Game On Magazine 2017 Nov Game On low res | Page 26

PROFILE
CAIDEN
DALEY
A Comeback
on the Fast Track
BY CARTER BROOKS
Photos by Jeff Miller
2 6 | G AM E ON | N OVEM BER 2017
BRANDON -- The theatrical
idiom, “Break a leg,” is
commonly used as a means
of providing an on-stage
performer “best of luck,” for
an upcoming show.
For Caiden Daley – a
2000-born forward for the
Western Hockey League’s
Brandon Wheat Kings – that
dramaturgical saying now
carries a fresh new meaning
for his 2017-18 WHL season.
“I was actually injured for
the whole summer with a
broken leg,” Daley said. “I
fractured two bones in my
ankle at the start of July in
a scrimmage. It was just a
bad luck kind of play where
a guy just fell on me and I
twisted back and ended up
breaking my leg. But yeah,
that saying kind of hits home
a little more now. I’m just
itching to get back out there
and get my opportunity
to make a difference.”
For the 17-year-old
Winnipegger, it wasn’t a
summer filled with pool
parties, beaches, pickup
hockey games, or skating,
but rather a time of
recovery and preparation
for the upcoming year.
“In all honesty, I’m feeling
stronger and better than ever
before,” he said. “For me,
summer was about getting
ready for the new season.
I was in t he gym every day
working on upper body and
single leg stuff until I got
cleared to play at the end
of August. I finally shed the
non-contact jersey and made
my season debut on the last
weekend of September.”
Going from a broken leg
in July, to playing junior
hockey with the Wheat Kings
in September may seem like
an unrealistic task for most.
For the 6-foot-1, 172-pound
teenager, it was by no means