Predators strengthened, calmed by Ryan Ellis' return from injury

“What do you love in life?”

Ryan Ellis wasn’t being rhetorical. It was the afternoon of Jan. 2, and a reporter asked a debuting Ellis to describe how he combated the mental anguish that arose during six-plus months of lonely, tedious rehab. 

The defenseman flipped the premise. 

“I love hockey the most in life, and you take that away, it’s tough,” Ellis said. “Take your phone away from you, and how would you feel, right? It’d be rough.”

Although the reporter in question would much rather not be handcuffed to his phone, Ellis made his point. An offseason operation to repair his right knee robbed him of half a season, separating him from his Predators teammates as they enjoyed a strong start. 

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But Ellis is back now. The Predators are better for it, and so is he. 

"I feel like I'm a lot further along than I expected, I guess," Ellis said. "Not having a training camp or preseason or 30-something games of the regular season, the legs, the lungs, everything was honestly better than I thought. I feel better than I did last year as far as the legs go. Playing with the injury all last year and finally being healthy, it's been a lot better."

There has been little to no evidence of rust in Ellis' game despite his extended layoff. The Predators didn't yank him beard-first into high-pressure situations, originally limiting those minutes as he regained his footing. 

Ellis' playing time gradually has crept toward normal levels. He's averaged nearly 22 minutes across the Predators' past three games, contributing in all areas. 

"I didn't expect to have that jump, especially this early," Ellis said. "I thought that would take some time — getting up in the rush, leading the rush at times, being part of the offense. My main focus was to play solid 'D,' and I think I've had the energy, the legs to be able to do both."

In assessing Ellis since he returned two weeks ago, teammates, coaches and management similarly have described his impact, pointing to how his presence has calmed the team on each end. 

That steadiness was evident in Ellis' two-point performance against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. He exhibited great patience in delivering a pinpoint stretch pass to forward Scott Hartnell, then smoothly ripped a crunch-time goal into the Arizona net. 

"It's great to have him back," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "I've been talking about how good he's been defensively, but he's great offensively, too. And he has been for us. He's a big part of our offense. ... He just settles things down on the back end." 

No longer hindered by his knee injury, Ellis instantly has strengthened the Predators. 

"You can definitely see it in his eyes," Predators captain Roman Josi said. "He's really happy to be back and just playing hockey."

Reach Adam Vingan at avingan@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamVingan.

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