It was in Piteå’s away match against Sundvall that the accident occurred. The home team’s Nils Nordh fired a projectile in the offensive zone and Kalle Strömbäck ended up in the middle of the firing line.
The 19-year-old miraculously managed to turn his face away and the puck hit him in the back of the head.
The helmet probably saved his life, but the injuries were still severe.
– I suffered a severe concussion, skull fracture and bleeding in connection with the fracture. Thankfully, the bleeding is outside the brain, he says.
After the terrible injury – how is Kalle doing today
The match was temporarily interrupted and then Piteå was 2-1 down. But the teammates rallied, equalized and won in the end.
– The players got together in the dressing room and decided: Now we go out and win for Kalle, says Mikael Aaro, coach and sports director at Piteå Hockey.
Now, almost two weeks after the injury, rehabilitation is progressing slowly for Kalle Strömbäck. But when he is back on the ice, the future will decide.
– I am on the road to recovery and taking it easy. I get tired quite easily and have to sleep a lot, but it’s going in the right direction.
In the clip: See the horrific damage and hear Kalle about the way back to the rink.