The most recent Ikan änäri podcast talked about, among other things, the treatment of rookie players, Colorado’s skirmishes and Columbus. Regarding the Finns Rasmus Kupari, Alexander Barkov and Joel Kiviranta.
Potentially life-threatening and, to say the least, scary injuries caused by skates have talked about the hockey world during the fall.
The most tragic case happened at the end of October in Great Britain, when Nottingham’s 29-year-old striker Adam Johnson died. Johnson, who played 13 games in his NHL career in Pittsburgh’s shirt, died of his injuries when the opposing team Matt Petgrave the skate hit him right in the neck.
Also in the NHL, there have been some terrible injuries at the beginning of the season. Boston’s young Czech forward Jakub Lauko gave to The Athletic an extraordinary interviewwhere he opened up about his own horror experience.
Lauko was injured on October 24 against the Chicago Blackhawks when he fell to the ice Jarred Tinord from tackling. Chicago was also involved in the struggle Jason Dickinson. When Dickinson fell, her skates swung Lauko in the face, heel first.
Lauko, 23, says that he had time to realize in a quick situation that now it hurts.
Lauko talked about the feelings of panic he went through on the ice and in the locker room.
The impact broke two bones around Lauko’s eye socket, but that was the least of his worries, as he could not see anything in his left eye after the accident. He believed the eye was gone.
Lauko felt the blood gushing out and saw with his right eye how much blood came out. He rushed to the bench, but according to his own words, he was about to pass out due to profuse bleeding.
The doctor immediately said in the dressing room that the skate had not hit the eye. After that, the wound was stitched. Treatment did not remove the assailant’s state of shock. Lauko stayed in the locker room crying.
In the end, he came through with seven tricks. One of them was practically stuck in his eye.
– The impact of the skate missed my eye, literally, by a millimeter.
“Better to be safe than sorry”
Four days later, Lauko received another reminder of how lucky he had been. The news of Johnson’s death hit hard.
Since Johnson’s death, neck guards have been a big topic of discussion. Of course, it’s not certain, but a neck guard could possibly have saved Johnson.
In the SM league, neck protectors are mandatory, but their use has at least been poorly monitored in the past. Neck guards are rarely used in the NHL, and they are not mandatory there.
Read also: Comment: For 20 euros, I bought protections that can save a hockey player’s life
When Lauko returned to practice in Boston, he wore a neck brace. No other Bruins player wore it in practice.
Of course, his facial injury wouldn’t have been prevented by a neck brace, but it and Johnson’s tragedy sparked.
– When you can put something to protect your neck, always better. It is the most vulnerable part of the body. So I’m going to wear a neck guard and wrist guards. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. I think I’ll be wearing a neck brace for the rest of my career.
Lauko returned to NHL games on November 11. Lauko, who recently attacked in Boston in a rather small role, on the edge of the four chain, has played eight matches this season with an output of 0+1.
Injuries and near misses
On the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, Finnish time was shaken again. Calgary forward Elias Lindholm the skate lifted up as he fell to the ice.
Lindholm’s skate hit a Montreal defender Kaiden Guhle straight in the face. Miraculously, Guhle, a 21-year-old Canadian, escaped worse and was able to continue the match.
Seattle Kraken Jordan Eberle cut his thigh with a skate during practice last week. A teammate Jaden Schwartz had stepped on the puck, fallen and hit Eberle with the blade directly.
– It was scary, 33-year-old Eberle told The Seattle Times by.
The Canadian striker was rushed from training to the hospital, but he also managed to survive without serious damage.
– It was a decent wound. I dodged the bullet. The skate did not hit the tendons. It is clear that injuries caused by skating are scary and dramatic. “And given what happened (to Adam Johnson), we have to take precautions,” Eberle commented.
Eberle said he made some changes to his equipment, but did not elaborate. Seattle center forward Yanni Gourde is the first of his team to start protecting his neck after Johnson’s death. A neck guard is sewn onto his undershirt.
Eberle missed just three games and returned to action against Edmonton on November 15.
– We all know that we were lucky and he was lucky. The end result could have been much worse. Accidents like that keep the building quiet, even during practice, Seattle’s relieved head coach Dave Hakstol comment.
Washington Capitals power forward TJ Oshie36, was also the first in his team to use a neck protector.
The Yankees outfielder stated that he doesn’t wear a neck brace just to be a leader or to be the first to do it. For him, the neck guard has a deeper meaning.
– I made my choice for my children. I want to stay here with them, Oshie told The Hockey News by.
Oshie also added that adults know how to make their own choices, but he hoped that with his choice, he could make at least one junior hockey player pay attention to his shields.
In Oshie’s opinion, the NHL does not need to make neck guards mandatory, at least not now in the middle of the season. However, he pointed out that it is important to pass on information about neck guards so that players can think about their own decision.
Of course, Oshie also has his own cow in the ditch, because he owns a company that manufactures hockey equipment. It designs, among other things, equipment that protects against cuts.
In any case, interest in neck protection is growing rapidly in the NHL. Sportsnet your list at the beginning of November, how a bunch of star players have tried neck guards in the training sessions of different teams.
Buffalo star pack Rasmus Dahlin had worn a neck brace against Philadelphia in the opener but then took it off. He stated that he hoped that in the future the neck guards would be “better breathable”.
A week ago, the Ika änäri podcast talked about, among other things, how to get NHL stars to wear neck guards.