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West Valley City • When Mathieu Aubin steps onto the ice for the Utah Grizzlies' season opener Friday night he will complete a six-month journey many wouldn't have attempted.

The odyssey began at the Maverik Center last April, when Aubin was bumped off-stride while chasing a loose puck in a late-season game against Las Vegas. He went down and, unable to control his momentum, slammed head-first into the boards behind the Wranglers' goal.

He broke his neck.

"It happened so quick," recalled Aubin. "There was a dump-in. I went to get the puck. A second later, I got hit and was on the ground in a lot of pain. What I remember most is the crowd went quiet. I could hear everything that was going on."

Aubin was motionless for 10 minutes while trainers and doctors attended to him.

"It wasn't a dirty hit or too much of a hard hard hit," said teammate Michael Pelech. "He was just off-balance and went into the boards. It was very unfortunate."

Initially, it appeared Aubin had dodged a monstrous bullet. He eventually got to his skates and — ever-so-slowly — was steered off the ice and into the locker room.

"It was a scary moment," Aubin said. "... But in my bad luck, I got pretty lucky."

After the game, which oddly was postponed in the second period because of a problem with the ice, Aubin was taken to the hospital. He was examined in the emergency room and had x-rays taken before being sent upstairs, presumably for routine overnight observation.

It didn't work out that way.

"The doctor came in and said, 'You have two broken vertebrae in your neck,'" Aubin said.

The 28-year-old forward was shocked. So were other members of the organization, including coach Tim Branham.

"I didn't think that's what had happened to him," Branham said. "After we found out, it was just a real downer."

Aubin's thoughts immediately turned to his career.

"The first thing I said to the doctor was, 'Am I going to to be able to play hockey again?'" he said. "He thought I was asking about the rest of the season and said, 'No, you're going to be out at least half a year.' I was like, 'Well, at least I can still play."

Aubin underwent surgery and, without him, the Grizzlies were upset by Bakersfield in the first round of the ECHL playoffs.

"Because of his experience and the way he plays, we missed him," Branham said. "... Aubin is great defensively. He's great with the puck. He's great on offense. And he's won championships. When a guy like that is out of the line-up, you miss him a lot."

Aubin never considered quitting: "My mentality was I'm lucky to still be playing. It was my motivation."

The son of former professional hockey player, Aubin started skating when he was four. He was originally given figure skates "just to get me out on the ice." A few years later, he picked up a hockey stick and hasn't stopped playing. There aren't any plans to stop, either.

"Hockey is my passion," Aubin said. "Except for my family, it's all I care about. I can't see myself not playing hockey — doing something else. So I'll keep working my hardest until I can't do it any more. I'm going to work hard to keep playing."

Those who know him aren't surprised Aubin has made it back from such a serious injury. In fact, they would have been more surprised if he had not succeeded.

"He was always very positive through the whole thing," said Pelech. "He worked very hard to get back and, the last few days, he's looked good out there."

Said Branham: "He's a competitor. He's a veteran. He wants it. He wants to be here. From that aspect, I'm not surprised."

Branham has been a little shocked, however, by how quickly Aubin has gotten himself ready to play.

"I'm very surprised how he looks already because he wasn't able to do anything all summer," the coach said. "He wasn't cleared until he got here [for training camp]. He wasn't able to skate all summer. So I'm very surprised how sharp he looks and how in-shape he is." —

Mathieu Aubin file

Vitals • 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, age 28

Position • Forward

Hometown • Sorel, Quebec

Career • Name is pronounced Matt-chew Awe-ban. ... Played four years with Sherbrooke and Lewiston in the Quebec Major Junior League (2002-2006). ... Selected in the fifth round (130th overall) of the 2005 NHL entry draft by Montreal. ... Made his professional debut with Hamilton of the American Hockey League on Oct. 6, 2006. ... Won ECHL championships with Cincinnati in 2008 and 2010. ... Won an AHL championship with Hamilton in 2009.... Acquired by Utah from Cincinnati on Nov. 8, 2013. —

Season opener

O Idaho at Utah

When • Friday, 7 p.m.

Where • At the Maverik Center

Radio • 1320 AM

Saturday • Utah at Idaho, 7 p.m.