WHL NOTEBOOK: Fluker battles another hip issue

If there truly is no education like adversity, Boissevain’s Josh Fluker has become a wise, wise man.

The Wenatchee Wild defenceman has cut a second consecutive season short due to issues with his labrums, although this time it’s on the right side. It’s been a lot to deal with in the last 18 months for Fluker, who turned 20 earlier this month.

“I guess it will only make me stronger,” Fluker said.

Surgery on his right labrum is scheduled for today in Calgary.

WILD RIDE

Fluker, who was drafted seventh overall by the Swift Current Broncos in 2021, was part of a blockbuster deal on Jan. 4, 2024, when Wenatchee sent 19-year-old forward Conor Geekie of Strathclair to Swift Current for a package that included two other players and four draft picks.

After playing 28 games with the Wild to close out the 2023-24 season, he was named an alternate captain last year, was listed by Central Scouting, and attended rookie camp with the Colorado Avalanche.

But Fluker’s left labrum began to be a problem, and after a game on Dec. 31, he pulled himself out of the lineup and began to do intensive physiotherapy to deal with the issue.

He returned to the Wenatchee lineup on March 1. He played three games, and in the third one, on March 5 against the Prince George Cougars, his bad luck continued.

“I was at a point where it felt really good,” Fluker said. “There were no problems on the ice, and I was playing pretty well and I was in great shape. Then I took a hit and got concussed and that ended the year for me.

“At that point I was uncertain about what I wanted to do, but I got surgery on my left hip. I didn’t want to go through the whole summer training and then end up going into next year and having the same problems.”

The surgery was done April 3, but with a five-month recovery — including a month when he couldn’t walk — he wasn’t able to get much accomplished in the off-season.

“I probably only skated twice before I headed out to Wenatchee,” Fluker said. “It was five months I waited until the first time I stepped on skates. I wanted to be cautious and make sure my hip was strong enough to be able to skate. I could have skated at four months probably but I didn’t think that was a great idea.”

BACK ON ICE

Fluker’s surgically repaired labrum was certainly thrown back into the fire when he arrived for camp, with the defenceman chuckling that he couldn’t hold back once he hit the ice and tried to get back into shape.

“It felt really good,” Fluker said. “There were obviously some growing pains like cramps because I hadn’t used my muscles like that in so long, but it went pretty well.”

Once the season started, Fluker’s hip was getting sore, so head coach Don Nachbaur limited his playing time to about 12 to 14 minutes per night. If the Wild played three games in three nights, he would sit for one of them.

With his reduced workload, he eased back in on the third pairing and gradually moved his way back up the lineup and on the power play and the penalty kill.

“I filled a role where it was whatever the team needed,” Fluker said. “I was kind of precautionary on my side too. I didn’t play a ton of minutes because by the third period I would be done. There were some games where I would be off the power play and only play kill, or I wouldn’t play kill, but I would play power play.

“I was all over the place. It was different.”

Fluker said Nachbaur and the staff were very good about accommodating his physical needs. Even so, the workload had activated another ticking time bomb in Fluker’s body.

“Eventually it got to a point where my other side started giving me problems,” Fluker said. “It was ‘Oh, here we go again.’ I battled November until Christmas with my other side, and at Christmas time it was ‘Ya, I don’t think I could play another 40 games so I called it.”

The pain in the two hips was comparable, although this time the pain radiated into his low back from overcompensating, which added a new leave of discomfort.

“It feels like my hip grinds all the time and clicks,” Fluker said. “It does feel like there is a knife in the front of my hip and with the back pain, I couldn’t even sleep at night. My back pain was almost worse than my hip pain.”

The six-foot, 185-pound right-shooting defenceman has been an absolutely transcendent skater since he was a youngster, with a seemingly effortless ability to glide around the ice at high speed.

One of Fluker’s coaches said this season he had no idea the defenceman was in so much pain because he got around the ice so well. But Fluker knew differently.

“To me, I watch my video, and the difference from when I was 17 to now is crazy,” Fluker said. “In a straight line I’m fine, but it’s when I’m trying to defend and stopping and starting, that’s when it’s really painful. If I didn’t have to stop all game, I’d probably be fine.”

NEW ROLE

One change for Fluker this season is he was named captain after serving as an alternate captain a year ago. It was a responsibility he took seriously.

“Nachbaur definitely helps us out a lot and teaches us a lot of things about leadership,” Fluker said. “He wore many letters in his years. Even in that part of my game, I’ve grown a lot in leadership and trying to drag guys into the battle every night.

“It’s definitely different and a lot of responsibility, but I definitely take pride in doing that because I really do love it. I guess they had that trust in me to wear the C and take charge of the group. I really appreciate that.”

That also made it that much harder to pull the plug on his season. He said letting his teammates know was one of the worst parts.

“I sent a text to the guys,” Fluker said. “I felt like I abandoned them and left them, but sometimes there is nothing you can do. You have to do what’s best for you. It sucks.”

He came home for Christmas and then returned to Wenatchee after the break.

Fluker admitted there is another mostly unseen difficulty with being hurt. Injured players don’t travel with the team and have their own schedule, so there’s a lot of time alone.

“Being hurt is pretty isolating,” Fluker said. “I went through it all of last year. I got to a point where, with my mental health, I felt like I needed to go home. I go to the rink every day and go to the gym by myself, and then I go home and have nothing to do.

“It’s pretty isolating that way.”

NEXT CHAPTER

He headed back to Boissevain in early January for good.

Since Fluker has been through the surgery already, he knows what to expect today and in the coming weeks. The bonus to getting it done now is that he should have July and August to prepare for camp this summer.

He definitely wants to play an overage season in the WHL, and will explore any NCAA options that exist after he graduates.

After missing big chunks of two seasons, Fluker’s fervent desire is to come back as an overager and finally showcase what he can do. And with both hips fixed, it might just happen.

“I would do anything for it,” Fluker said. “I hope it all goes well and I come back next year and be the player I want to be.”

THIS AND THAT

• QUIZ — In the Canadian Hockey League’s import draft, what three countries is Brandon most likely to pick from?

• WEEKLY AWARDS — The goaltender of the week is 19-year-old Brandon Wheat Kings netminder Jayden Kraus of Prince Albert, Sask., who won both his starts while posting a 1.45 goals-against average and .947 save percentage in three appearances. The player of the week is 18-year-old Kelowna Rockets forward Tij Iginla of Lake Country, B.C., who had four goals and five assists in three games. He is a prospect of the Utah Mammoth.

The rookie of the week is 18-year-old Everett Silvertips forward Mathias Vanhanen of Nokia, Finland, who scored twice and added three assists in three games last week.

• SIN BIN — Edmonton Oil Kings forward Jaxon Fuder is awaiting the length of his suspension after taking a checking-to-the-head major and game misconduct in a loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday.

• ALUMNI GLANCE — Jiri Patera has played one game with the Vancouver Canucks this season but spent most of the season with the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks. In 20 AHL starts, he has a 2.64 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. The Czech netminder, who turns 27 later this month, was selected by Brandon in the 2018 import draft, 104th overall, appearing in 89 games during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

• THE WEEK AHEAD — The Wheat Kings hosts the Calgary Hitmen on Friday at 7 p.m., and then visit the Prince Albert Raiders on Saturday at 7 p.m.

• ANSWER — Three countries have been familiar destinations for Brandon’s import draft picks. It’s led by Czechia with 13, followed by Russia with eight and Sweden with six.

The Wheat Kings have grabbed three players each from Finland, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Austria, two from Belarus and one each from Latvia, Denmark, and Norway.