It's not ideal -- especially considering Fix-Wolansky got off to a red-hot start last season with the Monsters in his second year as a pro -- but there is some good news. The Edmonton native is back on the ice doing informal workouts with teammates and hopes to be ready to return to action early in the 2021-22 season.
"I think I'm feeling good in the gym and on the ice," he said. "There's still quite a bit of stuff I can't do. I have to take it slow. One day at a time. That's the mind-set that I've had is to continue to get better every single day and continue to progress in the right direction."
The Blue Jackets will be just as excited as Fix-Wolansky when he is able to return given the skill the forward brings to the table. The 22-year-old looks like a potential late-round steal with the ability to pile up points, as Fix-Wolansky has shown the past few seasons in juniors and the minors.
He lit up the Western Hockey League with the Edmonton Oil Kings with 89 points in 2017-18 and then earned conference player of the year honors a year later when he finished with 37 goals and 102 points.
Injuries have impacted Fix-Wolansky both years in Cleveland -- he has been able to play in just 52 games over the first two years of his pro career -- but he has still found a way to produce. A groin injury early in his rookie campaign of 2019-20 cost him a couple of months, but he came back to play in 43 games and posted 12 goals and 26 points.
A year ago, Fix-Wolansky was off to a great start, notching four goals and five assists in nine games before suffering the knee injury.
"It was a huge step," he said of his showing a season ago. "I felt like I was more comfortable on the ice. It felt like I kind of controlled the game the way I wanted to and played the way I wanted to and just let all the outside noise go away, but it was a really good step. Then nine games in we had the setback, so it's time to ramp it back up again and take another step here."
For now, those steps will come off the ice as he continues his rehab. While Fix-Wolansky normally spends around a month off the ice during the average offseason, this year he was unable to skate for around four or five months as he rehabbed the knee, then returned to skating about a month ago.
"It was one of the more exciting times," he said of getting back on the ice. "Obviously when you're hurt and you're off the ice for four months, five months, it takes a toll on you. That first ice session back, I was super excited, and honestly I think it went a lot better than I thought it was going to. I have a lot of work to do still, but it felt good."
So far, he's been on the ice two or three times a week for 45 minutes to an hour each time, though he's still building up strength in his right leg and working on edges. And while Fix-Wolansky -- who arrived in Columbus about a month ago -- certainly is frustrated working his way back, he also doesn't want to rush things and suffer another setback.
While he's been tested each of his first two pro seasons with injuries, the hope is to use the adversity as fuel and turn it into something positive once he is able to return.
"I think the mental game is a huge part of it," he said. "No one ever wants to be injured, and when you get injured, it takes a toll on you, so you just have to stay in it mentally and know there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you're going to be stronger when you come back."
