Flyers' Pronger to play inside giant skate after return from foot injury

Voorhees, NJ--The Flyers position atop the Eastern Conference standings may be surprising to some NHL experts and fans after the team lost their leading defenseman to a foot injury nearly a month ago. The hard-hitting Chris Pronger was predicted to miss up to six weeks of action due to a broken right foot, but rehab has gone considerably better than expected.

"We're hoping that Chris can return to the lineup sometime next week," said head coach Peter Laviolette. "He's a warrior, but our main concern is protecting that foot for the remainder of the season and the playoffs when he does finally return."

The team has tested several ways to prevent further injury to the 36-year-old, including a single giant skate to sit in, a snow tricycle and a XXXXL right-footed skate. The front office, against Pronger's wishes, has decided on the giant skate which includes a small bench for the player to sit on to conserve energy throughout a game and a mini fridge.

"Right now, we're thinking the best way to protect Chris' foot is for him to play inside one giant single skate," said general manager Paul Holmgren. "This is the best course to an injury-free conclusion to the season. I'm sure of it. If it were up to me, Chris would play the rest of his career in that giant skate."

Pronger has tested the single skate several times in practice and admits he has a long way to go before becoming proficient at maneuvering the Swedish-designed and constructed piece of hockey gear that has never been used before--at any level.

"I'm really having a difficult time balancing when I'm standing still on the ice," said Pronger, who hopes to lead the team back to the Stanley Cup Finals this year. "The coaches say I will learn to do this quickly but I'm not so sure. Also, changing lines has been a nightmare during scrimmages."

This changing of lines has been the biggest concern for the team. Currently, during practice, when Pronger is on the ice and would like to come off, he skates to the team's bench where four or five teammates lift him up over the boards, as the gate is too narrow to accommodate the large skate.

There has also been complications of getting the player back on to the ice for a shift change. At one point yesterday, six players and two coaches were not enough to lift Pronger over the boards as the six-foot steel blade caught the top edge sending the former All-Star crashing to the ice.

"That was a little embarrassing," said one teammate who wanted to remain anonymous. "I mean, we just dropped the guy. But we helped him up and he quickly skated off and checked someone in the corner."

The giant skate has not slowed the defenseman, in fact, his coaches say that he is moving at speeds--and hitting harder than ever--that he displayed as a rookie. The problem is that he becomes nervous to stop out of fear of tipping over and once this happens he is at the mercy of his teammates.

"I want to play very badly but I don't want to be a burden to my teammates. Yesterday, it took ten players to lace and tie my giant skate. I can't believe it's come to this."

Notes: The Flyers are hiring! If you have experience sharpening giant ice hockey skates the team wants to hear from you. Must have 3-4 years experience sharpening skates with blades between 6-8 feet long. Must have own transportation and love to travel.