from Marty Klinkenberg of the Globe and Mail,

Andrew Ference was healthy when he arrived for training camp with the Edmonton Oilers last summer. He set a team record for lung capacity during fitness tests.

“I felt great,” said Ference, a defenceman who will turn 37 next month. “It was like, ‘Let’s go.’”

Then something happened that hadn’t before. Not in Pittsburgh or Calgary or Boston or Edmonton, where he landed two years ago. At first he played only occasionally. Then he was scratched from the lineup night after night.

“It totally has everything to do with getting older,” Ference said over coffee at an organic café near his house. The parking lot is icy, but it is comfy inside. High school students on their lunch break crowd around a table and pick at veggie quiches beside a fireplace. “When you are an athlete, age is always the enemy.

“Along with having pure foot speed, I think when you are younger you think quicker on the ice. As much as your body plays a role, your mind does as well. I don’t know how you measure it, but there were points early in the season where I felt my reaction time was a little slower than it used to be.”

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