| | TORONTO -- An errant stick could cost Bryan Berard sight in
his right eye.
The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman was struck in the eye when he
was hit by the stick of Ottawa's Marian Hossa on Saturday.
|  | | Bryan Berard had to be helped off the ice after suffering a serious injury that could cost him the vision in his right eye. |
Hossa was following through on a shot when his stick struck
Berard during the second period of Toronto's 4-2 victory over the
Senators.
"As soon as we saw him get hit, we knew it was very, very
serious," Berard's father, Wally, said, after arriving Sunday at
Ottawa Airport from Boston. "We just saw the big pile of blood."
The hit sent Berard to his knees, his forehead on the ice as a
pool of blood formed. Berard, in his fourth NHL season, was taken
from Corel Centre on a stretcher and rushed to Ottawa Civic
Hospital, where he underwent surgery.
"The prospect of regaining vision in the eye is slim, but
further evaluation will take place," the Maple Leafs said in a
recorded message.
Berard, who turned 23 on March 5, was transferred Monday by air
ambulance to Toronto Hospital, where he was to be examined by an
eye surgeon on Tuesday morning. He was in satisfactory condition.
"It's not too positive, but until we've pursued all angles that
we can pertaining to specialists, I don't think anybody has given
up hope yet," Berard's agent, Tom Laidlaw, said. "But obviously
it is a pretty serious injury."
It is suspected the orbital bone surrounding the eye was broken
and Berard, who does not wear a visor, might have also suffered a
cut to his eyeball.
"We saw the trainer rush out onto the ice with a towel, and a
lot of things went through our minds," Wally Berard said. "He's
so young, you know.
"He was living his dream. And now, I think this might be the
end of his career. We've got our fingers crossed. But it looks like
the end."
Hossa visited Berard on Sunday to apologize, and said the
injured player showed no ill will.
"He told me not to worry about it," Hossa said. "He said it
was nothing more than an accident, a freak accident.
"I didn't know what to expect, but he and his parents were
really nice to me. I talked to his dad and he told me the same
thing -- it was just an accident."
Berard's mother, Pam, said the family accepts Hossa's apology.
"We know it wasn't his fault," she said.
"We just want to see our son, give him a hug and tell him
everything is going to be OK," she said. "Raising six kids -- four
boys and two girls -- you learn to just leave things like this in
the hands of God and let faith take over."
Said Wally Berard: "It's one of these freak accidents that
happen in hockey. You never expect them to happen, you hope they
don't happen, but they do. Our only concern right now is that Bryan
is OK."
Leafs president Ken Dryden and forward Steve Thomas also visited
Berard on Sunday.
"It's a tough time, and he needs to know there's a ton of
people around to support him," Laidlaw told the Ottawa Citizen.
"His parents are the kind of people who can deal with this."
Hossa, who received a double high-sticking penalty, was shocked.
"I didn't know he was behind me when I shot the puck," said
Hossa, a finalist for rookie of the year last season. "After I saw
lots of blood, it was scary. It's a really bad feeling. I can't do
anything about it now."
But Leafs general manager and coach Pat Quinn didn't buy the
explanation.
"Guys who play with their sticks up like that are either dirty
guys or scared guys," Quinn said.
Because the incident was deemed accidental, Hossa was not given
a major penalty.
Berard, from Woonsocket, R.I., has three goals and 27 assists in
64 games this season.
"I know exactly how he's feeling," said Ottawa's Chris
Phillips, who started wearing a visor after suffering an eye injury
two years ago. "They told me it was along the same lines as what I
had."
Berard was chosen first in the 1995 entry draft by Ottawa. He
refused to play for the Senators and was traded to the Islanders,
where he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 1997.
The Islanders subsequently traded Berard and a sixth-round draft
pick to Toronto for goalie Felix Potvin and a sixth-round pick in
January of 1999.
Berard played for Team USA at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and the
1997 world championships.
| |
ALSO SEE
Maple Leafs defeat Senators, 4-2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Marian Hossa draws blood from Bryan Berard.
avi: 1224 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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