Mitch Messier Fights On

Here is an amazing must-read article on Mark Messier's cousin and former NHLer Mitch Messier, courtesy of the Calgary Herald:

At 44, Mitch feels blessed every time he laces up the skates as a coach for his youngest boy, Ryan. He’s thankful for the chance to pass on the lessons learned through 20 games in the NHL and some 535 games in the minors to kids at the Banff Hockey School.

After all, doctors figured Mitch — a second cousin to New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers legend Mark Messier — had little chance of surviving when paramedics wheeled a bloody mess of a man into to the Canmore Hospital in the wee hours of Aug. 23, 1996.

“For me, Mitch represents those modern-day heroes we have who are hockey players,” says Dr. John Hurlbert, a neurosurgeon at Foothills Hospital.

“Perhaps to their own detriment, they sometimes perceive themselves to be invincible.

“Mitch came very close to proving that’s not true.”

Here's the full story.