Zednik’s Artery was ‘Hanging like a Thread’
Blood gushed like an awful scene from a graphic video game. But this was no game…this was a life or death situation.
Last night during the Buffalo Sabers 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers, Panthers forward Richard Zednik had to be rushed to the hospital after his throat was slashed by teammate Olli Jokinen. Jokinen was in the right corner behind Buffalo’s goal when he was upended by Buffalo’s all-star defenseman Brian Campbell. As Jokinen fell head-first toward the ice, his right skate came across and found Zednik’s neck.
Below is the video of the action as it occurred. The clip is a little fuzzy, and you can’t really tell what happened until there is a replay later in the clip (the actual action occurs in the first five seconds).
However, if you watch closely at the beginning when the play happens, you see Jokinen tumble over and then Zednik go down to the ice. If you watch closely, you can see just how quickly the blood comes from Zednik’s neck as when he slides across the ice there is a large dark spot behind him.
Luckily, Zednik immediately got up and headed toward the bench area. On the spot, Florida’s trainer met him in front of the bench with a towel to suppress the bleeding. Zednik was then rushed to Buffalo General Hospital where he underwent surgery to repair the neck laceration that severed Zednik’s carotid artery, which Zednik’s doctor described “as ‘hanging like a thread’ when he arrived.”
From the Florida Panthers web site: “During a press conference Monday afternoon at Buffalo General, doctors said Zednik was alert, was able to speak, and didn’t appear to have any longterm injuries from the incident.”
It was a scary incident, but thankfully, it appears Zednik should make a full recovery. You can stay updated on his progress and leave a message if you’d like on the Zednik Get Well Page the Florida Panthers have set up at their web site.
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