Canadiens’ Subban ‘really happy’ baby hit by puck is OK
John Meagher, Postmedia Network
First posted: Monday, February 22, 2016 02:00 PM EST
MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens’ season seems like a series of unfortunate events.
It started to go south months ago with an injury to star goalie Carey Price that sent the team crashing in the standings. But the latest bit of misfortune includes an infant who was rushed to a hospital Sunday after getting hit in the head by a souvenir puck at the team’s annual public practice at the Bell Centre.
According to the mother of one-month old Beatrice Meloche, the puck was apparently tossed into the stands by crowd favourite P.K. Subban.
“At the end, the players took the time to throw pucks at their young fans,” the child’s mother, Valérie Meloche, wrote on Facebook.
“Unfortunately, one of the fans who caught a puck thrown by P.K. Subban was just a month old — and she caught it with her head.”
The infant suffered a concussion, according to the mother, and there were reports the child received CPR on site. The child spent the night under observation at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, but was released on Monday.
Although it is customary for Canadiens players to toss pucks and other souvenirs into the crowd after the annual Provigo practice, Canadiens players and club officials were unaware of the incident until Monday, according to Donald Beauchamp, the club’s vice-president of communications.
“Nobody knew,” said Beauchamp, who heard about it from media reports. “We found out this morning. I made P.K. aware of that. He had no idea.”
Subban was relieved to hear the baby had been released from hospital, said Beauchamp.
“P.K. feels terrible, but he had no idea. He felt terrible at first, then he felt really happy to hear that all was good.”
Beauchamp said Subban, who pledged $10 million to the Montreal Children’s Hospital in 2015, came to see him on three occasions Monday to check on the status of the injured baby.
“P.K. was so grateful (to hear the child was okay) and he can’t wait to meet with the family.”
A member of the Habs organization also met with the baby’s family on Monday. The entire family, including three other children younger than 9, has been invited to watch a game at the Bell Centre from the Canadiens Children’s Foundation private suite.
Beauchamp said the baby was injured in a bizarre manner.
“Apparently, it was freak accident. The (tossed souvenir) puck was originally touched by an adult, who fumbled the puck. It touched two other people before ending up on the poor baby’s head.”
Canadiens players also toss three pucks into the crowd when they are chosen as the first star of NHL home games.
Beauchamp said the players often attempt to find a youngster in the crowd.
“They target the kid,” he said of the post-game souvenir ritual. “If not, the player might get mad and look at the people and say, ‘Hey, that’s where the puck is going, give it to (the kid)!’ “
As for whether the Habs will revise their policy of tossing pucks into the crowd in light of Sunday’s accident, Beauchamp said, “Let’s put it this way, whenever something like this happens, you always have to look at ... what you want to do. It’s too early to tell, but our people are very aware. ... We’re very sensitive to this.”
Is there a minimum age to attend an event at the Bell Centre, where pucks can fly over the rinkside glass?
Beauchamp was not aware of one, but he noted the fans were at a practice, not a game.
jmeagher@postmedia.com
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