Switzerland’s males’s hockey team took a powerful loss on Friday, but the concern seemingly goes beyond the outcome.
Forward Kevin Fiala was taken off the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena ice on a stretcher and introduced to a native hospital at the finish of the third interval in Friday’s 5-1 loss in the Olympics preliminary spherical to Team Canada after ending up in a scary collision.
With about three minutes to go in the contest, Fiala tried to play the puck alongside the boards before ahead Tom Wilson came over to defend, crashing into the Swiss player as both skaters fell to the ice.
While Wilson got back on his toes, Fiala stayed down with his head going through the ice.
Medical personnel finally came out the ice, taking Fiala off on a stretcher. He was taken to a hospital for further analysis.
Kevin Fiala of Switzerland sustains an damage against Canada in males’s ice hockey group A play during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Switzerland coach Patrick Fischer did not know the extent of the damage but expressed concern for Fiala.
“I haven’t seen him yet. I think he went to the hospital. Obviously, it doesn’t look very good,” Fischer said, per the Associated Press. “Tough moment for Kevin and the whole team, obviously.”
Wilson, identified for many a massive hit and his bodily play, said there was no “intention” in this specific incident.
“It’s the Olympic Games and I feel terrible that he may not be able to keep playing,” Wilson said, according to The Athletic. “Just sending his family and him my best. You never want to see a guy go down — in a tournament like this, especially. Sucks for the country, for their team. Just wishing him a quick recovery.”
Fischer agreed that the play was just an “accident.”
Kevin Fiala of Switzerland is taken off the ice by medical employees on a stretcher after sustaining an damage against Canada in males’s ice hockey group A play during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mike Segar/Reuters via Imagn Images
Kevin Fiala of Switzerland is stretchered off by medical personnel after sustaining an damage. REUTERS
If Fiala, with 18 targets and 22 assists with the NHL’s Kings this season, misses time, it will be a powerful blow to a Swiss team’s that’s 1-1 in the first spherical.
The team is next slated to play Czechia on Sunday.
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