What the aftermath of a skate to the neck looks like
Hockey's latest skate-to-neck incident occurred over the weekend during an NCAA game between Miami University and Northern Michigan. Redhawks defenseman Will Weber suffered a neck laceration after a skate cut him from ear to chin, slicing an artery in the process.
Weber's Redhawks teammate Justin Vaive Tweeted out a photo of Weber's 100 stitches and 15 staples after he was released, while Inside Hockey photog Rachel Lewis captured the moment of impact:
Weber, a 2007 Columbus Blue Jackets second-round pick, was released from a Cincinnati hospital on Sunday after undergoing surgery to repair the artery. He'll be re-evaluated on Friday to determine when he can return to the team.
Given the incredible speed of the game, the size of the players and the fact they wear razor blades on the bottom of their feet, it's amazing that the number of body lacerations isn't higher. From the infamous Clint Malarchuk incident in 1989 to Richard Zednik(notes) in 2008 to the numerous skates cutting players on various body parts not near their necks (see: Dan Boyle(notes), Robert Lang(notes), Andrei Markov(notes), Kevin Bieksa(notes), etc.), maybe Alexei Yashin(notes) and Tomas Plekanec(notes) are on to something with those turtlenecks.
