Lightning's Foster works his way back

Most men might consider a wobbly walk down the aisle a moment of temporary weakness brought on by nerves. For Kurtis Foster, his wedding-day stroll July 12, 2008, was a triumph of strength and determination.

Four months earlier - March 19 - Foster was playing for the Minnesota Wild when he shattered his left femur in a horrific on-ice accident when he was pushed into the end boards by San Jose's Torrey Mitchell. Foster lay on the ice for more than 10 minutes as medical staff stabilized the leg. The next day, he had surgery at a San Jose hospital to have a metal rod inserted into his leg.

"It was a significant, multiple-fractures, car-accident stuff, something you would see in a pretty good car crash," Lightning medical trainer Tom Mulligan said.

Despite the trauma to his leg, Foster made a promise to his bride-to-be, Stephanie, that he would walk without assistance when they exchanged vows. The event was a monumental moment in his life for more than the obvious reason.

"To be able to show her that I was on my way was huge," Foster said. "A lot of it, too, was I hadn't seen my family since I got hurt, so to see everybody in the same room to see me walk out after what I had been through was an amazing moment that I'll never forget."

Now, two years after the accident, Foster's comeback story has become more amazing.

After signing a one-year, $600,000 deal with Tampa Bay, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound defenseman is having a career year. Foster has played a career-high 68 games heading into tonight's game against Ottawa. His 31 assists are 11 more than his previous best, and his 39 points are 11 more than his old career high.

Foster knows the climb to where he wants to be as a player is not over, but the road back has been quite a mountain to scale.

"When I go back and look at pictures of myself in the hospital, how much of a ghost I was, how bad my leg looked at the time ...," Foster said. "Now, I'm back to where I was and I haven't missed a beat. It's been a long two years, and right now I feel I'm back to where I was if not better."

A lot of hard work went into getting Foster back on track. He worked closely with the Wild training staff most of last season trying to regain the strength in his leg. He returned to the ice Feb. 8, 2009, in a minor-league rehab assignment with the Houston Aeros. On March 7, he was back in the NHL, playing 10 minutes for the Wild at Los Angeles.

"Because the stories that I've heard about how horrific it was and how much pain there was, I have to give him a lot of credit," Lightning coach Rick Tocchet said, "because of the whole fact of the mental block of going back for a puck with somebody on your back, that's tough."

With the season near its conclusion, Foster's comeback story could just be beginning.

"I just wanted to come in and show the Lightning, show the league, show my family, show my friends, show everybody that I could still do it," he said. "I think right now, going into the end of the year, that I'm playing the best hockey of my career, and I can't ask any more than that right now."