Thrashers’ Goalie Pavelec OK After Scary On Ice Collapse

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Thrashers’ Goalie Pavelec OK After Scary On Ice Collapse

The excitement of the Atlanta Thrashers’ home opener for the 2010-2011 NHL season quickly turned to concern after goaltender Ondrej Pavelec collapsed on the ice early in the first period. The incident happened just two minutes in to the team’s game against the Washington Capitals as the play was on the other end of the ice. Pavelec fell backwards unconscious on the ice which prompted an immediate stoppage of play medical staff from both teams rushed to his aid. They attended to him for several minutes before he was removed via stretcher still unconscious. He was transported to a local hospital and play resumed about 20 minutes later with Chris Mason in net. The Thrashers went on to defeat the Washington Capitals 4-2.

The good news is that despite the horrific incident he seems to be OK and expected to make a full recovery. He regained consciousness soon after and by the end of the second period was reported to be awake and alert. Team officials indicated that like a good hockey player his first concern was the game--he immediately asked about the score upon regaining consciousness. He's listed in stable condition, but an initial examination showed no serious problems and his vital signs were reported as normal. He remains in the hospital for testing and according to coach Craig Ramsey so far so good:

"I talked to him. He sounded great. He had a great attitude. They've been doing a lot of tests and so far everything is normal. We'll just hope for the best."

Atlanta signed Chris Mason in the offseason to shore up their netminding, but are very big on the future potential of 23 year old Pavelec. In 2009--his first full NHL season--he went 14-18-7 with a 3.29 goals-against average and two shutouts in 42 games. He also played for the Czech Republic team at last year's Vancouver Winter Olympics. He says he doesn’t remember anything about the game:

"The last thing I remember was the lights going on after the (national) anthem. I don't remember anything until I woke up in the ambulance and saw the doctor looking at me.”

He’s anxious to get back to the team, but knows that medical staff have to determine the cause of the problem first:

"My heart looks good. My brain looks good. Everything is normal, but we still have to find out what it is."

In the meantime, the Thrashers have called up minor league goaltender Drew MacIntyre from their AHL affiliate in Chicago.