Former Sharks Forward Hospitalized, Placed on IR After Scary Injury

Former San Jose Sharks forward Nico Sturm appears to have avoided the worst with a scary injury that required him to be hospitalized on Monday night.

When the Minnesota Wild were playing the Vegas Golden Knights, Wild captain took a regular shot from the faceoff circle. Unfortunately, the puck went straight into the side of Sturm's head and knocked him to the ground. The Wild recently saw a similar injury in preseason, which has knocked Brock Faber out of action for a considerable amount of time and according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, the incident quickly brought back memories of that night. 

Unlike Faber, Sturm left the ice and did not return to the game following his injury. At this time, there is no timeline for recovery and he was placed on the injured reserve on Tuesday morning. Rightfully though, it did start some conversation about ear guards, as both Sturm and Faber's injuries could have been less severe had they been wearing them.

Sturm played two and a half seasons with the Sharks, joining the team in the summer of 2022 before being traded ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline.

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