As he jogged past teammate and fellow linebacker Dakota Toedter during practice earlier this week, Lakeville North’s Tristyn Hanson veered right and clipped Toedter’s shoulder pads with his own. The playful but hardly gentle shot was a throwaway moment in a two-hour practice, but it said volumes.

When Lakeville North faces Totino-Grace on Thursday in the Class 6A semifinals, the Panthers will take the field led by their captain and emotional leader, a reality that didn’t seem possible two months ago.

Flash back to Sept. 19, when Lakeville North played Apple Valley. Caught in a pile-up, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Hanson’s body went one way and his lower leg another.

“It was one of those freaky things where I completely shattered the fibula and my ankle displaced, disconnecting from the lower leg,” Hanson said.

Fellow linebacker and best friend Jesse Cardenas said it was one of those injuries that make even hardened players wince.

“It was one of the grossest things I’ve ever seen,” Cardenas said. “It was just hanging loose.”

The trip to the hospital was “one of the most painful rides of my life. I could feel every little bump,” Hanson said. It resulted in news he’d hoped not to hear: Surgery was necessary.

“And, after six weeks, maybe we would start rehabbing,” he said this week of the prognosis.

Unacceptable, Hanson thought. This was his senior year. He had Division I scholarship offers on the table. There was wrestling season to consider. Most important, he had a defense full of his closest buddies to lead and state championship dreams to chase.

So, when the medical professionals told him his season was over, he took it personally.

“Both the doctor and the nurse told me that it was too bad my season was over,” said Hanson, resentment bubbling through. “I was so annoyed at them. They just said it so nonchalantly.”

Hanson underwent surgery, which included eight pins and a metal plate to secure the broken bones.

“That first night was the worst. Not just for the physical pain but the mental pain, too,” Hanson said. “But the next day, I realized that things keep moving forward. Now it’s recovery time. I thought if the team kept winning, I could make it back this season.”

At least one other person shared that belief.

“Knowing what kind of kid he is and how much heart he has, I thought he could come back,” Lakeville North coach Brian Vossen said. “He’s one tough kid.”

Vossen recommended a clinic to Hanson that specializes in rapid recovery using electronic nerve stimulation, or STIM, therapy. Bones heal quickly, Hanson said. It’s getting everything else, including muscles and nerves, functioning properly that extends recovery time. But STIM therapy comes with a price: pain.

“It’s all about how much you can tolerate,” Vossen said. “It’s like getting a leg cramp wherever they hook the machine up and you have to fight through it.”

Determined to get back on the field, Hanson underwent STIM treatment twice a day for two weeks, calling it “two weeks of hell.” He missed the day-to-day camaraderie with his teammates, but he the opportunity to play again won out.

While he was out, Lakeville North and its rough-and-tumble defense continued to play well. The odds of Hanson returning to the field kept getting better.

“We’d hang out sometimes and he’d say, ‘Just keep winning, I’m coming back,’ ” Cardenas said.

So they did. And so did Hanson.

“About six weeks after the injury, my doctor cleared me to play,” he said. “They said it was amazing.”

Back with a vengeance

Hanson dressed for the Panthers’ Oct. 31 playoff game against Hopkins. Vossen had no plans to play him that quickly but thought having him back in uniform would be a terrific motivator. He even had him address the team before the game.

“He told us how hard he worked to get back to the team and how much it meant to him,” Cardenas said. “It hit home with us. We all wanted to go out and win the game for our captain.”

Hanson played for the first time in last week’s upset victory over Rosemount. Immediately, he could tell the Irish had him singled out as a defensive weak spot.

“They were running to my side a lot,” he said. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, so that’s the way it’s going to be, huh? Bring it on.’ ”

He played as if he hadn’t missed a day, leading the team with 11 tackles. He even chased down speedy Irish running back Dimitri Williams on a play in the second half. “That’s when I knew I was back,” he said.

Said a stunned Cardenas, “He comes back and leads the team in tackles? He was a monster out there.”

Vossen said having Hanson back just makes the Panthers’ fierce defense even better.

“When he’s out there, it’s like walking into a place with your toughest friend,” Vossen said. “You puff your chest out a little bit. You want him on your side. It’s like [the linebackers] have been saying: ‘We’ve got the band back together.’ ”