No More Spin the Squid

Because I like to switch it up, while I continue to enjoy my writing vacation, I thought I'd make my first mini-post about hockey.

For those who are not aware, the Detroit Red Wings have a tradition of throwing octopi on the ice. While I'd love to use this space to explain why this happens, it's probably easier for you just to click here.

Just in time for the second round of the NHL Playoffs (I know you've watched a game), the league has taken a page from the No Fun League and passed a rule banning the Red Wings' rink master, Al Sobotka, who has been driving the zamboni that cleans the ice for over 30 years, from twisting the octopus around his head and spinning it like a helicopter. According to the NHL, "matter flies off the octopus and gets on the ice when he does it." I have to believe that there are worse and perhaps more slippery things than octopus matter on the ice.

No penalty for the fan who throws the octopus on the ice in the first place, which it seems would be fairly easy to police. I guess hockey can't afford to turn away any fans, though, huh?

This Was Bad, But That Looks Worse

So I was delving into this Richard Zednik incident and came upon one of the nastiest, scariest things that I have ever seen: video of one Clint Malarchuk getting his jugular vain slit by a skate. I know some of you will be inclined to look for the YouTube video of the incident, so I will provide you with the link, but this is my fair warning that it's quite graphic. Malarchuk needed 300 stitches to close up his wound.

Fast forward to the present, Malarchuk was so disturbed by Zednik's injury that he says he couldn't go to work on Monday. He said that when his throat was slit (during a game also involving the Buffalo Sabres), he knew for sure that he was going to die and he was just trying to get off the ice so his mother wouldn't have to watch him bleed to death. Wow. As if that was not enough, from ESPN.com:

At the time, there were reports that 11 fans fainted and two more had heart attacks when Malarchuk's macabre accident took place. Three players vomited on the ice.

Wow.

Sad stuff that people go through, but the good news is that Zednik is out of the ICU (wink, wink) and resting comfortably. Get well soon!

Scary Moment On Ice

I don't really have much time to do a run down this evening but I didn't want to let a day go by without talking about this scary and sad story.

If you haven't heard, the Florida Panthers' Slovakian forward Richard Zednik had his carotid artery nearly severed by the skate of his teammate, Olin Jokinen, in a freak accident after Jokinen fell to the ice head first during a game in Buffalo against the Buffalo Sabres.

Zednik has the wherewithal to clutch his neck and leave the ice immediately, which was about the best he could do in a situation in which he could have died in a very short amount of time, especially if the artery had been completely severed.

Zednik's currently in stable condition.

Fans and players were a little upset that the game continued despite the injury. This is a tough one to call. I am sure the players were shaken because they weren't sure if he was near death or what his condition was. Especially for his teammate whose skate did the cutting. I would assume hockey players know the seriousness of getting cut in any major artery, much less the one that connects to your brain, so it must have been quite difficult to keep playing for all of them. They did announce an update at the game, which provoked a standing ovation from the Sabres' fans.

It's funny (not "haha" funny, but coincidence funny) because whenever I think of hockey, I think of freak accidents like that happening, like getting one's fingers cut off or getting cut in the face. I am surprised things like this don't happen more often. I heard there were a few other recent accidents like this in the NHL involving people getting cut with skates. I would hope that they will use this as an opportunity to protect them with at least one layer between their skin and the ice, particularly when it comes to the potential to sever major arteries.

I just pray that he makes it out of this OK and doesn't have any lasting residual damage, for him and for his family.