Zed ain’t dead, baby (but it was very frickin’ close)

Plaudits to a plucky Slovak. As you may recall, Florida Panthers forward Richard Zednik was well-nigh fatally cut one night when his teammate Olli Jokinen took a cartwheel-style header and caught Zed in the neck with the blade of his skate. Remember that uproariously funny manoeuvre in Blades of Glory? Well, this was the genuine article. It was pretty far from funny.

But Zed is back at Panthers camp this month—with a kevlar neck protector. And it’s great to see him. He won’t ever be mistaken for Alex Ovechkin. But he’s a rugged, hard-working little guy who can go on a decent scoring streak now and then. Plus, he’s got this great Eurotrash-dissident thing going. You could imagine him climbing a tank during the Prague Spring.