Returning to the game a month after having his neck cut by a skate: the incredible strength of character of Mikaël Cloutier, an 18-year-old goalie

When the player fell backwards in front of him, Mikaël Cloutier immediately knew what was happening. He had seen videos on the web of hockey players losing their blood on the ice, after being hit in the throat by a skate.

The young goalie from the Dynamiques de Sainte-Foy remembers that he had no pain, despite the blade of his opponent’s skate which had just defied all his layers of equipment to seriously lacerate his neck.

“But I had a lot of stress,” says the young man from L’Ancienne-Lorette.

It is understandable. Injuries of this type remain rare, but they capture the imagination.

Last October, Adam Johnson died in Great Britain after being cut in the neck by a skate blade.

And of course, the scene which shows Clint Malarchuk in a pool of blood is still etched in the minds of many hockey fans, even almost 40 years later.

But “the physios were really good,” adds Mikaël. They immediately put something on my neck to stop the bleeding.”

Quick recovery

Physiotherapist Anne-Gabrielle Brideau did everything to calm him down, the goalkeeper also explains. He had to, to prevent him from losing too much blood, the accelerated heartbeat, caused by stress, causing the bleeding to increase.

The speed of execution of the 24-year-old young woman, who has just completed her bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy, contributed to Mikaël Cloutier’s rapid recovery.

“I acted more as a first responder than a physiotherapist that day,” she says. It’s part of our training curriculum. It’s sure that it’s a rare injury, but it shows the importance of having people who are trained on the sidelines of the ice rinks.

Mikaël had to go under the knife, of course, and a scar of a few inches remains slightly visible on the left side of his neck.

But that same evening, he received a visit in his hospital room from the Dynamiques equipment manager, Martin Bergeron. And the next day he was back home.

Finding “the courage to play”

Some six weeks after the serious incident that occurred at the start of a D1 collegiate match between his Dynamiques and the Rebelles du Cégep de Sorel-Tracy, on February 3 at PEPS at Laval University, Mikaël’s morale is “going well”. “I’m feeling very well!” he smiled.

What worried him most when The newspaper went to meet him last week because his team had just been eliminated in the playoffs.

With him in front of the net. Because yes, three weeks after the injury, Mikaël Cloutier was back on the ice for training. And the following week, on March 2, he was in uniform for a Dynamics meeting.

But all this did not happen without doubt, he explains. In the hours following his injury, he didn’t know if it would prevent him from playing hockey again.

“And also, I didn’t know if I was still going to have the courage to play,” he continues, “because it could happen at any time.”

A return to the top

He remembers the nervousness he felt in class, a few hours before his first practice with the team. Once on the ice, however, he quickly regained his ease.

“Even my goalkeeping coach told me that it didn’t seem like it had been three weeks since I had scored a goal! he said. Afterwards, things were going as before and I no longer had any fears.”

Mikaël Cloutier not only picked up where he was before his injury, but he also only let three pucks pass in two games upon his return to competition.

The second, a 3-1 defeat for the Dynamiques, took place at PEPS, on the ice that he had to leave in a hurry a month earlier, against the Rebelles, the team against whom he had been injured.

A performance which earned the former Blizzard du Séminaire Saint-François third star of the week from the RSEQ.

Valuable support

But how did Mikaël manage to return to the ice so early and so well after suffering such bad luck, he who was wearing full equipment, with a neck protector?

His equipment manager praises his great strength of character. The goalkeeper prefers to give credit to his teammates, who encouraged and reassured him throughout his convalescence.

“They told me that it’s already rare for it to happen once, so twice is almost impossible,” he emphasizes. That’s what I kept repeating in my head. And also, they told me that they needed me in good shape, and that helped me a lot.”

“A life experience”

So now that his season is over, Mikaël is already looking towards the future. Choice of 10^e tour of the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 2010, he hopes to participate in a QMJHL camp this summer.

And if it doesn’t work, he will return with great pleasure to the Dynamiques de Sainte-Foy. “I really enjoyed my experience. The team chemistry, the coaches, everything. It’s really a beautiful place.”

He has also seen Anne-Gabrielle Brideau since that memorable day when she quickly came to his aid. And of course, he thanked her.

“It’s a life experience,” he admits. I’ll always remember that, but I’m really trying to put that aside and look forward.”