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Wednesday, September 25, 2002

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

By the time the Penguins started filtering into their Southpointe locker room yesterday morning, they couldn't help but notice something was amiss.

Injured left winger Martin Straka was suiting up, skates and all.

"I was really early, so I thought I was going to be the first guy here," defenseman Josef Melichar said. "But there was Marty, sitting there with all his stuff on and ready to go."

More than ready, actually.

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Not since March 7 had Straka skated, thanks to a wicked run of misfortune over the past few months that included a twice-broken right leg, a cracked orbital above his left eye and an off-season weightlifting accident which fractured a vertebra. And it was supposed to take another month or more before he hit the ice again, as his back still has plenty of healing to do.

But he surprised his coaches and teammates by joining them for the team's first practice of the day and acquitted himself well. Wearing a teal sweater to stand out from his healthy teammates, he participated in all skating-only drills through the 80-minute session and showed no hint of his lengthy layoff other than mild fatigue near the end.

"I was kind of nervous in the morning because it's been so long," he said. "But it was good. I felt fine. I didn't try to do too much or to shoot the puck. Just skating, I was fine."

His mood was bubbly afterward, and infectious.

"It was a great thing for all of us to see," goaltender Johan Hedberg said. "He's such a big part of our team, and to see him smiling and laughing makes all of us feel good."

"We were all surprised and happy, but think how he feels," left winger Jan Hrdina said. "It's been so many months since he played, and this is somebody who has been on the ice since he was 5 years old."

Coach Rick Kehoe cautioned Straka before the workout not to push too hard. If that wasn't enough, center Mario Lemieux chimed in, too.

"Mario told me to take it slow, to not try too much," Straka said. "He's the boss, and you've got to listen."

Although Straka's return to the ice is encouraging to team doctors, the prognosis for his back -- and thus, a projected date for his return to playing -- remains unclear.

The compressed vertebra is healing, but a nearby damaged ligament has not shown enough progress for doctors to rule out surgery. If the ligament requires an operation, Straka likely would miss the 2002-03 season.

He has spent the past 10 days rehabilitating his back with mild weightlifting and stretching exercises -- no more than 40 or 50 minutes daily -- aimed at strengthening the area around the injury. He will continue to add incrementally to his workload in the next four to five weeks while doctors monitor his back.

"I need to get some conditioning back," Straka said. "Then, we can look to see what's going on with me."

He also plans to skate as often as possible. Doctors had told him two weeks ago that, if he felt no pain in his back, he could try skating with the Penguins when they returned from their three-day training camp stint in Wilkes-Barre. Yesterday was his first opportunity, and he seized it.

"If I feel like this, I'm going to be on the ice everyday."

He hopes he soon can add pucks to his workouts.

"When you're just skating, you don't do much. When you start shooting the puck, especially slap shots, and you start getting in drills where you're going to get hit, that's when you find out how you really feel."

Even though he leaped at his first chance to skate, Straka insisted that that should not be taken as a sign he is rushing back into the lineup. He allowed that he was overzealous in his two returns last season, neither of which lasted one period.

"Yeah, I tried to tell the doctors I was fine. They probably knew I wasn't fine, but they told me to go ahead if I felt OK. This time, I'm going to take my time. Even if I feel fine this time, I'm going to take another week or two of practice before I play. I'm going to be 120 percent, not 100 percent."

NOTES -- Lemieux looked exceptionally strong and fast in practice, drawing rave reviews from teammates. He continues to experience no back pain and has declared the right hip that shortened his 2001-02 season "100 percent." "He's getting through the practices and feeling good," Kehoe said. "That's what counts." ... Lemieux worked on a line between Aleksey Morozov, his expected right winger, and Jan Hrdina. While Kehoe allowed that keeping Hrdina with Lemieux is "a possibility" for the regular season, he stressed the coaching staff has not made up its mind. ... Defenseman Michal Rozsival returned to practice after sitting out the weekend because of a bruised knee, but he left a half-hour early in discomfort. ... Defenseman Andrew Ference has pain from what Kehoe described as a pulled stomach muscle. Ference said he will have tests later in the week. ... Center Kent Manderville, held out of the three preseason games last weekend because of a mild groin injury, returned to practice. ... Through games played Monday, center Randy Robitaille was tied for the NHL's preseason scoring lead with two goals, three assists in two games. ... Hedberg, whose inadvertent stick swipe cracked Straka's orbital last season, played it safe yesterday. "I tried to stay away from him," he said. "He doesn't need me hitting him in the face or anything." ... The Penguins' two practice sessions today start at 10 and 11:30 a.m.