TORONTO — The scar is very pronounced.
It traverses diagonally across Zach Trotman’s upper lip, just under his nose.
But aside from a handful of shifts, the only thing Trotman missed as a result of being struck in the face by a skate was a few meals.
“Luckily, it didn’t cut all the way through so the inside wasn’t bad,” Trotman said. “Just the swelling, it was huge. It was hard to get anything in my mouth.”
Trotman was injured Feb. 1 when, as a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he was struck in the face by a skate during a 3-2 shootout loss at home to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
“The heel of the skate to mouth,” Trotman said. “I hit him and, honestly, I didn’t even see the skate coming. His heel just kicked up and whacked me really quick. Next thing I knew, I had a bunch of blood all over my hands.”
Recalled on Wednesday because of some minor injuries to the incumbent defenseman on the NHL roster, Trotman shared a gruesome image of the injury on his Instagram account:
“Eight stitches,” he said proudly. “I healed pretty quick.
As ugly as that injury was, it was hardly the worst injury of his season.
He was sidelined for approximately six weeks throughout December and January because of a concussion.
“It’s brutal. It’s never fun,” the 29-year-old said. “I haven’t had one in like two years. … The rehab process is good. Once it starts to catch, it takes hold pretty quick and you start feeling better. But there’s some dark times in there. It’s never fun to go through.”
Additionally, Trotman opened the season on long-term injured reserve because of a sports hernia.
He’s pretty healthy now, just not pretty cosmetically given his damaged lip. Regardless, he’s pretty happy to be back in the NHL.
“It’s always great to be up here,” said Trotman, who had his recall status changed from emergency to regular prior to Thursday’s game. “It’s been an up-and-down year for me as far as injuries go. It’s nice to be healthy again and be back on the radar and be here to help the team.”
Recalled two previous times this season, he has appeared in five NHL games this season and has no points.
