Summer training will be 'big' for Karlsson

The Ottawa Citizen details Erik Karlsson's comeback from last year's Achilles tendon injury, which earned him the Senators' nod for the Masterton Trophy.

Karlsson indicates he's in the "high 80's" or "almost 90" percent of top form.

“Where I’m at today is further than I thought I would be,” he says. “Obviously, I’m very pleased with how the progression has gone. It’s weird. It doesn’t feel like it did before, but at the same time, it feels good enough to be able to play at the level that I kind of what to be at.

“I know I’m going to have to give it time and this summer is going to be big for me, when hopefully, I can go back to the normal routine and do the things I normally do in the summers.”

How are things different now than before the injury?

“It’s a little bit of everything,” he says. “The flexibility is the same. It’s back to where it normally is. It’s just about muscles and all the scar tissue I still have. That has been slowing down the process and it’s really hard to break through it when you skate. I think just being in shoes and running and doing that stuff (in the summer) will tear it all off.”

Source: Ken Warren, Ottawa Citizen