Langkow emotional over injury

Daymond Langkow is one tough dude. No question.

The gritty pivot’s pain threshold is legendary. Broken hands? Big deal. Concussions? Whatever.

But, speaking publically for the first time since being carted off the ice on a stretcher during a March 21 game in St. Paul Minn., the Calgary Flames forward showed emotion.

Not much. But some.

Talking about his loved ones – wife Stephanie, daughters Taylor and Kennedy, son Colton – put a catch in the grizzled centre’s throat.

"It’s tough on the family," Langkow said Wednesday morning. "I was kind of hoping they weren’t watching the game at the time."

So, were they?

"Yeah, they were," he said, voice wavering. "I talked to my wife in the ambulance and let her know things were all right. Obviously, she was a little bit shaken up. But after I talked to her, she was fine."

Upended in Minnesota territory that afternoon, Langkow had already been rocked into an awkward position – facing the point, falling forward, head tucked in – when Ian White’s slapshot drilled him squarely in the back of his unprotected neck.

Down the veteran went. He stayed down, too. Which was telling, given his gutsy history.

"From the impact, it was a shock to the system," said Langkow. "Kind of a scary thing. But after a few seconds, I got things together. Just a freak thing, you know. It was unfortunate. The puck that hit me . . . did the damage. It wasn’t from the fall or anything. It was just the puck.

"An inch or two up or down, left or right, I’m fine. It just happened to hit me dead centre."

The specifics of the injury, while not career-threatening, are unknown.

Because Langkow isn’t saying.

"I’m not going to get into details right now," he said. "Just a day-to-day thing. I’m not quite (pain-free). The range of motion is there. It’s all positive."

Langkow spent the night in a St. Paul hospital. Wearing a neck brace, he returned to Calgary the following day.

"I actually feel pretty good, considering. Obviously, it’s a tough thing to go through."

The 33-year-old was vague when asked about the prospects of returning to the ice this season.

"It all depends on what happens with the team . . . in the next six games or so," said Langkow. "Hopefully things work out and we make the playoffs. We’ll just go from there.

"I’m just doing rehab right now. Just taking it day to day."

Also Wednesday, the team announced that Langkow is one of this year’s recipients of the J.R. McCaig Award. The honour goes to the Flames player and staff member "who best exemplify Mr. McCaig’s enduring virtues of respect, courtesy and compassion for all individuals he encountered both in his professional and everyday life."

The recognition caught Langkow off guard.

"Yeah, that was a little bit of a shock this morning," he said. "Obviously, it’s an honour, considering what it means and who picks it."