UDenver center Jesse Martin, who suffered two broken vertebrae after a hit from North Dakota's Brad Malone, had successful surgery yesterday afternoon to repair and stabilize his neck and spine. You can read the Vancouver Sun write up about it right here. Although this has nothing to do with BU or even Hockey East, I felt it was a story every hockey fan should read about.
For the hit, Malone was issued a 5 minute charging major and a game misconduct. He was later suspended two games by the league. Reports from UDenver indicate that Malone has reached out to Martin since the hit, and that Martin was nothing but gracious in talking to him. While accidents clearly happen, as Martin has more or less said the hit was, the league kind of did what it needed to in disciplining Malone. While Malone made no legitimate attempts to hurt Martin, the hit was a hit to the head and at full speed (you can watch the video here. Be forewarned, it isn't fun to watch), both of which are illegal - and dangerous when combined. To his credit, Malone had started gliding well before the hit on Martin in an attempt to lessen the hit/not draw a penalty. Martin had also unfortunately put his head down in search of the puck, always a bad idea (especially when you're about to get hit). At the end of the day, though, it's Malone's job as the checker to avoid Martin's head regardless of whether it's lowered or not.
Anyways, we here wish Martin the best in his recovery, and hope that he makes a full recovery and is able to return to the ice, someday.
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