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London Knights’ Adam Restoule making comeback from kidney ailment
Surviving in junior hockey is seldom easy, especially for a young man having health problems. London Knights left wing Adam Restoule is someone who probably gets automatically labelled a character guy since he's a 6-foot-3, 217-pound left wing who does not score many goals, but people don't even know the half of what the 19-year-old has overcome to break into the lineup with one of major junior hockey's flagship franchises.
Last season, Restoule played for three teams in as many provinces and U.S. states — first with the Plymouth Whalers, then traded to the Sudbury Wolves before drawing his release and catching on with the Junior A Portage Terriers, an evidently fun-loving bunch who reached the RBC Cup. Restoule did disclose that he was managing some health problems throughout last season, but as Ryan Pyette revealed, it was pretty scary for Restoule.
At first glance, it appeared he was suffering from Crohn's disease. He was showing many symptoms of the inflammatory bowel ailment.
"It ended up being my kidneys," the 19-year-old from Thunder Bay said. "They weren't functioning the way they were supposed to and that's what was causing all the problems."
... He went from Plymouth to Sudbury and was in and out of the Wolves' lineup, the whole time there spent wondering about his health.
"It wasn't working out," he said. "My family was pretty scared. At the time, we didn't know what was wrong with me."
The scars from the experience threatened his hockey dreams.
"I didn't know what was going to happen," he said. "I was released and went home. I wasn't sure if I would get another chance (in the OHL)." (London Free Press)
It turns out Restoule, who's from Thunder Bay, Ont., saw playing for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's Terriers as a chance to combat what was ailing him. Portage is about a 45-minute drive from Winnipeg on a clear day; playing there meant he was also closer to his hometown than in Thunder Bay (only an eight-hour drive, which isn't that much by Western Canada standards).
I went because it was close to Winnipeg and they had a really good (clinic) there that I thought would help me and it did," he said. "I didn't play much but the team went to the RBC Cup (the junior A championship) and it was fun to be a part of it."
The 6-foot-3, 217-pounder said he went on an eight-week program of dieting and probiotics.
That, plus time, did the trick.
"I feel fine now," he said. "Other than a little bit of irritation, I haven't had any more problems."
Restoule has two goals in the seven games he's played for London. He is a role player through and through. Having star players is a major reason why London has been so successful over the last decade, but the Knights augment it by having a strong backbone of role players who treat every day they're in the OHL as a gift.
The Knights host Connor McDavid and the Erie Otters on Friday in a nationally televised game on Sportsnet; obviously, much more airtime will be on the like of the 15-year-old phenom and other notables such as the Knights' Bo Horvat than on Adam Restoule. That's just the way it works. But it's clear who people should pull for.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.
