And make no mistake, Gabriel intends to be back on the ice in a Wild uniform before the end of the 2017-18 season despite a partial cut of his median nerve, as well as damage to a major muscle and a ligament in his wrist sustained in a game Nov. 17. The 24-year-old Ontario native underwent successful surgery to repair the damage three days after sustaining the cut that jarred just about everyone on the Iowa bench.
"It was scary," Iowa coach Derek Lalonde said. "I didn't know if he had broken his arm or what, but the look on his face showed he was scared. He was screaming in pain."
Gabriel said that what scared him most was the pain he felt when he got cut. Gabriel had flattened a Grand Rapids player into the boards just prior to getting cut.
"I had turned away to see where the puck was after I knocked him over," he said. "He was trying to get up right behind my knees when I fell backward over him. The back point of his skate was pointing up when I fell back and I hit directly on the back point of his skate."
Immediately, Gabriel felt a searing pain that told him he had been injured severely.
"I've had a broken wrist, but that didn't hurt like this did," Gabriel said. "It was obviously pretty crazy, but that was because the nerve was cut. It felt like it was on fire."
Gabriel said he also knew the injury hadn't cut an artery. "Actually it didn't bleed that much so I knew the artery was fine," he said.
Now on the road to recovery, Gabriel said he will use the time to work on gaining strength. How long it will take for him to return to the ice is up in the air, he said.
"It depends on how I respond to rehab," he said. The Wild's medical staff has said it could take around 12 weeks for him to get back to action.
The biggest problem will be giving the soft tissue in his wrist enough time to recover. Iowa's all-time penalty minutes leader said he will be skating long before he can pick up a stick to practice shooting and passing.
"The soft tissue takes a long time to come back," Gabriel said. "A broken bone mends pretty quickly, but soft tissue takes a while. I will be on the ice long before I can start playing in games]," he added.
Gabriel said he's received a lot of support from fans who voiced their encouragement after the accidental injury.
"I got a lot of tweets after it happened," he said. "I've been getting a lot of fan support and I really appreciate it."
As for the injury, Gabriel said he could be philosophical about it now.
"I've dealt with it mentally, and now just have to make sure I get ready to get back at it," Gabriel said, adding it's his first serious injury in nine years. "I guess I was due for something like this."
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