We all remember the incident very well. Seven months ago, during a game against the Buffalo Sabres, Richard Zednik nearly died after a carotid artery in his neck was accidentally severed by the skate of teammate Olli Jokinen.The image of Zednik clutching his neck as he skated back to the bench is a hard one to forget. It retrospect, few realized how close he came to losing his life.
Zednik lost a lot of blood, spent a week in the hospital recovering, and as doctors put it, came as close to death as you possibly can.
For many fans and players it's hard to forget that event and put it behind them, imagine how tough it must be for the man it happened to. Zednik, however is trying his hardest to do so as he's back on the ice with his Florida Panthers teammates, preparing for the upcoming season.
"I just want to get back to playing, to being a leader on the ice," Zednik said. "I don't want people asking me about this all year. We'll do something before the season. We'll make a tape or something for everyone. I don't want to think about it. I want to play hockey. I don't want what happened in my mind."
At practice, Zednik was wearing a Kevlar-based neck protector - making Zednik a member of a small group of NHLers that sport neck protection.
"It feels good, it doesn't bother me at all," Zednik said. "Everything feels good right now."
Well good for him, because I could not do what he's doing. You see, I get discouraged easily. If I'm sitting at my desk and I get a paper cut, I'm honestly not handling any paper for the rest of the day. I just don't want to take any chances.
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