WINNIPEG — Bryan Little isn’t ready to say goodbye to the sport he loves, at least not yet.
But the veteran Winnipeg Jets centre has spent a lot of time during the past 10 months contemplating his hockey future.
And for good reason.
Little has been dealing with a head injury since Nov. 4, when he was hit in the left ear by a slapshot from linemate Nikolaj Ehlers.
Judging by the emotion he displayed during a Zoom call with reporters that lasted nearly half an hour, these have been challenging times for Little.
Trying to come to grips with one’s hockey mortality isn’t an easy subject to address — especially when a big part of you still wants to keep playing.
Provided it’s safe to do so, of course.
The prospect of retirement has been discussed, even if it’s a word Little himself isn’t comfortable using at this time.
“I don’t like using the word ‘retirement,’ because if I were done, it wouldn’t be retiring. I would be done from the injury, basically,” said Little. “But like I said, it’s kind of been in the back of my head since it all happened. The first doctor I talked to brought some things up and that’s kind of been constantly in the back of my head. Especially in talking with my family and wife and stuff, there are some things definitely in the future, there are going to be some decisions that are going to have to be made about what’s next.
“I’m kind of treating it the same way I have been. I’m not really thinking about it until I know for certain and until then, I’m going to keep preparing myself to be ready, so that’s my plan.
“It’s something I thought about the first few days I was in (the) hospital. Some of the things the doctors were saying scared me a bit. It still does. The biggest thing I’m thinking about through this is having a healthy and long life and being cognitively all there when this is all over. Until I am told there’s not a lot of huge risk in coming back, it’s kind of just waiting and hopefully a good amount of time will change things.”
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Suffering a career-threatening injury like this one has left Little with plenty of time to put things in perspective.
“A lot of the doctors said I was unlucky, but lucky. Unlucky about the chances of it hitting me in that spot and the injury, but lucky it could have been a lot worse for what it was,” said Little. “If anything, it’s one of those things where you have an injury like this and you see other players have injuries like this and you never think it’s going to happen to you.
“All of a sudden, one bad-luck play, one misstep and it happens to you. If I could say one thing to a young player, it’s never take it for granted. When you’re young, you think you’re going to be in the league for 20 years, and you think you’re going to be playing forever and will always be healthy. Things can change in a blink of an eye. They did for me for sure. On the road to recovery. Hopefully, one day I will be back out there.”
Little has clearly made a point of prioritizing his quality of life after hockey when it comes to the next step. For the time being, he’s going to focus on that recovery and remain in a positive frame of mind.
“That’s kind of why I want to wait and get all the information and all of the tests and stay as ready as I can, because when that decision comes I want to make the right decision,” said Little. “Until that day, I’m not going to really stress too much or think too much about it. Stay positive and wait until then. But it’s definitely something I’ve thought about a lot over the past year because you think you have a lot more time left and you always think about what you’re going to do after hockey, you have a lot of time to think about that. And sometimes you don’t.
“Sometimes you don’t have an option. Something I’m definitely going to be thinking about going forward here, thinking about life after hockey.”
Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey described what the loss of Little meant both on and off the ice.
“It’s just devastating,” said Morrissey. “Bryan is just a phenomenal person, first and foremost. He’s had an amazing career all the way along. He played at such a young age. He’s been great from the time he started in the NHL, which is again very rare. But when I think of Littsy and my relationship with him, he’s just an amazing person. His work ethic, the type of guy he is, I feel like you really couldn’t find a better guy. So to see him have that injury and struggle with it this year, obviously, you’d feel bad no matter who it was but it feels that much worse because it is (Little) and, obviously, he’s such a big part of our team on the ice, of course, but off the ice, just having him around and being in the room, it just feels that’s how it should be — he should be there. It’s been really tough. I also think obviously it was a huge, huge loss on the ice. I felt like he was playing great hockey. And it was scary to see.
“I just want the best for Bryan’s family, his health in the long term going forward and obviously I think that’s what we’re all hoping for. Hoping he can get some great news and eventually come and play but first and foremost, have his health now and for the rest of his life for his family.”
The impact of the shot caused a perforated eardrum that required 25 to 30 stitches and Little had to spend a few days in hospital.
