Oklahoma City Barons: Defenseman Taylor Fedun uses rehab time to finish degree at Princeton

A rookie whose professional hockey career was delayed one year when his right femur was shattered in an NHL preseason game, Fedun and two classmates spent several months of trial and error working on 1-foot by 1 1/2-foot hovercrafts.

“I can't even start to tell you how many hours we spent in the machine shop to build all the individual parts, then assembling and troubleshooting the entire thing,” Fedun said. “The ultimate goal was to scale it up even further so you could actually ride on it similar to an ATV.”

The 12^th model of the wood-base, air-cushioned transport vehicle was successful. The trio spent three more months working on the final version, a 4-foot by 21/2-foot hovercraft with foam interior.

What made their hovercraft unique was that previous models used two fans, one on the bottom for lift, another in the back for thrust. Their version used a single fan with a duct system.

“I remember as a freshman hearing about this big senior project you have to do,” Fedun said. “It's something that kind of terrified me, kind of loomed over your head. When we finally finished it was so rewarding.”

The tedious hovercraft project is something he could draw from when he faced a year-long rehabilitation following a gruesome injury.

Growing up in Edmonton, his dream was to play for the Oilers. Fedun actually was thankful he wasn't drafted. It allowed him to sign with the hometown team he rooted for as a kid.

In his first training camp, the relatively unknown defenseman turned heads. He was playing so well he appeared in every preseason game. If Fedun didn't jump straight to the NHL out of Princeton, he would be one of the Oilers' top blueline prospects at Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Things changed on Sept. 30, 2010. In the Oilers' final preseason game, Fedun suffered the type of injury that can derail a career.

Fedun raced Minnesota's Eric Nystrom to the end line. Fedun reached the puck first to force icing, but Nystrom's stick was between Fedun's skates. Fedun slammed into the end boards.

“My leg kind of exploded into a bunch of different pieces,” Fedun said. “The top third of the bone was in a bunch of different fragments.”

Orthopedic surgeons placed a titanium rod and four screws in the femur, largest bone in the body.

“If anyone saw an X-ray of his leg, with all the hardware in there, it's pretty amazing,” said Barons coach Todd Nelson. “He's like the bionic man. His leg basically has been rebuilt. For him to come back is truly remarkable. It's a tribute to him for all the hard work he put in.”