There are a lot of people out there who would like to see the fighting taken out of the sport of hockey. And last night, we were dealt a frightening reminder of exactly why so many feel that way.
During the final minutes of an NHL exhibition contest between Edmonton and Vancouver, 25-year-old Canucks forward Zack MacEwen was looking to name a name for himself by taking on Oilers veteran Zack Kassian in a fight.
Kassian certainly seemed as eager as MacEwen to drop the gloves (if not more eager). But just a few seconds into their bout, tragedy struck as the two players fell to the ice. Kassian took the worst of the fall, hitting his head on the ice with enough impact to knock him out cold.
It was a scary scene in Edmonton. Watch at your own discretion:
You never want to see a fight end like this. Thankfully, word from the Oilers is Kassian has been doing well and was in good spirits after the game.
“He’s got a pretty good bump on his head from hitting the ice,” Oilers coach Dave Tippett said during his post-game press conference. “But he’s in good spirits. He was telling jokes when I saw him after the game.”
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Oilers forward Derek Ryan also provided this positive update:
Great news. This could have ended a lot worse for the Oilers’ enforcer.
