Hockey player, 11, dies days after getting hit in the neck by puck in Quebec

SAINT-EUSTACHE, Que. — An 11-year-old boy has died after getting hit in the neck by a puck during a junior hockey league practice near Montreal earlier this week, police confirmed Friday.

The incident occurred at around 7 p.m. Tuesday, when police and ambulance services responded to a 911 call at the Walter-Buswell arena in St-Eustache. The boy was brought to a Montreal hospital intensive care unit.

The St-Eustache police department said earlier in the week that an investigation showed the boy was hit by accident and that he was wearing all the required protective equipment at the time.

Lt. Olivier Boucher said Friday the puck struck the boy in the neck. Police have not said when the boy died.

Marie-Joël Desaulniers, communications director for provincial hockey association Hockey Québec, confirmed in an email that a player’s complete set of protective equipment includes a neck guard.

Reacting to the news of the boy’s death, his league — Association du hockey mineur de St-Eustache — extended its condolences to his family and loved ones.

“We are profoundly saddened by this tragedy shaking all the members of our association,” league president Jean-Philippe Labrèche said in the Friday statement, calling the last few days “extremely emotional.” The association said earlier in the week that it had offered psychological support resources to volunteers, players and their families.

With the exception of tournament matches, the association cancelled all games and practices until Monday, Labrèche said in a Facebook post later Friday afternoon.

Quebec’s minister responsible for sports, Isabelle Charest, shared condolences on X: “A sadness without words,” she wrote. “I am devastated to learn of the death of this young hockey player.”

Police said they plan to assist in the Quebec coroner’s investigation into the boy’s death.

In a statement, Hockey Canada said all approved hockey programs for minors require players to use neck guards, which “reduce the risk of direct lacerations on the neck caused by contact with a skate blade.”

But the equipment doesn’t offer substantial protection against direct, hard impact, according to Trent McCleary, a former Montreal Canadiens player who in 2000 suffered a career-ending puck strike to the throat during an NHL game.

The hit fractured McCleary’s larynx and endangered his life, he said in a phone interview Friday. He wasn’t wearing a neck guard at the time of the injury, but said it likely “wouldn’t have mattered” because a neck guard wouldn’t have protected him from such a high-velocity slam.

“I don’t believe that there’s any neck protection that can protect from the impact,” he said.

The Montreal Canadiens issued a statement Friday on their X account, saying the organization was saddened to learn of the boy’s death. “Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2023.

— By Thomas MacDonald in Montreal, with files from Abdulhamid Ibrahim in Toronto.

The Canadian Press