Minor hockey can be a pain

My son's a castaway - and couldn't be happier.
He's finally cast-free after nine weeks of limited mobility and maximum aggravation.

He broke his scaphoid and totalled his bicycle after being hit by a car at a four-way stop, the worst injury of his athletically active childhood.
Unfortunately, he followed it up with a sprained jaw in a hockey game.
No cast, a fully fit jaw and a spiffy new mouthguard - he's ready for smooth sailing the rest of the hockey season.
We hope.
The older the kids get, the more risk of injuries in hockey.

Stratford's trainer attends to an injured player while concerned teammates look on during a game in London.

So far this season, on our team and the opposing teams, we're seen a knee injury that left a player absent from school and on crutches, a head injury that resulted in blurred vision, a call to paramedics and trip to emerg for a health episode on the bench and a variety of quick trips and treatments on the ice or bench by the trainers.
One hopes a child never gets hurt in athletics, but it happens. Especially in minor hockey, a sport not intended for the meek.