AMHERST – Tyler Myers acknowledged the left ankle injury he suffered last month in Austria was the “nightmare scenario” for any locked-out NHL player in Europe.
At first, the Buffalo Sabres defenseman was nervous about the injury.
“But once we figured out what it was, I knew it would be pretty quick,” Myers said this afternoon after skating about 90 minutes with some Sabres teammates inside the Northtown Center. “I didn’t want to push it to try to come back too early in case the season did come back. That helped me out.”
Myers, who was injured Dec. 7, returned and played one game before the 113-day work stoppage ended Sunday.
“It’s all fine,” Myers said about the ankle. “I made sure it was ready to go before I came back. I’m feeling 100 percent right now.”
How did the injury, reportedly a strain, happen?
“It was just an awkward play,” Myers said. “I got caught up with a player going to the net. Just got caught on something and twisted it.”
The 22-year-old said he enjoyed his three months overseas. He compiled three goals, 10 points, 37 penalty minutes and a minus-7 rating in 17 games with Klagenfurter AC.
He even played a game against Sabres winger Thomas Vanek, a national hero in his native Austria.
“It was fun. It was strange,” Myers said about facing Vanek. “But when I first got over there I didn’t realize how big ‘Vanek Nation’ was over there. To get a taste of that, it’s pretty unbelievable how much influence he has in Austria and how much those people look up to him.”
Check back later for much more on Myers’ time overseas.