The Story of Clint Malarchuk

In this time of sports where people are willing to intentionally willing to miss a shot, just to get a triple double (alla Bobby Sura) and pull out a cell phone after a touchdown just to look cool (see Joe Horn); its refreshing for me to learn about players who sacrifice their all just to play the game they love.

In my opinion, no one fits into this more than former Quebec and Buffalo Sabers goalie Clint Malarchuk. Some of you avid sports fans may have seen the Sportscenter story about him, but for you've who have not; I wish to enlighten you upon this amazing person.
Clint Malarchuk was born in 1961 in Alberta, Canada. He was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the 4th round in 1981. In 1987 he was traded to the Capitals and in 1989 he was traded to the Buffalo Sabers. It is this where his life took a tragic turn for the worse...

In 1989, only 16 days after he was traded, during a game against the St. Louis Blues. On a routine play; St. Louis right winger Steve Tuttle was charging toward Malarchuk with defenseman Uwe Krupp closing in from behind. As the puck flashed through the crease, Krupp grabbed Tuttle and Tuttle's leg kicked into the air, his skate blade slicing through the exposed flesh under Malarchuk's mask.

The skate blade of Tuttle slashed Malarchuk's exterior jugular vein in his neck. It was this accident that caused goalies wear neck protectors. In seconds there was a pool of blood on the ice so large it filled the entire crease. During this whole time, Malarchuk remained conscious. It is because of this, that he remembers the words that he spoke after the accident. Malarchuk flung off his mask and collapsed to the ice in a pool of his own blood, fearing that he was about to die. He asked the trainer:

"Am I going to live?''

Malarchuk struggled to stay conscious, sensing that if he did pass out he'd never wake up. Aware that his mother had been watching the game on TV, he had an equipment manager call and tell her he loved her. Then he asked for a priest.

Something in his mind was telling him to get off the ice, "because I didn't want to die on the ice. I was saying prayers. I was scared."

"I did think I was done," said Malarchuk 13 years later, "Somewhere I'd heard that if you cut your jugular vein you've got a matter of minutes, like three minutes. I was going through the minutes preparing to die. I thought I had just three minutes to live and I've got a lot of repenting to do in three minutes."

The sight was so grizzly that 2 spectators suffered heart attacks and 3 of Malarchuk's teammates vomited while still on the ice.

It was estimated that if the skate hit 1/8 inch higher on Malarchuk's jugular, he would have been dead within 2 minutes. In the dressing room and on his way to the hospital, doctors spent 90 minutes and used over 300 stitches to close the wound.

But Malarchuk's story did not stop there.

In only 3 months, Malarchuk returned to a standing ovation.

As if Malarchuk's jugular scare weren't enough, the Buffalo goalie suffered another close call on Jan. 27, 1992. On that day, following a Super Bowl party, he mixed pain medication with the alcohol he had been drinking at the party. Malarchuk had been given the prescription for pain killers to treat a stomach illness that he contracted on Jan. 23, 1992. The stomach trouble had landed him in a St. Louis hospital. Three days later, he had three or four beers as he watched the Super Bowl in Buffalo. He then went home and took his medication with another alcoholic drink, figuring it would make him drowsy and help him sleep through the night. Instead, he managed to poison himself. During the time, Malarchuk feel into a deep depression, and his unknown Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder caused him to have many sleepless nights. He was determined to get sleep; at that point he didn't matter if he woke up.

He lost consciousness and was rushed to the Erie County Medical Center. Malarchuk called the mixing of drugs and alcohol the "most traumatic experience I've ever had. The biggest mistake of my life."

In such current times where players wont sign because they want an extra $2 million on their contracts, shoot at the opposing team's basket just to get a rebound, or almost refuse to play due to the fact that their personal trainer is not allowed in the locker room; it's a breath of fresh air to know that some people are still willing to sacrifice everything to the game they love.

Video

Quelle: http://www.ubersite.com/m/32313

Zum Glück hat ers überlebt. Aber da sieht man mal was für heftige Verletzungen entstehen können, bei solch relativ "normalen" Spielsituationen. Das jemand in den Goalie reinrutscht passiert ja recht häufig...

Magro

***Mein Top-Goon ist der Landshuter***
A puck is a hard rubber disc that hockey players strike when they can't hit one another. ~Jimmy Cannon