Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (7) skates against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022.
Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023 | 3:32 p.m.
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Damar Hamlin's emergency health scare brought back frightening memories for the Golden Knights.
Some members of the Vegas organization have experienced past teammates go through what happened to Hamlin on Monday Night Football in Cincinnati.
The Buffalo Bills safety went into cardiac arrest after making a tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. He was resuscitated on the field and rushed to a Cincinnati-area hospital. He is in critical condition, but as of Wednesday was showing positive signs of progress.
The game was postponed.
“It’s pretty scary,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “You can’t take for granted the paramedics and doctors and all the people that are there at the game.”
Pietrangelo was captain of the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 11, 2020, when teammate Jay Bouwmeester had a cardiac episode and collapsed on the bench. Bouwmeester, who was 37 at the time, needed to be revived with a defibrillator.
Bouwmeester retired from hockey less than a year later.
“Maybe I did [take it for granted] before it happened to Bow, but those people are there for a reason,” Pietrangelo said. “Makes you really appreciate to have them in the building.”
A similar situation happened to Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Pronger when he was a member of the Blues on May 11, 1998. Pronger took a puck to the chest from Detroit Red Wings defenseman Dmitri Mironov, then suddenly collapsed on the ice.
Pronger was diagnosed with commotio cordis, a form of cardiac arrest that can send more waves of electricity to the heart by way of the trauma.
Blues longtime athletic trainer Ray Barile was on the scene for both St. Louis situations.
“Thank God [Barile] was there both times,” Pietrangelo said.
Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault’s first thought was back to his junior days in January 2010 with the Quebec Remparts.
Marchessault’s best friend Mikael Tam, 18 at the time, was elbowed in the head during a game against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in Quebec. Tam was convulsing on the ice and was rushed to a Rouyn-Noranda hospital.
Marchessault remembered throwing all of his gear on the floor in the locker room after the game and running through the snowy weather to get to the hospital.
“Scariest moment of my life, to be honest,” Marchessault said.
As a member of the AHL’s Springfield Falcons in 2013, Marchessault’s teammate Wade MacLeod suffered a seizure after getting hit into the glass during a game. Evaluations showed MacLeod had a benign mass in his brain.
“It’s just so scary,” Marchessault said when talking about Hamlin. “His heart stopping on the field is as bad as it gets. The teams handled it well.”
There have been discussions for the Golden Knights to hold a moment of silence to honor Hamlin before Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m., ATTSN-RM).
Hamlin played college football at Pittsburgh and was a sixth-round pick by the Bills in 2021.
“Obviously, everyone’s hearts go out to that young man and the whole Bills organization,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s tough on the players, as well. Those are just some of the risks involved at times, but they are human beings. We talk about players and how they make millions of dollars like they need to perform, but there is that side of it, their health both physically and mentally.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
