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Former NHL star Tony Hrkac likely saved the life of a league employee who was choking on a pretzel in the press box during an L.A. Kings game.
The troubling incident went down during an NHL game at Crypto.com Arena on January 4 … where the Kings were playing the Detroit Red Wings.
Hrkac, a scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning, was attending the game when the 57-year-old noticed a league employee in the press box choking on a pretzel, according to TMZ.
Hrkac wasted little time jumping in to the help the individual, who did not want to me identified. The employee was turning “purplish”, prior to Hrkac performing the Heimlich maneuver. This person was able to breathe normally after the chunk of pretzel was projected.
Hrkac played 14 seasons in the NHL. After winning the Hobey Bakey Award at the University of North Dakota in their 1987 National Championship season, given to the nation's best college hockey player, Tony went on to play for the Blues, Blackhawks, and Stars, among other organizations during his pro career.
In 758 career NHL games, Hrkac scored 132 goals and 239 assists, adding another 14 points in 41 career playoff games.
Hrkac last played professionally during the 2009-10 season with the now-defunct Houston Aeros. He also won the AHL’s Calder Cup with the Milwaukee Admirals in 2004. In total, Hrkac played 1,418 games in pro hockey, scoring 360 goals and 698 assists.
The former NHL star has been a pro scout for the Lighting since the 2015-16 season. He also was the head coach at Concordia University Wisconsin for five seasons.
