Tyrell takes best shot at roster

The crowd inside Toronto's Air Canada Centre seven months ago roared in appreciation when Team Sweden star defenseman Victor Hedman was leveled to the ice during a World Junior Championships pre-tournament exhibition game against Canada.

The hit, which the 6-foot-6 Hedman said left him "seeing stars," came courtesy of 5-foot-10 Canada forward Dana Tyrell on his first shift of the game.

Now they are teammates, participating in the Lightning's prospects camp.

"The crowd went nuts," Tyrell said of the hit he delivered in December. "I remember we were both rushing for the puck at the blue line and I made a big collision - I mean, I got winded out of that, too - but me and Victor did talk about that Wednesday and got a good laugh out of it."

A couple of shifts after that play, however, Tyrell's season ended. While making an innocent-looking hit along the boards, the Lightning's 2007 second-round pick said he felt numbness in his right knee but no pain. He was ready to head back out for his next shift when the team trainer called him back to the locker room.

"The doctor just took a look at it and told me I was done," said Tyrell, 20. "I just hit a guy and I guess my knee twisted; it didn't even hurt. It was weird."

The diagnosis was a torn ACL and a partially torn MCL of his right knee that would require major surgery to repair, followed by a long recovery process.

Just like that, a promising season was over. Tyrell had received his first invitation to an NHL training camp, seen preseason action on a line with Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis, served as captain for his junior team, signed his first pro contract and made Team Canada's World Junior roster while skating on a line with John Tavares, the 2009 No. 1 overall draft pick.

"I was pretty excited for the way things were going," Tyrell said, "but it was a goal of mine to make the World Juniors and it's good to know that I made it. It was too bad that the injury happened, but I guess if it's going to happen, it happened at a good time - I'm ready for this prospect camp and I'm ready for the big camp."

While Tyrell said he felt honored to be invited back by Team Canada to watch the gold medal-winning game against Sweden and join in the postgame celebrations in early January, the next few months were filled with long hours of rehabilitation that included some lonely hours in the gym.

Tyrell returned to the ice about two months ago, but this week's prospect camp is his first opportunity to be in a competitive environment and skate in a team atmosphere. He said the knee feels stronger than before the surgery, and others have told him he looks faster on the ice.

Now healthy, he hopes to fast-track his career once again with the prospect camp as the launching point.

"This is why I play hockey, to get my chance to play in an NHL game and to play pro, and this is a big step for me," he said. "If I don't get a chance to play in Tampa this year - and that's my main goal - then I'll play in AHL Norfolk."

HEDMAN SIGNS: Defenseman Victor Hedman, the No. 2 pick in the draft, signed a standard three-year entry-level contract that pays him the rookie maximum of $900,000 as a base salary. Bonus clauses push his salary-cap figure to $3.75 million.