A former Stanley Cup champion is being credited for saving someone’s life after helping an NHL employee who was choking on a piece of pretzel in a press box.
Tony Hrkac, currently a professional scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning who as a player was part of the 1998-99 Dallas Stars team that won the Cup, came to the rescue on Jan. 4 in Los Angeles, where the Kings were hosting the Red Wings, when he saw someone turning “purplish,” according to TMZ Sports.
Hrkac, 57, performed the Heimlich maneuver and forced the piece of pretzel out, allowing the NHL employee to breathe normally.
The employee does not want to be identified, according to TMZ Sports.
Hrkac was a second-round pick (No. 32 overall) of the St. Louis Blues in the 1984 NHL Draft who won the Hobey Baker Award at University of North Dakota in 1987 as college hockey’s best player.
The Canadian forward played 12 seasons in the NHL for the Blues, Nordiques, Sharks, Blackhawks, Stars, Oilers, Islanders, Ducks and Thrashers.
His stint with the Isles was a brief seven-game run at the start of the 1999-2000 season before he was traded to Anaheim.
In 758 career NHL games, Hrkac scored 132 goals and notched 239 assists.
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