Throughout the history of hockey, there has been a split between players who are skilled and capable of deciding the outcome of matches alone, and players whose arsenal is dominated not by talent but by diligence and the ability to sacrifice themselves for its sake. From the team. And always the first category of hockey players was more valuable and more important than the second.

As a teenager, Trent McCleary realized that if he wanted to reach the highest point in his favorite sport, he had to bet on power play and dedication.

“My whole career has been like that. I did everything for the good of the team. Reach under the general defender’s shot. NHL This was natural for me, because I always had to tear my veins to achieve my goal. Few believed I could achieve it.”– said Swift Current, a native of a small town in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Throughout his career, Trent had to overcome difficulties. At first, he tried for too long to be released by Boston – the forward did not see proper development with the Bruins, but the club was in no hurry to give him freedom. Through endless persuasion, McCleery nevertheless managed to obtain permission to seek a new club. Our hero’s agent arranged a meeting in Montreal, chaired by Alain Vigneault, whom Trent knew from Ottawa. The training camps were in full swing at the time and the coach was not keen on breaking the unwritten rules and getting McCleary, but in the end the decision was made in favor of a stubborn and purposeful striker.

To gain a place in the line, Trent organized real massacres in training – he fought with the Russian big man Igor Ulanov, he fought with Dave Mason, and in general, he played the role of an angry guard, ready to tear absolutely everyone for a place. in the show. As a result, McClery managed to get into the cage of one of the most popular clubs in the world.

Despite his best efforts, Trent’s career in the world’s top league never took off. All because of the tragic incident that happened to him in the game against Philadelphia on January 29, 2000. On this day, our hero received one of the most terrible injuries in the history of hockey – while running under the throw of the powerful Flyers defender Chris Terrien, the striker caught the puck in his throat and almost cost him his life.

As a result of the disc hitting the throat, McCleary’s larynx was completely destroyed, so oxygen access to the lungs was actually blocked. In front of 20,000 fans, the Montreal striker tried to breathe air, but instead spat blood and suffocated more and more.

“I felt a sudden and intense pain. Then a sudden feeling that it is getting harder and harder to breathe, as if you were trying to do it with a straw that is rapidly decreasing in diameter. In that brief and never-ending moment, when the bewildered crowd asks me what happened, only one question rings in my head: Damn why can’t I breathe?– Trent talked about the worst day of his life.

The main problem was not that the oxygen did not pass into the lungs of the athlete, but that the carbon dioxide did not leave them. Thus, every second, venom was accumulating in McCleary’s body that needed to be released immediately.

“He couldn’t breathe and his upper airways were essentially blocked due to the significant bleeding that happens with this type of injury. One lung collapsed due to this injury, so he had to insert a tube to depressurize that lung.”– said Vincent Lacroix, the doctor of “Montreal”.

At the cost of incredible efforts, the striker managed to get up and went to the locker room, but lost consciousness at the hands of his teammates in the lower stands.

“Funny but despite the panic, I thought I’d miss the rest of the period the most before that. Not the rest of his career. Until then, I hadn’t realized how badly the disc had destroyed his larynx. Seconds passed, and death was already breathing down my neck.”said Trent.

The first thing McCleary did was remove the mouth guard so he wouldn’t choke on his own blood. On the way to the hospital, doctors applied ice to the affected area to reduce swelling. And upon arrival at the hospital, he was urgently given a tracheostomy – during this procedure, a hole is made in the patient’s throat and a tube is inserted there so that air can enter the lungs. Immediately afterward, Trent inserted a tube into his chest to drain the excess fluid.

“I woke up a few days later and the first thing I remember was an unbearable feeling of helplessness. When you wake up after that, you find yourself in the mental state before you lost consciousness. I had a panic. To deal with it, the doctors injected me with a paralyzing substance. I was conscious but I couldn’t move my finger and I found out why I didn’t even know. I couldn’t even open my eyes, but I heard the doctors talking very well. Suddenly my eyelids were ajar and my pupils were checked. We know that when the brain is damaged, the pupils contract in different ways. In 1995, I injured one eye and then my pupils narrowed in different ways. And now I can’t move and the doctors my brain is dead “It’s torture. I can’t speak or express myself at all, and I’m starting to sweat.”– Shared the details of the victim’s situation.

The forward remained in critical condition until February 1, after which his position was considered stable. And immediately after Trent’s correction, another surgical intervention was expected – he needed an operation to restore the larynx.

“When I spoke to our coaches right after the game, their eyes filled with tears. They told me to pray for Trent’s health, so we did.”– Said the head coach of “Montreal” Alain Vigneault.

McCleary noted that without the well-coordinated work of doctors, there would be no chance of survival. Sensing that something was wrong, the Canadiens staff immediately reported the incident to the staff of the hospital where the hero of this text was brought – everything was ready for his arrival: the elevator was waiting on the first floor, and the chief anesthetist was ready. for operation.

Trent was also shocked by the fact that what happened to him was hidden all over the world: even his friends in Mexico saw these terrible shots and asked about the selfless striker’s well-being. And even in the first weeks after the event, McCleary had no doubt that he would one day return to the ice.

At first, the injured Montreal striker was forbidden to speak or make any noise. However, Trent tried to return to his usual lifestyle and did not sit within four walls suffering from depression. Periodically he even went to the grocery store and instead of words he used a small board on which you could write with a felt-tip pen.

Each week McCleery grew stronger and gradually even began to prepare for the next season. All summer he worked like crazy and tried to regain his former physical form, which has left his mark throughout his career.

“My training partner knew very well that I wouldn’t be successful but said nothing. He was probably afraid that I would hit him. I was in complete denial. If someone can recover from an injury like this, why can’t I? In the end, contrary to expectations, I was able to get in. NHL. No one thought I’d go this far.”– argued forward.

But with the start of Montreal training camp, Trent’s dreams were gone. He could no longer recover quickly from shifts, so he had to take long breaks to catch his breath. Eventually, the club doctor banned him from playing hockey for medical reasons. “Train, don’t worry. You’re not the one who gave up, it’s me who forbade you to play,” the doctor said.

McCleary accepted this conclusion. He currently works as a financial advisor at his hometown of Swift Current and coaches the kids’ team in the evenings and weekends. And most surprisingly, even after his horror, Trent confidently declares that he will do exactly what he did on January 29, 2000.

“I would do it again because I, Trent McCleary, was a man no one saw coming. NHL – it was impossible to play otherwise. If I hadn’t repeatedly thrown myself under the powerful shots of Philadelphia defender Chris Therrien, I would never have been in the squad for that game. I would never have gotten into the best league in the world. I only regret one thing. About not being able to reach under another shot before the end of my career. ”