We all knew hockey players were some of the toughest athletes, but Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman looked the part on Thursday morning.
The gritty forward was back skating with the Oilers this morning after skipping out on Tuesday’s practice due to a doctor’s appointment. Hyman was the recipient of an Evan Bouchard slapshot to the face against the Florida Panthers this week.
While he immediately left the ice with blood leaking out his nose, he was able to return to the game in the third period sporting a bloody Oilers jersey and a bubble visor. This morning was the first time he spoke about the incident with reporters.
The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman reported that Hyman gave quite a nauseating answer about what it was like to have a doctor re-break his nose back into place.
“It sounded like a bag of chips,” Hyman reportedly said.
Zach Hyman considers himself “lucky” that he *only* broke his nose on Tuesday. Other injuries around that area of the face would have kept him out of the lineup much longer.
The puck left his nose shifted considerably and it had to be re-broken. “It sounded like a bag of chips.”
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) December 19, 2024
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that soundbite was captured by the Oilers in his pre-game skate. What was captured was Hyman describing the play from how he saw it. In his mind, it was a freak play that he was lucky to get away from with just a crooked nose.
The worst part, according to Hyman, was dealing with all the blood running out of his nose.
“It wouldn’t stop bleeding so we shot gauze up there, the hardest part is you can’t breathe,” Hyman explained. “If [the blood] can’t get out your nose, it’s going into your mouth.”
“It hit the guy’s stick, freak kind of bounce. It was really close, I tried to turn with it & that’s why it only caught the nose. Really fortunate all things considered.”
Zach Hyman on taking a puck to the face during the #Oilers game vs. Florida. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/XjOEqL2xXA
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 19, 2024
Coming back home to his kids after the game with such a gnarly injury has gotta be a shock. Hyman said that they took it pretty well and think their dad just has a big “boo boo” on his nose.
His teammates have also been very supportive, complimenting his looks at practice today.
“They all think I look good, everybody thinks I look good,” Hyman said with a smile.
Hyman will once again be playing on the Oilers’ top line tonight with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. However, he will be wearing that bubble helmet again to ensure he doesn’t mess up his nose even more.
Here’s hoping he can strike fear into the Boston Bruins tonight.