This is an incredible story brought to my attention by Michael Shaffer… We were comparing notes on the Toronto Maple Leafs versus the Columbus Blue Jackets, and he mentioned Bryan Berard. Michael sent me the story in Hockey Digest about Berard:
“Berard is the kind of guy to take the money and run. He couldn’t — he loves hockey too much. That love of the sport has led the 24-year-old defenseman to undergo seven operations on an eye that was gruesomely injured in March 2000, give back the lion’s share of a $6.5 million insurance settlement he received when it looked like he would never play again, and come to the New York Rangers camp on nothing more than a tryout contract…
He underwent seven operations, enough to eventually give him 20/600 vision in the eye. In April 2001, one month after receiving the insurance settlement for what was regarded as a career-ending injury, he began working out again…
Amazingly, on opening night, just 19 months after his career appeared to be over, Berard was back in the NHL. Aside from the eye, he’s actually in better physical shape than when he left”
Today, Berard plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets and you can read about him here…