The first frustration is gone and now Thomas Vanek talks about the season gone by, his many injuries and who's going to win the Soccer World Cup.

Question: Let’s start with somthing happening currently – who’s gonna win the Football World Cup in South Africa?

Thomas Vanek: England, this is their year.

Question: How will you be following the World Cup?

Vanek: ESPN carries all the games. Due to the time lag I’ll be able to grab the first game of the day at breakfast and the last game during or after lunch.

Question: How are you? Has the frustration passed by since being eliminated in the playoffs?

Vanek: There’s still a bit of frustration but all in all it’s ok by now. The hardest thing for me were all the injuries I had this season. When I broke my jaw I had a clear time-table for my comeback but this season the injuries just kept coming.

Question: It all started against Detroit in your third game in the regular season.

Vanek: That’s right, that was the shoulder injury. I wanted to get back into the line-up as soon as possible and only paused for 2 games or so. Now I know that I should have taken more time to let the shoulder heal, but as a player you always want to play. Well, hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

Question: What came next?

Vanek: Next I got a shot from Adam Mair right into my belly. I had internal bleeding but kept on playing. Only after a week the pain just got too much. The coach took me out of a line-up saying that it didn’t make sense to keep on playing like that. So I had to pause for 10 days, but it took weeks until I was completely restored.

Question: The next injury affected your groin?

Vanek. Right, that was the injury towards the end of the regular season. I kept playing through the pain, only in the game against Tampa it just got too much again. This time I took the time to let the injury heal more or less completely. I took 5 days off, doing exactly nothing. Then I started practicing on the bike and in the pool. After that I felt so good, it was just like coming fresh from training-camp at the start of the season.

Question: Everybody could see that, given your 4-goal-comeback against Ottawa.

Vanek: Exactly! I was feeling rejuvenated on the ice. It was like, wow I can skate again and such thoughts were going through my head. Just like that I was having fun playing again and that immediately translated into more confidence and goals.

Question: But that still wasn’t the end to your injury troubles.

Vanek: Sadly, no. The first game against Boston in the playoffs was a good one for me and my team. After that they took me effectively out of the series.

Question: Can you describe the attack once more?

Vanek: First there was the slash against my knee that took me down. Next I was sliding into the boards with Boychuk. When I hit the boards I twisted my ankle and then Boychuk stepped on it, cutting into the muscles.

Question: A similar injury to one Paul Gaustad already had?

Vanek: Yes, only I was lucky that Boychuk only partially tore my muscles and not the tendon. Otherwise my season would have ended right then and there.

Question: Still, you managed to return quite quickly and in shape.

Vanek: “In shape” might be a bit exaggerated. We simply tried everything to get me back on the ice. The first few days there was nothing to be done, I couldn’t even put any weight on the foot. When I was finally ready to get back on the ice we had to tape the ankle so heavily that it felt more like a cast. To be honest: I’m happy that we tried and did all that, even if it wasn’t enough to get us past Boston.

Question: There’s something to learn from every defeat. What have you learned for next season?

Vanek: As I said before, the frustration and disappointment were really big, because I’ve never been injured that often during one season. Whenever I felt that I found my touch again I was thrown back again. Now I know that it only makes sense to come back when you’re 100 percent ready. It’s better to sit out 6 or 7 games and come back fully restored instead of pausing for only 2 games and then trying to find your form over the next month. I have to listen more to my body.

Question: And what can you learn as a team?

Vanek: I think we were playing quite good towards the end of the season. We weren’t really bad against Boston, but we suddenly started to give away games going into the third we a lead. That’s something we hadn’t done all season long. We have to be aware next year that it’s not acceptable to take of a single shift, let alone a whole period in the playoffs. We can’t lean back looking back at the regular season feeling satisfied, we have to really push it in the playoffs.

Question: The Sabres were a team with relatively little playoff-experience. Were the many rookies a reason that you were eliminated in the first round?

Vanek: That would really be the worst excuse, blaming our young players. We just weren’t good enough and will have to work even harder next year.

Question: What impression did the young guys like Gerbe, Ennis and Myers make on you?

Vanek: They were great and did a spectacular job. But you’re really in trouble when a rookie is your best player in the playoffs, like it was this year. I’m sure that we’ll see a lot of good things from these guys in the future.

Question: A short outlook on next season?

Vanek: That’s way too early. We don’t even know which players will be returning. I’m just happy that Mike Grier was signed for another year. He is such an important presence on the team – on the ice as well as in the locker room. There is a reason that, for example, our penalty kill was so good this year.

Man, I really like Vanek. The more you hear about his injuries and watch him in the playoffs, the more you realize that the guy loves playing hockey, loves the team and is willing to give it all out there when it counts. If he can actually have a injury-free season (and god forbid his fellow top 6 linemates show up on a regular basis), I think Vanek can definately come around and be worth that huge contract of his.

This year was like (injury wise) if he were connolly but just said "fuck it I'll play anyway."

See? Even Vanek prays at the Church of Mike Grier.