Daniel Swift gets his teeth knocked out!

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The table was adorned with a large jar filled with cotton balls, all soft, puffy and white as the driven snow. Moments later, a blue latex glove removed the lid before reaching in and grasping a handful of fluffy swabs. "Open please," the nurse declared as she hunched slightly forward to get a better view. After applying a suction tube and sanitizing spray, she proceeded to pack a number of cotton swabs in and around the patients gums.

"There, now close and hold."

Biting down ever so carefully, the patient had no idea of the true extent of the damage, save for the waves of pain radiating from his mouth. As the medical staff prepared for the doctor's arrival, the edge of the cotton balls gradually became saturated, slowly but surely turning crimson red and dripping onto the jersey below.

The taste of his own blood was now flowing down the patient's throat as he sat motionless while unable to spit the excess fluid away. "It's not stopping," the trainer remarked to the nurse as she was busy laying out the supplies the doctor might need. "Okay, let's change it," but no sooner had the nurse replied when the team doctor entered the room.

"What are we looking at?" The doctor inquired as he quickly scrubbed and gloved up. "Heavy gum and internal mouth bleeding," the nurse explained. "With possible lacerations as it's not slowing down."

"Okay, let's clean it up and take a look." The nurse began to remove the drenched cotton while the doctor positioned the overhead light for the best view. "Suction, rinse and spit." After which the team doctor placed a mirrored instrument in the patients mouth and began to examine his gum lines. "Rinse." The nurse sprayed another dose of water to flush the blood so the doctor could get a better view.

"Oh yeah, we're gonna need some sutures. Let's freeze it."

A second nurse entered the room and took over sponging up the blood while the original nurse prepared the needle. To the average bystander, the entire scene was starting to resemble something you might see in a medieval dungeon. Only the purveyors weren't trying to extract information or inflict retribution, but rather, render assistance.

While all this was going on, the patient was feeling light headed from all the pain, not to mention the blood loss. Tunnel vision, and oddly enough, tunnel hearing had already set in as the patient's senses were narrowing much like the gradual closing of a camera aperture.

"Let's start with 500 milligrams of Vicodin," the doctor ordered as he settled in for an impromptu session of emergency dental surgery.

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Twenty minutes earlier, Daniel Swift had been on the receiving end of a break out pass that set up a fast two on one rush. One of the opposing defenseman was caught pinching, and when he couldn't hold the puck in, a Timber player managed to chip it out to create the odd man rush. From there it was all about speed and positioning, as Swift raced down the right wing, eating up ice as rapidly as his blades could carry him.

On the left side, Barefoot Sugars put his head down and skated like his life depended on it, all in a desperate bid to join Swift on the play. As the two Timbers broke across the opposing blue line, Swift angled off the lone defender to try and protect the puck while also maintaining a passing lane to Sugars.

Rather than get caught in no man's land, the defender elected to take away the pass while leaving his goaltender to face the shooter. It was a classic two on one defensive play, and as Swift saw it develop he cut in on goal and prepared to make a rapid backhand to forehand deke to the five hole.

It started out well enough, but as Swift made his move, the goaltender was unexpectedly aggressive, out beyond the blue paint, which took away much of Daniel's time and space. Instead of pulling the puck to the five hole, Swift had to attempt going completely around the keeper, and as he did, his trailing skate inadvertently caught the goalie's right pad.

The result was both players were thrown off balance and they both crumpled to the ice in an awkward manner. As Swift began to fall, the puck squirted off the end of his stick, and Barefoot Sugars was Johnny on the spot to corral it and redirect it into the open net!

The crowd was absolutely elated and the Timber bench broke into celebration, but the trailing players on the other side had a very different view of the situation. In the heat of the moment, they were perhaps the only ones in the building who didn't care about the goal, as they're only concern was settling the score for their fallen goaltender.

