Nik has no time for the past

It could be said that Nik Antropov's career once reached the breaking point but, given his medical history, that would sound like the punch line to a cruel joke.

But there was a moment in his early days with the Maple Leafs – he recalls it as being some time after his second major knee reconstruction in 2001 – when the winger realized if he didn't conquer his fear of getting injured it was going to conquer him.

In games, he was skating hard, forcing himself to go into the danger areas in the corner and in front of the net but he knew he was kidding himself. He wasn't over the hump; he still carried niggling doubts about his own survival in the league.

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