"Six months ago, Pierre-Marc Bouchard not only stayed off the ice at the Xcel Energy Center, but he dared venture out for only short walks through his neighborhood. Mentally, he said, he "kind of hit the bottom." Last week, however, Bouchard was back to feeling his oats. "Gotta go," he said by phone from his summer home in Montreal. "My brother wants to go for a bike ride." It's no coincidence that as Bouchard missed 81 of the Wild's 82 games last season because of post-concussion symptoms, the Wild floundered in the NHL's Western Conference standings and fell short of the playoffs. Team personnel, along with Bouchard, are cautiously optimistic that the playmaking former first-round draft pick will play for the Wild this season. Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher can't wait to see the shifty, 5-foot-10 forward back in the team's lineup. "He will come back, and the sooner the better, but again there's still some healing to be done," Fletcher said. "He generates offense, and he has a skill level that's unmatched by most players in the NHL, so clearly his addition to our lineup will give us a boost." Bouchard and Fletcher agree there is no timetable for a return. But the man who had a franchise-record 50 assists two seasons ago is riding an exercise bike, swimming laps and stepping outside for half-hour bike rides around Montreal. "I'm not quite 100 percent yet," Bouchard cautioned. "There are still days I feel some pressure and (days) I'm a little bit more tired, but I can do some little stuff, and I'm sure in the next few weeks, I'll be able to go up a notch." Nevertheless, after a miserable season on the shelf, Bouchard sees a light at the end of the tunnel. "I've been smiling a little bit more this summer, let's put it that way," he said. After missing the end of the 2008-09 season with a concussion suffered in March 2009 and after discovering last September that headaches and the pressure inside his skull had returned, Bouchard, 26, has learned to temper his enthusiasm. "I don't want to get too excited because I'm not quite where I want to be," he said. "So I cannot be, 'Yes, it's over,' because it's not. There's still little headaches here and there, but it's a big step." " http://www.twincities.com/wild/ci_15493550?nclick_check=1