According to their interpretation of the play, Swift had crashed into their goalie and sent him flying in such a way that he was unable to defend himself and could quite possibly have sustained an injury. With this in mind, it was time to send a message, irregardless if everyone else in the building thought it was a clean, legit hockey play.

As Daniel tried to regain his balance and correct his fall, he managed to right himself on both knees while uncontrollably spinning back to face the play. This set him up as a perfect target for a vicious crosscheck right to the face, which dislodged several teeth and produced a gusher of blood all over the ice.

With Swift down and out, Timber defenseman Nathaniel Barca, who witnessed the entire play, quickly rushed in and jumped to Daniel's defense. Barca began pummeling the perpetrator with a series of heavy blows until the offender's knees began to buckle. As Barca was about to finish him off, other players jumped in from both sides and the entire situation escalated rapidly into a total melee!

As the trainers rushed onto the ice to attend to the injured player, the officials struggled to separate the antagonists and restore order. Rightly or wrongly, both teams were completely incensed and extremely motivated to get at one another.

It took several minutes to break up the last of the fights, and by the time everything was said and done, they were several ejections and both penalty boxes were hopelessly overflowing. For everyone who caught the game, it was a classic case of old time hockey at its best, or perhaps worst, depending on your point of view.

By the time they cleaned the blood off the ice, sorted out the penalties, and resumed play, Daniel Swift was already in the medical room receiving attention. With no team dentist in the building, the club's doctor would have to step up and administer whatever repairs were required.

As the ice crew swept up four of Daniel's teeth, there seemed little doubt the league would take a long hard look at the tapes and that supplementary discipline would be applied. This wasn't the sort of incident you wanted to become known for, and as a result, it seemed certain the league would take steps to strongly discourage a repeat performance.

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"Ah, Got it! That's twelve stitches in your gums and the roof of your mouth. But I think we've got the blood under control." The Doctor seemed relieved that the ordeal was drawing to a successful close.

Swift: "Can I get back out there?"

Doc: "What? No... I wouldn't recommend it. You might just bust it open again."

Swift: "That's okay, I gotta get back out there! Can't quit on the team."

The Doc looked perplexed as he contemplated this strange creature before him. While some media liked to call Swift 'soft,' he was now clearly demonstrating the hidden traits of that rare breed known as a professional hockey player. In the final analysis, it takes a lot of heart and a lot of courage to make it this far, and whether a guy fights or doesn't fight, soft people need not apply.

The Doc shook his head in disbelief, and while he would have preferred Swift to simply call it a night, he finally relented and allowed him to return to the bench.

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As Swift emerged from the tunnel, the crowd gasped for a brief moment before breaking into a hearty round of applause. After seeing how awful the collision had been, few in attendance had expected Swift to return, nevertheless they were all filled with respect for the level of commitment he showed.

Though this story is about Daniel Swift, this same type of commitment is shown by other hockey players, (on a regular basis), in rinks all over the world. This story is a testament to the inner toughness of all those who lace up their skates and continue to compete, come what may, and irregardless of personal cost.

To some this sort of sacrifice may seem crazy or ill advised, yet when the entire season hangs in the balance, many a player has willingly stepped up and played through all sorts of injuries. And so this article seeks to pay tribute to them. Not to judge whether what they choose to do is right or wrong, but merely to acknowledge the depth of their commitment.

In the words of the great Harry Neale, when it come to breakfast and/or hockey, 'the chicken makes a contribution (eggs), while the pig makes a commitment (bacon).'

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We'll be singing,
when we're winning,
We'll be singing...

I get knocked down,
but I get up again,
You're never going to keep me down.

I get knocked down,
but I get up again,
You're never going to keep me down.

He drinks a Whiskey drink, he drinks a Vodka drink.
He drinks a Lager drink, he drinks a Cider drink.
He sings the songs that remind him of the good times.
He sings the songs that remind him of the better times.
(Oh Danny Boy, Danny Boy, Danny Boy)...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5uWRjFsGc

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