NHL star Kaiden Guhle narrowly avoids catastrophic injury in worrying echoes of Adam Johnson getting skate to neck

AN ICE HOCKEY star narrowly avoided a catastrophic injury after taking an accidental skate blade to the face.

Kaiden Guhle was starring for Montreal Canadiens in a National Hockey League game against Calgary Flames when the terrifying incident occurred.

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Kaiden Guhle narrowly avoided a catastrophic injury in a NHL game[/caption]

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Guhle was almost sliced by a skate blade but was deemed okay to return to the rink after receiving medical treatment[/caption]

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Guhle plays for the Montreal Canadiens[/caption]

The 21-year-old was seen contesting for the puck when his opponent fell to the floor and their rear leg lifted high into the air.

As the leg swung uncontrollably into the air it made contact with Gulhe’s head.

Miraculously, the brunt of the impact was against Gulhe’s helmet.

The Canadian left the field after the incident to receive medical treatment.

Thankfully he was deemed fit and returned to the match soon after.

The scary incident had worrying echoes of Nottingham Panthers star Adam Johnson.

The 29-year-old was fatally injured during a Challenge Cup game against Sheffield Steelers on October 28 and died later in hospital.

He was struck by an ice skate in a collision with Steelers’ player Matt Petgrave.

A post-mortem confirmed the American’s cause of death as a neck injury.

South Yorkshire Police said a man was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and taken into custody.

A statement later said the man had been bailed.

Detective Chief Superintendent Becs Horsfall said: “Our investigation launched immediately following this tragedy and we have been carrying out extensive enquiries ever since to piece together the events which led to the loss of Adam in these unprecedented circumstances.

“We have been speaking to highly specialised experts in their field to assist in our inquiries and continue to work closely with the health and safety department at Sheffield City Council, which is supporting our ongoing investigation.”

A coroner who opened the inquest into Johnson’s death warned that there could be more ice hockey deaths unless neck guards become mandatory.

This sentiment was echoed following Guhle’s near miss, with hockey reporter Marc Dumont saying: “Let’s get neckguards on everyone, asap.”

However, the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League has said it will not enforce mandatory wearing of the safety equipment but would “strongly encourage” players and officials to wear them.

The English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA), in a change to regulations, has said the guards will become mandatory from 2024.

The Elite League, which includes the Panthers, is not under the governing body’s control.

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Adam Johnson was fatally injured in a hockey game last month[/caption]