FEATURE: Up and Adam

EDMONTON, AB - Adam Larsson navigated Rogers Place, scanning the playing field with a steely look on his face while wheeling himself around with the same grace that's become a fixture on the club's blueline for the past four years.
The defensive juggernaut wasn't suited up in his usual hockey armour, however, and wasn't pushing strides on the ice. Rather, Larsson was subjected to the press box where for a month and a half, he carried his 6-foot-3, 208-pound frame around on a knee scooter adorned in a suit, while his right ankle healed in a medical boot.
Larsson suffered a broken right fibula in the first period of the first game of the 2019-20 National Hockey League season against the Vancouver Canucks - which saw the battle-hardened blueliner still manage to log over 22 minutes of ice time and block an additional three shots before deeming the pain of a broken ankle unbearable to perform under.

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"I played through it," Larsson, when asked about the injury, said. "I thought it was just one of those blocks that would go away after a while. Eventually, when we got to the third period, I couldn't skate anymore."
It was a tough break for both the stoic Swede and his team - no pun intended - as he and the club eyed a bounce-back campaign.
While the optics of Larsson's injury looked grave, essentially subtracting a key defensive cog from the lineup, the shot-blocking sacrifice he made showed to his teammates the lengths he would go to earn a victory - which the Oilers did with a 3-2 comeback score against the Canucks.
Goaltender Mike Smith, who signed with the Oilers as a free agent during the off-season, wasn't well-acquainted with Larsson at the time but offered praise after seeing the defenceman's selfless action.
"The guy is a workhorse just from the short time I've been here," Smith, who stopped 31 of 33 shots against Vancouver for his first win in his first game in Oilers silks, said.
"He's talked about as being that warrior on your team that guys look up to. He's out there last night, not at 100 percent, and still battling for his team. When one of your big guns goes down, especially on defence, it's kind of a blow to our team but I'm sure guys will get an opportunity to fill in and make up for his absence."

As Smith predicted, the only silver lining to come of Larsson's injury was the breakthrough performances of several young defencemen, including Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones, who helped maintain Edmonton's postseason bid until Larsson's health would allow him back on the blueline.
For Oilers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Ken Holland, it proved to become a team rallying point and served to cultivate the squad's confidence.
"It's about depth and people stepping in when given the opportunity. When you're healthy, they know their role is to be ready to support their teammates," Holland said of his player personnel at the 26-game mark of the season when the Oilers owned a 16-7-3 record.
"Finding ways to win; it can't always be pretty. I think every time you can find a way to win, the belief grows. The confidence grows. Going into a game and believing your best is good enough to win, I think that we're in the process of developing that."
Larsson replaced the knee scooter for skates on Nov. 21 in Los Angeles, getting back up and running against the Kings. The 27-year-old re-emerged amid rampant club success, and was thrilled to see how much progress the team had made in such a short period - without a defensive pillar on the back end, to boot.
"It's been very impressive," Larsson said. "Our top two guys have been outstanding, Bearsy coming in and being outstanding, and I think a lot of the guys that were here last year have been stepping it up very much. Pretty much every aspect of the game has been better."
The Oilers alternate captain was initially intended to form a shutdown pair alongside Darnell Nurse at the beginning of the season but found himself beside Kris Russell in his first game back.
But it wouldn't be long until Oilers Head Coach Dave Tippett would pair Larsson with good friend and compatriot Oscar Klefbom, as the two shared over 500 minutes of ice together during '19-20.
At the time of the NHL pause, Larsson had suited up in 49 games, accruing one goal and five assists as a playoff opportunity appeared to be in the making. And players of Larsson's ilk, who are unafraid to risk their own well-being for the benefit of the club, are required in long postseason runs.
Net protectors like Smith know that.
"He's one of those guys that are willing to eat a puck to keep it out of your net and that commitment level is contagious, as far as I'm concerned," Smith said.
"That shows great leadership and wears off on other players around him."