It also left Little with a concussion, his second in a six-week period after suffering another in the final pre-season game against the Minnesota Wild when he was hit by Luke Kunin.
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It didn’t take long for Little to recognize he was dealing with a serious injury.
“I remember passing (the puck) to the point and like I’ve said before, I don’t know why I drifted behind the net, maybe I was just trying to lose my guy. But I lost sight of the puck and I was coming around the net and I felt it right away. I knew I got hit with the puck,” said Little. “I knew it was bad but I didn’t know how bad it was until probably when I went back to the dressing room. I went to stand up and I felt dizzy and nauseous right away. I knew it wasn’t good.
“The whole side of my left side was pretty numb and throbbing and in pain. I didn’t know how bad it was. I knew it was bad and once we got to the hospital, we did a bunch of tests and stuff. That’s when it really sunk in, the extent of it.”
Little has gone through a litany of tests — including a trip to the Mayo Clinic where the decision was made to shut him down for the season — and there are more to come.
Although he dealt with some hearing and balance issues, the ear has been surgically repaired and Little is now dealing with the next step in the process.
“The biggest thing is just getting the ‘all-clear’ from the doctors. When I get tests done and they go through it with me and kind of give advice, I want to listen to them,” said Little. “I’m not going to say, ‘Screw this, I’m going to go out and try to play through this or take a big risk.’ So the biggest thing for me to get back would be them telling me that the risk is lower, that I have a good chance of going out there and nothing bad happening. I haven’t heard that yet and hopefully at one point I will hear that from them.”
Asked to try and describe everything he’s gone through during the past season, Little struggled to find the words.
“Yeah. It’s tough to sum it up. Basically, it goes with the whole 2020 theme. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong,” said Little. “It was definitely the toughest year of my career. Physically and just trying to stay positive through the whole thing was tough as well. It was good to have the support of the team and my family through it all. That definitely helped keep the spirits up. There weren’t a lot of positives for me.
“The biggest highlight was probably playing in that outdoor game and scoring that goal. That’s probably one of the few highlights I will have from this season. I just watched a lot of hockey and did a whole lot of nothing. Definitely frustrating.”
Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.
Discussing the injury and the recovery process with reporters for the first time was more difficult than Little imagined it would be.
“Yeah, it’s not easy. It’s definitely more in my comfort zone to answer questions about the game last night, or you know, how my line chemistry is going, as opposed to talking about stuff health-related, especially to the extent of this injury,” said Little. “It’s definitely been a new experience and one that I kind of wish never happened in the first place. I wish I was talking about the season right now and wish I was out there with the guys in the playoffs.”
Little has often been described as the conscience of the Jets. As the longest-serving member of the organization, it’s easy for him to keep things in perspective.
With that in mind, Little was asked for his opinion on where the Jets currently stand, with two early exits following the 2018 trip to the Western Conference final.
“I think we have all of the tools to get back to where we were at. I think we’ve got probably a Vezina-worthy, winning goalie in net. A lot of young skilled all-stars on our team. We have all of the tools,” said Little. “We have all of the talent. It’s just a matter of getting it together and peaking at the right time. It’s tough to sit down and analyze this year because it’s such a strange situation, especially from doing nothing and not knowing when the season is going to start and these guys are thrown into playoff hockey after one exhibition game and losing a few of their best players. I think Jets fans don’t have a lot to worry about. I think this team is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future and the young guys are only going to get better and better.”
As for where he could fit in with this group, provided he’s eventually able to return to play, Little is keeping an open mind.
“I’ve always had the attitude of wherever I am needed, I am needed, whether that be second line, third line, fourth line,” said Little. “Whatever the coach thinks is best for the team and thinks is going to help the team win, I’m willing to play whatever role is necessary. At this point, I’m happy just getting back and playing hockey.
“That’s one thing I’ve thought of, if I do come back I want to make sure I’m not going to be tentative out there, that I can go out there and try to pick up where I left off and not be scared to go in certain areas.”
VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.
“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”
With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.
Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.
Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.
“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”
Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.
Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.
Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.
He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.
“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.
“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”
Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.
Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.
Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.
The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.
San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.
Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.
First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.
“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.
“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”
NOTES
Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.
A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.
“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”
Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.
But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.
United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.
The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Villa comeback
After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.
Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.
Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
