Carl Hagelin opens up about career-threatening eye injury

“Right when it happened, it sounded like they might have to almost get in and remove the eye,” Hagelin said per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. 

Hagelin said it was the scariest moment of his life. 

He has had two surgeries and added he has a long road ahead of him before he can play again. His eyesight will never be 100 percent again.

Still Hagelin plans to play next season.

If and when he gets back on the ice, he says he will wear a bigger visor and as low as the NHL allows.

He previously wore his visor higher than most players. His visor’s location is an apparent reason for his injury. The stick hit him at an underneath angle.

“I’ll probably wear something similar to what Marc Staal is wearing and what Carl Soderberg was wearing that goes longer – whatever the league allows you to do, I guess, and kind of go from there,” Hagelin added according to Whyno.

Hagelin added the fact the injury happened during practice and not a game is “frustrating.”

Hagelin finished his fourth season with the Capitals after being traded to the team in 2019. He played in 53 games this season, scoring three goals and picking up 11 assists with a plus-10 rating.

Next season, Hagelin will be in the last year of his three-year, $11 million extension he signed at the end of the 2018-19 season.