Hurricanes’ Brendan Smith details the puck to the head that fractured his skull
The paralysis lasted only a few seconds, but for Brendan Smith, it seemed longer.
“An eternity,” he said Tuesday.
The Carolina Hurricanes defenseman was hit by a puck behind the left ear, just underneath his helmet, as he attempted to block a shot Feb. 20 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Doctors later would tell him he suffered a fracture of the mastoid bone. They also told him it could have been a lot worse.
“I got lucky,” Smith said. “Someone is looking after me up there. The doctor said, yeah, it’s a tough injury but it’s kind of a blessing it was where it was.”
But at first, Smith said he had no feeling in his arms and legs. That’s what he told Canes trainer Doug Bennett as Bennett quickly bolted onto the ice. A lot of fear can fill a few seconds.
“Then it was like everything came back — my legs, my feet, my hands and everything,” Smith said. “That was a really good feeling. I was able to skate off and I didn’t think anything was broken or anything. I was able to recognize where I was. I was with it.
“Then we went to the doctor and there was bad news.”
The good news: Smith’s recovery has been relatively quick. After missing the past 10 games, he was medically cleared Tuesday and joined a limited Canes practice at PNC Arena.
Smith, 33, said does not yet have full hearing in his ear but was able to joke, “I can deal with that. Just yell a little louder.”
He also noted that he could have taken the puck in the jaw and broken it. “Then we’re talking months of eating through a straw,” he said.
Smith’s injury was followed the next game by an upper-body injury to defenseman Tony DeAngelo against Philadelphia. Missing two D-men, the Canes recalled Jalen Chatfield from Chicago of the AHL while readjusting the power-play units — Jaccob Slavin replaced DeAngelo as the quarterback on one unit while Ethan Bear took over for Slavin on the second.
DeAngelo, out for nine games, returned to practice Tuesday but has not been cleared to play. Chatfield has been reassigned to the Chicago Wolves.
“We have a good group and obviously they’ve been playing really hard and really well, and you see a guy like ‘Chatty’ jump up — I mean, he’s an NHL defenseman in my mind,” Smith said.
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Signed as a free agent in the offseason to bolster the team’s defense, Smith has been a healthy scratch at times this season for the Canes (41-13-5), playing 28 games. He also was sidelined by COVID-19 in late December.
Then came the shot by Danton Heinen of the Pens that fractured his skull. In a sport and at a position where injuries are both expected and plentiful, Smith said this was the worst of his 11-year career.
“It’s a tough injury and tough to come back,” Canes assistant coach Tim Gleason said Tuesday. “The way he went down, it’s tough to watch and re-watch. It tells you he’s willing to do whatever it takes (to return).”
Smith said he will wear extra protective equipment in games. But he’s ready to get back in the lineup as the Canes gear up to play three games in four days beginning with their road game Thursday in Toronto.
And blocking shots? Smith’s ready for that, too, if need be.
“My wife had some conversations with me about that but I’ll be out there blocking shots,” he said. “Nothing’s going to change. My game doesn’t change.”
Carolina Hurricanes at Toronto Maple Leafs
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto.
TV/Radio: Bally Sports South, WCMC-99.9 FM.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 5:09 PM.
