David Eddy thought he had scored his last goal, delivered his last body check and dropped his gloves for the final time.
Less than two seasons into his professional hockey career, the winger believed surgery to repair his right hip spelled the end of the line and time to get on with his life.
"I thought, 'I don't know how I'm going to play again,' '' Eddy said. " 'I'm not as invincible as I thought I was.' ''
But 20 months after he underwent surgery to fix a torn labrum, and after missing a season and a half, Eddy on Friday morning was back where he left off, with the Alaska Aces. The ECHL club opened its training camp with Eddy aiming to resurrect his career.
He's got company on the long-term absence front. Rookie goaltender Steven Summerhays of Anchorage, who missed all of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder, is likewise psyched to be back at full strength.
In Eddy, 24, and Summerhays, 25, the Aces have two players eager to shed the notion of a "comeback,'' move forward and get back between the boards.
Eddy last played in a game on Jan. 15, 2014, when he skated for the Aces. By then, his hip had long plagued him.
"For a good year and a half, I was playing in pain,'' Eddy said. "I'd just gut through it. Now, I don't feel like I'm trying to manage a problem. I feel strong. I feel like I'm improving.''
Eddy underwent surgery in February 2014 and said doctors told him to expect a rehabilitation schedule lasting at least a year, which to him signaled the end of his career. He split time since the surgery between California and Minnesota, and last season coached a Minnesota team in the NA3HL, a Tier III feeder system for the North American Hockey League. He began learning to play guitar.
He thought he was moving on from his playing career.
But being around hockey reminded Eddy how much he missed being in the dressing room, chirping teammates and getting chirped, and how much he loved playing the game. As his rehabilitation progressed, he began tinkering with the idea of playing again.
Eddy said his first phone call was to Aces coach Rob Murray in June. Murray signed Eddy.
"I didn't have to go shopping,'' Eddy said. "I didn't have to get an agent.''
Eddy said it will take time for him to again become accustomed to the speed of the game and regain his timing. He just wants to give himself a chance.
"Once you get that confidence up and going, it's like riding a bike,'' he said. "The big thing for me is to compete every day. If I don't stick, I'll at least know I've done all I could to get back.''
Summerhays last played in a game on April 12, 2014, when he tended goal for the ECHL's Fort Wayne Komets following a strong four-year career at Notre Dame, which included a nation-leading seven shutouts as a senior.
He injured his left shoulder late in the summer of 2014 – that was after the Aces had signed him – and underwent surgery in September 2014. That was the first significant injury of Summerhays' career. Like Eddy, he endured months and months of rehabilitation.
Summerhays last season lived in South Bend, Indiana, home to Notre Dame, and gave private goaltending lessons while he rehabbed. Missing a whole season made him feel like he had not played in forever.
"You expect the physical aspect,'' Summerhays said. "You don't expect the psychological aspect, how much you miss (the game). That catches you off-guard.
"But that also pushed my rehab.''
Friday morning, when the Aces practiced at Ben Boeke Arena, Summerhays flashed his glove hand to make saves and said he's ready to roll. Like Eddy, he said he simply needs some time to regain his groove.
"I don't think about (the injury) any more,'' Summerhays said. "After the surgery, you think, 'Am I going to be able to make that (glove save) move again?'
"Goaltending is about repetition. I know it's going to be a process. It's unrealistic to think I'll come in and be lights-out right away.''
For Eddy and Summerhays, just being healthy and back between the boards, with exhibition games just a week and a half away, is the progress they seek from the process.
Shuffling the deck
The Aces have exhibition games scheduled at Sullivan Arena against the Missouri Mavericks on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 11-12. Opening faceoff is 7:15 each night.
The Aces listed 24 players – 12 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders – on their training-camp roster. Twenty-one players – 11 forwards, seven defensemen and three goalies – skated in the first practice, because three players are in American Hockey League training camps. Defenseman Evan Renwick and forward Joe Perry are in camp with the Chicago Wolves, and defenseman Garrett Haar is in camp with the Ontario Reign.
Alaska owns the ECHL rights to forward Brodie Reid – the Aces acquired his rights from Elmira in exchange for the rights to defenseman Brad Richard. But Aces coach Rob Murray said Reid, who has spent nearly all of his four pro seasons in the AHL, is unsigned.
Returning Aces center Tim Coffman left Friday's practice early. He said he has a minor lower-body injury he doesn't anticipate will keep him off the ice very long. Also, the Aces have a rest day Saturday – they'll take part in the Making Strides Cancer Walk – before returning to practice Sunday.
Here's the training-camp roster:
Goaltenders (3): 1-- Steven Summerhays; 30 - Troy Redmann; 31 -- Jeff Barney.
Defense (9): 2 -- Evan Renwick; 4 -- Felix-Antoine Poulin; 5 -- Garrett Haar; 7 -- Nilan Nagy; 14 -- Gleason Fournier; 19 -- William Wrenn; 24 -- Landon Oslanski; 33 -- Patrick Wellar; 47 -- Mitch Jones.
Forwards (12): 3 -- Justin Breton; 6 -- Tim Coffman; 9 -- Tyler Maxwell; 11 -- Tomasso Traversa; 15 -- Ben Lake; 17 -- Joe Perry; 20 -- Hayden Trupp; 22 -- David Eddy; 26 -- Dean Chelios; 27 -- Dylan Hood; 29 -- Stephen Mele; 44 -- Stephen Perfetto.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr