Damar Hamlin's Collapse Reminds NHLer Chris Pronger Of His Own Injury & Here's How It Felt
They both suffered huge blows to the chest.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Right: St. Louis Blues defenceman Chris Pronger.
Former NHL star Chris Pronger is one of the few people alive who might know exactly what Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is going through right now.
Pronger, who is considered one of the top defencemen in hockey history, survived a scary on-ice incident similar to what happened to Hamlin on Monday, when the NFL player collapsed in the middle of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin, 24, took a hit to the chest and then went into cardiac arrest in the middle of the game, in a frightening moment broadcast to millions of NFL fans. "His heartbeat was restored on the field," the Bills tweeted, adding that he has been taken to hospital where he remains in critical condition.
According to Insider, several doctors who saw the hit have suggested it was a case of commotio cordis, an often deadly phenomenon that happens when a person takes a sudden, blunt impact to the chest. The Bills and Hamlin's reps have not confirmed that commotio cordis was the cause of the injury, although the phenomenon is known to affect young athletes in contact sports such as football, rugby and hockey.
Hamlin's injury gave ex-hockey player Chris Pronger a flashback of his own commotio cordis incident from 1998, when he took a slapshot to the chest in the middle of a game. Pronger dropped to one knee after taking the blow, then got up and tried to skate off before falling to the ice.
Pronger was hospitalized after the incident and released the next day. He ultimately returned to the game and had a Hall-of-Fame career with the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers before retiring during the 2011-12 season.
"Prayers that Damar Hamlin can have the same outcome that I was fortunate to have with my incident," Pronger tweeted on Tuesday, along with a clip from his injury. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Damar, his family, teammates and the greater NFL community during this incredibly scary time."
Pronger told NHL.com a few years ago that he didn't realize how close he came to dying in that moment.
"My eyes roll back in my head and then I went down. At the time, you're young and you don't take it serious," he recalled. "But as time goes on, you read about these types of incidents and that kids die from it. I was lucky."
Hamlin was still in the hospital as of Tuesday morning.