Hockey is one of the most beloved sports in many countries. A huge number of fans attend ice battles daily to enjoy the game and get an adrenaline rush. Despite the massive protective ammunition and helmets, hockey players are not on the ice in complete safety. Threats lie in wait: the blades of the skates, the puck flying at great speed, a strong opponent. That is why this sport is considered one of the most traumatic. Many hockey players ended their careers because they could not recover from what had happened. Some of them even remained disabled. The most terrible injuries in the history of hockey are described in this article.
6th place: Denis Sokolov
In the KHL, it is not so often that you can see something that excites the eye. Yes, hockey players play hard and sometimes cross the border in the use of power techniques, but what is happening in the NHL still does not occur.
However, the most terrible injury in the hockey of the Continental League still happened. During the match between the teams "Motorist" and "Tractor" (September 2012), player number 42, the defender of the Yekaterinburg club Denis Sokolov, was seriously injured.
During the usual game moment outside the goal, Sokolov lost his balance and began to fall on the ice. At this moment, quite by accident, an opponent’s ridge blade hit him in the neck. At that very instant, Denis felt the blood pulsing and a fountain flowing from him. It turned out that the blow fell on the branch of the carotid artery just below the ear.
In the five minutes that he was led to the ambulance, Denis lost almost half a liter of blood. In the hospital, he spent no more than an hour. Under local anesthesia, a wound was healed. He was able to participate in the games in two weeks.
5th place: Marian Gossa and Brian Berard
During the match, “Ottawa” - “Toronto” (March 2000), there was another terrible injury in hockey. She is terrible with her consequences. Slovakian Marian Gossa, an Ottawa striker, wanted to make a powerful throw towards the opponent’s goal, but Brian stood in his way. The puck, launched with inhuman force, hit him right in the eye.
Berard received a gap and detachment of the retina. He was immediately taken to the hospital, but there were no comforting forecasts. During the year, the hockey player had seven operations. For a long time he was recovering. Now Brian had to wear lenses.
Since April 2001, he began training. The Rangers became interested in him, and Berard signed a trial contract.
4th place: Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore
In 2004, an incident occurred that everyone called shameful: from sports critics to fans. Hockey is a pretty aggressive game, but it's just a game. It should not become a threat to people's lives.
Apparently, the Canadian Bertuzzi did not think so. He stabbed behind his rival Moore. It was not a power trick or an honest fight for the puck. The most terrible injury in hockey was the result of a cruel and vile act, which entailed terrible consequences.
Steve Moore passed out and fell on the ice. Doctors found that he had a severe head injury and a fracture of the cervical vertebrae. After receiving injuries, Moore was forced to end his career, which had just begun in the NHL.
He and his family sued, demanding 68 million in compensation.
Bertuzzi publicly apologized to the victim. And his punishment was a disqualification of only 20 matches.
3rd place: Richard Zednik
February 2008 Match Florida and Buffalo. It was an ordinary game moment, but it was remembered by the audience for a long time. The most terrible injury in hockey is usually associated with sharp blades of skates. And the neck, as the most unprotected part of the player’s body, often suffers the most.
Unlucky and the Slovak Zednik. His teammate Olli Jokinen crashed into a rival at great speed. He began to fall forward and with an extended leg accidentally slashed Richard on the neck. The latter had a broken carotid artery.
The hockey player's first thought was disappointment that he would not see how his daughter was growing. Zednik thought his wound was fatal. But the striker did not even lose consciousness, with the help of doctors, he left the ice rink. The wound was so deep that Richard had to stitch a hundred stitches for several days.
This incident ended successfully for the player. He was able to return to the main team.
2nd place: Clint Malarchuk
The goalkeeper, although not involved in the pursuit of the puck and is not subject to a strong onslaught of the opponent, but he may not be in the most tempting situation. The most terrible injury in hockey for a goalkeeper can happen both during a game moment and during a break. For example, the defender of “Florida” Keith Ballard wanted to remove anger at the opponent’s goal, but his stick flew straight into the goalkeeper’s head and cut off his ear.
The most terrible injury in hockey in 1989 was remembered for all its bloodthirstiness. It was also a game moment. Two players fought in the goalkeeper Malarchuk. They began to fall, and Steve Tuttle of the St. Louis Blues accidentally hit the goalkeeper. The blow fell on the jugular vein.
Blood poured in a powerful stream, and in a matter of seconds a huge burgundy puddle formed on the ice. Clint pinched the wound as best he could, but the blood oozed anyway. The physiotherapist Buffalo actually saved the goalkeeper’s life. He squeezed a vein above the cut and stopped the bleeding.
From a terrifying spectacle, several people in the front row lost consciousness, someone felt sick with heart, some hockey players felt sick.
Malarchuk already said goodbye to life. He asked to call the priest and convey a few words to his mother. But the goalkeeper was taken to the hospital, where he spent two days and he was imposed about three hundred stitches.
After this incident, all goalkeepers were required to wear a special protective collar.
Malarchuk’s life was divided into “before” and “after”. And although he returned in the same season, his game has ceased to be the same as before. The hockey player was depressed, he constantly dreamed of nightmares that he soothed with alcohol. He finally completed his career in 1997.
1st place: Ronnie Keller
The worst hockey injury in 89 broke the life of a talented goalkeeper. Many cases in the history of this sport changed the lives of players by 100%. This happened with the Swiss Ronnie Keller. After a collision with an opponent, Stefan Schnyder, he was hospitalized for a long time.
Ronnie was diagnosed with extensive fractures, spinal injuries. Doctors fought for his life and did not doubt future disability. Ronnie Keller remained paralyzed despite rehab.
The form with his number "23" as a sign of respect for the athlete now always hangs on the bench.