Jesper Bratt is Sweden's perhaps currently brightest star in the NHL sky and scored 88 points in the regular season last season – best of all Swedes.
But the New Jersey player missed the World Championship on home soil in the spring and is now telling about the injury that stopped him.
It was a shoulder that was bad for many years. I tried to avoid an operation for many seasons and tried to fix it as much as possible, he says and continues:
It went to a certain limit to be able to play but it was always something that happened and it was not quite in place.
In February, the Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina await if Bratt gets a spot on the team from national team captain Sam Hallam. It was something that was on his mind when he finally decided on an operation.
If this happens at the wrong time and you can't play and are at 40-50 percent of your capacity at the wrong time, that's what I wanted to avoid. Especially if it happens before an upcoming Olympic Games or so.
Now Bratt believes in a quick return.
The rehab and operation have gone really well. I will be back by the start of the season.
