attempt to keep players safer. Every once in a while a hit like the one that ruined Laberge’s season slips through the cracks.

“It’s weird because these days we try to avoid these concussions,” Laberge said. “When a player does a thing like that it pisses you off a little bit. There’s always gonna be some guys like that in hockey. Just sad it happened to me.”

Laberge said he wasn’t scared in the process of how odd he felt after the hit, not being able to get up during the day or wondering about his long-term health.

He noted that he needs to keep his head up, but that may not be the only lesson he learned last season.

“It’s like a team. Sometimes you’ve got to lose to learn how to win,” Hextall said. “With Pascal, he went through some tough times and we expect him to bounce back and be a very good player again.”

“I want to be back like I was, the real me,” Laberge added. “Last year was last year. This year is this year. It’s going to be a new season and a new start. Hopefully I will get back with the points I had before.”

Dave Isaac; 856-486-2479;disaac@gannett.com