Washington Capitals left wing Carl Hagelin is retiring from the NHL.Photo:Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Swedish hockeyplayer Carl Hagelin’s career in the NHL is coming to an end following a “severe"eye injury.
After 12 years in the league, the left winger, 35, announced his retirement from the sport in a post toInstagramAug. 30, having missed the entire 2022–2023 season due to the injury, according to multiple reports.
“It’s been an amazing ride but it ends here. Unfortunately my eye injury is too severe to keep playing the game I love,” he began in the post, referencing the injury he suffered in March 2022 when he took a hockey stick to his left eye.
Carl Hagelin.AP Photo/Nick Wass
AP Photo/Nick Wass
“I’m extremely grateful for all the memories hockey has given me and I’ve loved every single day of it,” Hagelin continued.He continued that he was going to miss “going to battle w my teammates on a daily basis” and “the ups and downs of a season.”
“Nothing excites me more than stepping on the ice in front of 20,000 passionate fans,” he added.
The injury caused a rupture to his leftchoroid, which is the part of the eye located between the sclera, or whites of the eye, and the retina, the layer of cells lining the internal wall at the back of the eye, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
In May 2022, following two surgeries to correct his eye, Hagelin remained “optimistic,” telling reporters that his eye “is healing,” perNHL.com reporter Tom Gulitti.
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“I’m doing everything I can to be back [on the ice] next year,” he told reporters, perNova Caps Fans, noting that doctors felt they may have had to “remove the eye” at first. “I’ve done two procedures so far and the second one was about almost a month ago.”
Despite admitting at the time he had ongoing issues with depth perception and being able to focus his vision, Hagelin told reporters last year he remained “optimistic that I’m gonna come back next year.”
In the Instagram post on Wednesday, Hagelin, who shares two children with his wife, Erica Uebel, thanked his “amazing teammates, coaches, Doctors and other staff members” whom he had met and played with throughout his career.
Carl Hagelin and his wife, Erica Uebel.Carl Hagelin/ Instagram
Carl Hagelin/ Instagram
“Lastly,” he signed off his message, “I want to thank my family, my wife and my kids for all their support. They made it possible for me to live out my dream. Thank You❤️.”
After playing professional hockey in Sweden, Hagelin played college hockey at the University of Michigan. TheNew York Rangersdrafted him in 2007, and he made hisNHL debutin 2011.During his career in the U.S. he also played for theAnaheim Ducks,Pittsburgh Penguins,Los Angeles KingsandWashington Capitals. He won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017. Internationally, he won the silver medal at the2014 Winter Olympics in Sochias a member of the Swedish national team.
source: people.com
