On Saturday night in Buffalo, Sabres winger Jochen Hecht lost part of his right ear after being struck by a puck:
Hecht is recovering from a mild concussion, and coach Lindy Ruff said the 25-year-old left wing might have to wear a plastic protector over his stitched-up ear when he returns.Hecht, who wears a face-shield visor, sustained a jagged tear, losing the lower half of his earlobe. He also had a deep cut on the back of his head.
"They sewed what they could back on," Ruff said. "Obviously, it did not look good after the game. It's not pretty, but it looks like an ear now again."
As freakish as this accident may have been, it's a wonder if doesn't happen more often. One of the little known secrets of the NHL, is the fact that players regularly make modifications to their equipment for the sake of comfort and convenience -- modifications that often come at the expense of safety.
Virtually all of the players in the league shave protective padding from the inside of their helmets for the sake of comfort. In addition, the protective ear flap that is standard equipment on a hockey helmet available at your local sporting goods store is removed in order to improve the player's hearing. And of course, it's pretty much common knowledge that protective visors that are mandatory at all levels of amateur ice hockey are discarded once players make it to the NHL.
