Player loses nose, finds it in Zamboni.
In the 7th round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft, the Edmonton Oilers selected a Slovakian by the name of Ivan Matulik. He dreamed of playing in the National Hockey League, but despite spending parts of six seasons with the Oilers farm teams, he never did make it to the big leagues.
Unfortunately for Matulik, the only thing noteworthy he did in North America was lose his nose.
You see, while playing for the Halifax Citadels in the 1991-92 season, Matulik had the tip of his nose sliced off by a skate. Players searched for the nose, but they could not find it. Matulik went to the hospital, probably suffering from the shock as much as the pain.
Fortunately for Matulik the nose was found after the game in the icy slush deposited by the Zamboni! Since the nose was so well preserved, doctors were able to re-attach the nose to Matulik's face.
The gruesome injury did not scare off the young Slovakian. He loved the game very much and returned to the ice and enjoyed a long career. He returned to Europe and went on to become one of the top players in Great Britain of all places, starring in both England and Wales.
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