Clint Malarchuk. What happened to him?

Clint Malarchuk - hockey player from Canada, who played at the position of the goalkeeper. The athlete has Ukrainian roots, as you can guess by name. He was born in May 1961 in the city of Grande Peri. The athlete is widely known not only for his achievements, but also for the fact that he once was on the verge of death on the ice.

Carier start

Since childhood Clint has loved sports and at an early age began to practice hockey. The first team was Canadian Portland Winter Hawks. At the age of seventeen, he debuted for the club and continued to speak for him for three years. In 1981, Clint moved to his first professional club, which became "Quebec Nordics." Since that moment the career of the sportsman has begun, which will be full of ups and downs.

Professional career

Goalkeeper Clint Malarchuk managed to play for many teams, among which are "Washington Capitals", "Las Vegas Thunder", "Buffalo Sabers", "San Diego Galls". But Malarchuk did not stay long in either of them. For four years he played for the "Las Vegas Thunder", and this is the longest period of being in the same team.

The hockey player could not be called an over-the-top athlete, and his statistics speaks for itself. For the entire professional career on his account almost half a hundred victories and as many as 130 defeats.

In 1989, there was an event, due to which Clint Malarchuk nearly died. What happened to the famous athlete, you can learn more.

Scary trauma

In the spring of 1989, the Buffalo Sabers played with the St. Louis Blues. The game was the most usual, and nothing boded ill. The culmination of the fight was the struggle of the defender of "Buffalo" and the attacking player of "bluesmen". The episode took place near the gate of Malarchuk. No one could think how terrible the next hours would be. In the heat of the fight one of the players fell and put his foot up. It turned out that the edge of the ridge hooked the neck of the goalkeeper and cut the carotid artery. The goalkeeper fell on the ice, and at that moment everyone watched with a sinking heart . The game was stopped, but not all immediately realized what had happened. To the injured goalkeeper the help was rushed to the doctor "Buffalo Sabers" - Jim Pizzutelli. He instantly squeezed the vein from which blood was pouring, and led the player into the podtribunnoe room. The hockey player was taken to the hospital, and the doctor of the team saved his life by having managed to stop the blood immediately. In the hospital, doctors were able to sew a torn artery, and the player survived. After a while it will be known that Pizzutelli was a doctor in Vietnam, and therefore managed to so quickly navigate during the tragedy. Usually, if a carotid artery is damaged, a person bleeds in 2-3 minutes.

The goalkeeper himself later recalled that in his thoughts there was only one desire - to die with dignity, and to do it not on the ice, after all the game was watched by his mother.

After this dramatic event, the World Hockey Association obliged all goalkeepers to wear a mask with protection for the neck.

Today, Clint Malarchuk recalls with horror. The photo from that match can shock, so people with a weak psyche to watch them is not recommended.

Life after trauma

Clint Malarchuk managed to recover quickly after a very difficult injury. Almost all doctors recommended him to leave the sport or at least wait until the end of the regular championship of 1988-1989. Despite all the persuasions and recommendations, the goalkeeper did not want to spend much time on recovery and wanted to return to the ice as soon as possible. It's hard to believe, but Malachuk in the same season was able to return to the playground to the delight of the numerous fans who followed his recovery.

Unfortunately, the goalkeeper could not fully recover morally from injury. Clint began to pursue nightmares, which negatively affected his game. All this led to the fact that the athlete began to feel depressed. For many years he fought with her and several times even went to the hospital. Despite all the events that happened with Malarchuk, he played at the amateur level even before 1997 and only then completed his career.

Coaching activities

Known hockey player Clint Malarchuk after the end of his playing career tried to become a coach, but he did not get much fame and success. He was the coach of such famous clubs as "Las Vegas Thunder" and "Idaho Steelheads". In the 2002-2003 season, he served as a goalkeeper in the Florida Panthers team. Four years later, Clint Malarchuk Goes to "Columbus Blue Jackets" and again becomes a coach, in this team he worked for three years. In 2010, he holds the position of Assistant Head Coach at Atlanta Thrashers. In the summer of 2011, the once famous goalkeeper became manager of the Calgary Flames and stayed here for three seasons. Three years later the cooperation between the coach and the team was terminated.

Life outside sports

Family life in the goalkeeper, suffered a terrible injury, was more successful than playing a career. He has a beloved wife and children.

After the end of coaching Clint unexpectedly for fans and loved ones decided to get a vet. As it turned out later, it was necessary for him to realize the long-standing idea of breeding ostriches on his ranch.

The former sportsman is also known for his frequent performances in various educational institutions with lectures that teach children and teenagers how to behave in order to avoid serious injuries at home.

Not so long ago, in 2014, Malarchuk released a book in which he described his life and, of course, how he managed to survive in the spring of 1989, when his death was only a few minutes away.

Broken psyche

In the autumn of 2008, being the coach of one of the hockey teams, Clint Malarchuk goes on a hunt. For some reason he shot himself, but miraculously managed to survive.

The investigation of the episode confirmed that it was a suicide attempt, but the sportsman denied it. He claimed that this happened by accident, by imprudence. Believe it was difficult, because the nature of the wound spoke the opposite. Four years after the incident, he admits that he really wanted to put his hands on himself because of a long depression and nightmares. Alas, the memories of the fateful events of 1989 still haunted him.

What they say about the legendary goalkeeper

Even unfamiliar with hockey people still know who Clint Malarchuk is. Trauma to the neck made him unusually popular, especially after the video from that match appeared on the Internet.

Unfortunately, because of the incident, he was unable to realize all his potential, although at the time of the event he was already twenty-eight years old. Many experts say with confidence that Clint was an outspoken weak player and not the strongest manager. And with this it's hard to argue, because in his career there is not a single significant award that could be put in opposition to these words.

That's it, the famous goalkeeper Clint Malarchuk. Trauma did not give him the full potential, but he did not lose heart, but continued to go on the ice. This person deserves special respect for giving lessons on how to avoid injuries in everyday life.

No matter how his playing and coaching career developed, many people will remember him as a guy who could overcome very much only in order to once again get out on the ice and make fans happy with his game. And although after the injury in his life were difficult periods, with them he successfully managed.

Today, the former goalkeeper is a famous person and often appears on TV screens. As a rule, in many programs he tells about that terrible trauma, and also about his future life. Clint also participated for a time in various scientific programs, where with the help of modern equipment, scientists tried to find out how he managed to survive that evening.

Clint Malarchuk is a legendary person whose story will shock and surprise not only sports fans but also ordinary people for a long time.