The Big Comeback: Justin Collins Persists Through Serious Injury and the Pandemic

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Resiliency is a word that is far more common following the pandemic, but it's one that perfectly describes Westfield State University fifth-year senior ice hockey captain Justin Collins.  Collins had nearly a 2-year absence from competitive ice hockey, as he battled back from a horrific injury to get back on the ice, only to see the 2020-21 season wiped out by pandemic protocols. But he has persisted, and is back to use his final year on the ice - helping lead Westfield State into the heart of conference play as one of the Owls' leading scorers.

Collins spent one season with the Islanders Hockey Club in Tyngsboro, Mass before making a spur-of-the-moment decision to go to school, right before the start of classes in 2018.

"I had talked to coach Bob in juniors, and I was planning on doing another year of juniors, but last second I decided I wanted to do school so I ended up here," said Collins.  "I knew of a few buddies that were here the year before me, and I gave them a call asking how it was, they said it was awesome so I just sent it here."

Collins got off to a flying start to his collegiate career as he recorded four goals and 13 assists as a freshman during the 2018-19 season, good for second on the team in assists.

"We were lucky to get him… right before classes started," said Westfield State head coach Bob Miele. "His game is speed. He came in had some things to work on, but he's come a long way. He's always had the talent offensively, and he's worked hard on his defensive game as well."

Collins had tallied a goal and an assist through four games as a sophomore, but then the game dealt him the worst of breaks.

THE INJURY

"It was my sophomore year here, playing Plymouth State," said Collins.  "I was coming down the right wall cutting to the net, and at full speed, I got kind of tripped up and pushed off balance and slid into the boards behind the net. I just hit the boards very hard."

"I've never been one to lay down on the ice even when I'm hurt I usually try to get to the bench at least and this time was a little different, I just couldn't move, my leg was sideways and I just couldn't move it, I could barely get my back off the ice so I knew something was wrong."

Collins suffered a broken femur – and injury that had him down on the ice for an extended period while Westfield State's trainers, doctor, and EMT personnel attended to him.

"I've never had a femur fracture (as an injury to treat)," said Westfield State trainer Kate Sylvain, who works with the Owls' hockey team and was the first to attend to Collins when the injury occurred. 

"It usually happens in your collision sports like football, and ice hockey, but I've been an athletic trainer now going on almost 14 years, so he's the only person I've ever had fracture a femur … in terms of severity, yeah that was pretty severe."

"My mindset is to just make sure to take care of the athlete and their needs," said Sylvain about what her response was to the injury. 

"My first thought is to go out there is to kind of find out what happened, but also kind of calm him down because obviously he's in an immense amount of pain.  I probably couldn't even describe that pain - I've never broken my femur - but it was more about calming him down, and then just making sure he's getting a proper medical treatment and getting a process going with our emergency action plan."

"I think everything with that went super smooth with getting EMS there," said Sylvain.

"There was public safety, and we have a team doctor at all the games, so the team doctor was there to assist. Because [Justin's] leg was stuck in a certain position where he couldn't straighten it out, and we aren't allowed to manipulate it, but the team doctor is, so we were able do that, get him in a more comfortable position. Then we were able to splint him, and then get him to a hospital where he could get medication, and I think he had surgery the following the day."

THE RECOVERY

Collins chats with Westfield State Athletic Trainer Katie Sylvain before a practice.

Through his recovery, Collins initially attended a local sports therapy and conditioning facility, however, Collins wasn't resonating with the treatment he was receiving.

"They were all right, but they just have so many clients that it's like you're not really getting the best out of it," said Collins. "Honestly the best therapy I got was coming back here, and Kate helped me out so much with the water treadmill, and everything, just getting me back to be able to fire my leg. It was in rough shape, took a lot of therapy, a lot of working out, easing into it, single leg workouts, a lot of that."

"I would start with he was very diligent in his recovery process," said Sylvain.

"He actually was back on the ice and lightly skating by the end of the [2019-20] season, but obviously non-competitive because you have to strengthen your lower extremities and hip muscles and everything. But he did make it back out onto the ice, I think in late February, and just skating around with the team was a positive thing for him."

But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck in the middle of March In 2020, just after the conclusion of the Owls season, essentially closing the campus in the early stages, sending students home or to their apartments to complete their semester.

"It didn't really slow down his rehab," said Sylvain.  "He did physical therapy, and went to the gym in the summer, and in the fall of the 2020 we did rehab in terms of strengthening his lower leg, especially his hip muscles.  That was probably a challenge so that's kudos to him."

"I would've told myself to take it day-by-day, and not get too in my head about if I was ever going to skate the way I once did. I would just say relax, take it day-by-day, and trust the process." Collins expressed what he would've told himself during his recovery.   "I have got to give credit to Kate with the therapy and all the stuff she put me through - she really got my leg back to where it is now."

"You know how much work and effort he put into it, because during covid we never knew if we were going to be able to come to school one day to the next," said Sylvain. "So I would help him in here as much as I could when we had access to the training room, and then … I gave him exercises and showed him exercises. He had to do a lot of the stuff on his own as a home exercise program, but he did an exceptional job at everything."

Westfield State coach Bob Miele said he had never personally witnessed such a severe injury as Collins' and that "there was that possibility that it could take away from his game."

BACK ON THE ICE

Collins grew up in Wilmington, Massachusetts. 

"I've been playing hockey for as long as I remember, my dad put skates on my feet before I could basically walk," he recalled.

But two years removed from college hockey, Collins finally got back to competitive play for the Owls first exhibition game in the fall of 2021.

"It was a scrimmage against Nichols, and it definitely felt great to be out there, but I'm not going to lie it was definitely a little bit of an adjustment," said Collins.  "It had been two years …  since I played my last game, so I was a little bit lost out there at first, but I ended up actually getting a goal," and the Owls emerged with a win in Collins first game back from injury.

Collins totaled three goals and 10 assists – tied for third on the team in 2021-22.

Collins is back at full speed for the Owls, serving as an assistant captain for the Owls, and sits second on the team in scoring with eight points on two goals and six assists, as Westfield gets into the meat of the conference schedule with much left to be decided this season.

"I'm feeling pretty good, last year was a little tough, because I took a whole year off coming off a big injury and that was a little bit of an adjustment but I'm finally back in the swing of things," said Collins regarding his feelings towards this season.

"Obviously he's very important," said Miele about Collins role on the team.  "He's one of the fastest guys in the league. He's an overtime 3v3 threat, 4v4 threat offensively, and power plays, there are a lot of situations where he just opens things up for other guys with his speed and his skill, and he's more of a playmaker."

Westfield will host Worcester State on Thursday night at 7:35 at Amelia Park, continuing their pursuit of a conference title.

Given the champion's mentality Collins has shown to date, his leadership will be a key factor in the Owls success down the stretch.

"Absolutely I think we have a great squad," said Collins. "We have proven numerous times to be able to come back from big goal deficits. I think we have something special this year, I think we just need to play a full three periods and we are one of the best teams in this league."

- written by sports information intern Dave Cataloni