Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Hockey’s worst injuries, starring Sami Salo’s ‘ruptured testicles’

Vancouver Canucks v Chicago Blackhawks - Game Five

CHICAGO - MAY 09: of the Chicago Blackhawks of the Vancouver Canucks in Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 9, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Jonathan Daniel

There are plenty of grizzly, cringe-inducing injuries in hockey. Even a routine (but hard) hit in the boards would make many people re-consider their dreams of putting on their favorite team’s uniform. Still, there are moments that can reduce even these He-Man clones into mere mortals. Especially when something happens to their testicles.

Sami Salo’s puck to the groin scared many (and sure, made some giggle when they read “ruptured testicles”) on Sunday night. The fact that he’s a game-time decision shows that he’s a hockey player (in other words, he’s very tough). This prompted one of my favorite bloggers - hockey historian Joe Pelletier - to take a look at some of the worst hockey injuries of all-time. Here are a few of the highlights.

  • Bill Masterton and Don Sanderson dying after hitting their head on the ice.
  • Clint Malarchuk and Richard Zednik having their necks sliced, nearly perishing on live TV.
  • Borje Salming having his face stepped on by a skate, requiring 250 stitches to repair him.
  • Trent McCleary taking a puck to the throat.

I read various reports that indicated that trainers were forced to nearly strangle Zednik to keep him from bleeding to death. The next season, Zednik scored a couple highlight reel goals. Hockey players are awesome.