TARRYTOWN - Even on the worst days of his recovery, Filip Chytil never doubted he'd return to the game he loves.

A suspected concussion and later setback cost the Rangers' center 72 games last season, plus another 10 in the playoffs, with the extended absence and lack of information regarding the injury igniting fears of a career-threatening scenario. But Chytil never subscribed to those negative perceptions.

"I know where I was at," Chytil told lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, following Saturday's double-session practice at the MSG Training Center. "I'm telling you, from my point of view, I was okay. I knew I was going to be back and playing again."

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While the 25-year-old was convinced he'd return, the volatility of head injuries made for a murky timeline. He has a history of concussions, with a Nov. 2 collision with Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast setting off the latest chain of unfortunate events. And even as he began to feel better, the process of being cleared to play was frustratingly slow.

"When you lose something that you love the most and what you do every day since I was 4 years old, it was very hard for me to adjust to a different life in that moment," he said.

Those dark days, most notably a Jan. 26 setback that led the Rangers to announce he would miss the remainder of the season, were exacerbated by the chatter that surrounded his uncertain status. Chytil went more than six months without speaking publicly and the organization was tight-lipped about the specifics of the injury, fueling speculation about the severity of his condition and playing future.

"In the media, it always looks worse than it actually is," he said. "In some moments, it looked like it was the end of the world. Even my closest people started to believe that. And, for me, I was telling them, ‘Stop reading that, because you’ve got me telling you how I feel.’"

The conversation turned even darker when Chytil opened up social media.

"You get so many messages from the fans," he said. "Of course, there are nice messages, but then you get bad messages, as well. … It was a tough moment for everybody close to me."

The makings of a comeback

Chytil was home in Czechia for much of this time, which he said included five months without skating. But once he got back on the ice, being available for the playoffs became a goal he worked tirelessly toward.

He accomplished that surprising feat on May 9 in Carolina, where the Rangers captured a 3-2 overtime win against the Hurricanes in Game 3 of their second-round series. It was a triumph that led to six postseason appearances in total, and while jumping on a moving train when the competition was fiercest proved difficult − "That was maybe of 10% of my abilities," he said, assessing his play − it represented a critical hurdle to clear in preparation for a 2024-25 comeback.

"I spent two great months with the whole team," he said. "The time without them was very hard. When I played, at least I reminded myself of the speed of the games at the most important time in the season."

Determined not to lose that feeling, Chytil was back on the ice just five days after the Rangers were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final. His focus had already shifted to next season.

"That speed of the game, I still had it in my head, so I had to jump right away into my practices at home," he said.

The next three months were wholly committed to training. Chytil quipped that he had plenty of extra time with his family while he was injured, which freed him to devote the entire summer to hockey. But nothing, he noted, can replicate live NHL action.

"I have to build everything from zero right now," he said.

'I'm not scared'

The Rangers declined to bring in another top-nine caliber center during the offseason, leaving Chytil's usual third-line spot open for him to reclaim. It's a risk, but it sends a clear message that they believe he's ready to handle a grueling 82-game season.

He entered training camp as "a full go," according to team president Chris Drury, and has practiced the first three days with no restrictions. He's hoping to play in as many preseason games as he can, with head coach Peter Laviolette happy to oblige.

"Getting back at the end of the season probably set him up to have a good summer," Laviolette said. "He's come back in very good shape. He looks excellent on the ice. There are no limitations with him whatsoever. I actually think maybe the opposite. Maybe a little bit more is good right now to try and get back in and find the game and the game shape part of it, and the feel that goes with the game."

With that game action will come contact, and while fans will surely hold their breath every time Chytil absorbs a hit, he insists it won't cause hesitation or hinder how he plays.

"If I would be scared, I could play somewhere in (Extraliga) in Czech now and enjoy my life. But why?" he said. "I'm back. I'm 100% ready to work, be 100% myself, and I'm not scared of any contact, because I got a couple hits in the playoffs and I was okay."

After everything he's been through the past year, Chytil has concluded that living with doubt or fear won't do him any good. He never wavered in his desire to make it back and he's going to play without inhibition now that he's here.

"I have a different view on everything I do," he said. "I'm working now with unbelievable people at home, here, and it just completely changed my mindset, from last year to this year. It showed that playing the game is not just something I should take for granted, but just enjoy every moment and enjoy every day I'm on the ice."

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY Rangers' Filip Chytil 'not scared' after injury-plagued season