November 22, 2005

Red Wings' Jiri Fisher collapses during a game : which, rightly, was cancelled. It was a scary moment but he should be OK in the end. ESPN looks at other NHL on-ice scares, which comes not long after our recent discussion about on-field (and on ice-injuries). (Though ESPN did forgot Kevin Stevens' injury.)

read story | posted by mkn to Hockey at 12:35 AM CDT (17 comments total)

I'm glad he's okay, and I'm glad everyone concerned erred on the side of caution. I understand why no one felt like continuing the game too.

The only problem is that they can't really graft those ticket holders into other games, the way they could in some less enthusiastic markets. The Wings sell out more often than they don't, and so these people are going to have to come back some other time, get sitters and make plans all over again, to watch 53 minutes of a hockey game.

As gripes go, it's small, and I doubt anyone actively involved would bother complaining about it out loud, but that's the only thing that didn't work out.

And of course, I'm glad Jiri Fisher is okay.

posted by chicobangs at 5:36 AM CDT on November 22

Saw it on SportsCenter this morning. Scary, and I wonder what this will do to his career, as they said he has a pre-existing condition.

posted by ajaffe at 7:18 AM CDT on November 22

I knew hockey could be dangerous, but that list of on-ice scares makes it sound like more dangerous than the major team sports¹. It's interesting that one player's throat injury didn't prompt the response it did in baseball, where catchers began wearing protective gear below the chin after Steve Yeager's life-threatening injury.

The most gruesome injury I saw was Bryan Marchment getting boarded into an open penalty door in a Sharks-Stars playoff game. He caught the doorway at a rough angle and began having a seizure as he was attended to. His arms started moving around on their own.

_{1: Yes, I am excluding hockey from that list now. Damn you, Bettman!}

posted by rcade at 7:19 AM CDT on November 22

I think hockey is comparable to, or no worse than, football. Theisman, Krumrie, Stingley. And that's off the top of my head and not digging for some of the more obscure injuries.

Then again, maybe not. That list doesn't include the multitude of sticks and pucks to the face (Sundin this year, Yzerman in the playoffs last go round). I mean, Crosby lost parts of two teeth last week. Rough game.

posted by gspm at 7:54 AM CDT on November 22

Those football injuries are severe, but I don't think the threat of dying on the field from some game-related circumstance -- as opposed to a heart condition -- seems comparable to the NHL because of pucks, skates, and the boards.

posted by rcade at 8:10 AM CDT on November 22

At the NHL level, there has been only one on-ice fatality, so far as I know. (Bill Masterson) That seems like not a terrible record.

posted by fabulon7 at 8:19 AM CDT on November 22

You have to look at how many fatal or near fatal injuries there are versus how many games are played. Losing an eye or getting your throat cut is not common place in the NHL. It's kind of like being scared of the bird-flu.

posted by HATER 187 at 9:10 AM CDT on November 22

The scary thing about last night was seeing that photo/still of him with him slumped over, his head resting on the boards.

At that time he was, in a way, dead. His heart had stopped and, without any intervention, he wasn't going to come back to life.

Since Clint Malarchuk's injury, that's probably the closest the NHL has come to another death during a game.

It's kind of like being scared of the bird-flu.

Not if you are a bird! ;)

posted by grum@work at 9:38 AM CDT on November 22

Scary, scary stuff. I was reminded of the Chris Pronger incident a few years ago, when he was hit in the heart by a puck during a Wings/Blues playoff game. Hopefully, he'll be OK, and maybe we'll all be lucky enough to see him play again. But right now, I just hope he doesn't have any long-term problems from this.

posted by MeatSaber at 10:45 AM CDT on November 22

screencaps from the game

posted by garfield at 11:41 AM CDT on November 22

I was actually (sort of) watching the game live and the incident happened right when a friend arrived at my place. It just drained the energy out of the room. The announcers on tv said they "didn't want to speculate" but they think "he was hit in the throat by a puck" -- I imagine that's exactly why they didn't want to speculate.

Seeing Yzerman and Shanahan just rush that stretcher out was something that's never been seen in a game before. Same as bringing out the wife. I think at that point, without any information, everyone was thinking he was dead.

And, as an aside, yes... there haven't been many on ice fatalities, but (well, in the the more junior leagues) there have been a number of severe cases of paralysis. Kids getting their necks broken by going head first into the boards and such. The combination of on ice speed, sharp blades, flying pucks and sticks, and solid boards surrounding the playing field, I think, make it a lot more dangerous than football.

posted by mkn at 12:51 PM CDT on November 22

This was a really scary incident. I was watching the Edmonton / San Jose game and I saw the ticker show the Detroit game as 'postponed'. So I started flipping channels to see why, and saw the highlights. It should be noted that what prevented his death (or severe brain damage) was the automated defibrillator. Fisher's heart almost certainly didn't stop. He probably 'arrested' and was in v-fib. His heart was quivering instead of actually pumping. Contrary to what you may see on TV, CPR will almost never 'reset' the heart to get it pumping again. Even though the paramedics have defibrillators the delay in getting them to Fisher would have made a big, big difference. This incident is a prime example of why automated defibrillators are worth their weight in gold.

posted by camcanuck at 1:43 PM CDT on November 22

I'll be interested to see if anyone can confirm what someone on garf's link said -- that Fisher appeared to be half out of it before he even got to the bench.

As for the severity of injuries, I would guess there are more serious injuries in football due to the sheer number of collisions and pile-ups, but that hockey would have more truly life-threatening situations. When someone gets hurt badly in hockey, it tends to be horrific.

posted by wfrazerjr at 1:47 PM CDT on November 22

That really sucks

posted by Dav at 3:28 PM CDT on November 22

anyone remember the Buffalo goalie Clint Malarchuck, He had a pretty good scare after taking a skate to the throat. that was spooky.

posted by Coach_B at 11:41 PM CDT on November 22

Reading about all the past Red Wing injuries, no one ever seemed to mention the devastating damage to Draper's face.

posted by bren at 6:24 PM CDT on November 23

Reading about all the past Red Wing injuries, no one ever seemed to mention the devastating damage to Draper's face.

He just got Lemiuex'ed, he was never in danger of dying...I hate to say it, but the clip where he's moaning, "look at my faith, look at my faith..." still cracks me up. I'm a sick bastard.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 7:23 PM CDT on November 23

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