The safety of players in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League will be improved for the coming season. Jenni Hiirikoski’s serious injury last spring has accelerated decisions.
A respected defender and long-time captain of the Women’s Lions Jenni Hiirikoski had a hard time last spring in the final match of the Swedish league. Hiirikoski, who played in the colors of Lulea, received a dangerous blow to the neck from the skate of a Brynäs player.
The match’s medical staff treated Hiirikoski on the ice for 15 minutes and carried him off the field on a stretcher. Hiirikoski was rushed to the hospital for surgery. Fortunately, the surgery was successful and the recovery went well, but the story could have had a darker ending.
– The skate’s incision was not far from the large carotid arteries. Then the end result could have been weaker, the Luluja team doctor Marcus Pettersson told Sweden’s Yleisradio SVT immediately after the earthquake.
However, the very next day, Hiirikoski was already meeting his team at the ice rink. Finally, Luulaja celebrated the Swedish championship once again.
Read more: “I raised my hands to my neck and realized that now I was bleeding” – Jenni Hiirikoski, who survived the terrifying accident, tells about her moments of horror
The dramatic events scared both players and spectators and woke up the hockey people in Sweden. In the women’s league SDHL, several measures have now been implemented to improve the environment and safety of the players.
Major security improvements
Sports manager of the Swedish league Oscar Alsenfelt talks about big investments For Expressen magazine in the interview he gave. All SDHL clubs preparing for the upcoming season participated in the training organized in Leksand.
– We make sure that there is expertise in CPR, bleeding, neck injuries and other things in training and matches, Alsenfelt said.
After the Hiirikoski incident, people wondered why an ambulance was not ready at the arena in the final match. We now want to change this too.
– All matches are attended by ambulance nurses. We make sure that the ambulance is there when the player is taken off the ice, Alsenfelt explained.
The events of last spring have accelerated the decisions, but the safety issues of the players have been discussed before.
– We woke up earlier, but Hiirikoski’s injury and the publicity of the case made us think about things, Alsenfelt said.
Sweden’s SDHL offers all players health insurance for the first time in the series’ history.
– When I started in my position, I reacted to the fact that the players did not have health insurance. Now they can get treatment quickly. This has never happened before. I am proud of everything that has been done now, Alsenfelt stated.