Heartbreaking update from NHL superstar Paul Kariya.

Paul Kariya opens up for the first time in a long time.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Heartbreaking update from NHL superstar Paul Kariya.
Keystone Press

It's been so long since we've heard anything from former National Hockey League superstar Paul Kariya, but with his induction into the Hall-of-Fame Kariya has finally broken his silence after years of obscurity. 

Speaking with TSN in an exclusive interview, Kariya opened up about the horrific damage his brain suffered during his NHL career, and considering how amazing a player he was and how many lives he touched both on and off the ice, it was genuinely heartbreaking to hear him speak of it. 

The most shocking update from Kariya however was his description of how much brain function he had lost by the time he decided to walk away from the sport of hockey, a truly disturbing number.

"At the end of my career when I was tested.... I dropped over 60%"

Kariya also underwent further testing after that initial test, and those results were also damning. 

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"When I was tested by another doctor... just a general test for my age group I was testing in the 25% percentile."

While a professional athlete testing in the bottom 25% for his age group may not seem shocking to you initially, you have to remember that Paul Kariya is a kid who was good enough in school to be accepted to the prestigious Harvard University. 

It was an eye opening interview, one we highly recommend you watch in full to get the full scope of Kariya's story, a story that may have lasted a lot longer had he not been so badly injured during his career. To watch the full 12 minute interview you can follow the link here.

It's an absolute shame that he suffered the way he did.

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