Baby hit by puck a ‘freak accident’

Subban relieved infant released from hospital

MONTREAL • The Montreal Canadiens’ latest bit of misfortune involves an infant who was rushed to a hospital Sunday after being hit in the head by a souvenir puck at the team’s annual public practice at the Bell Centre.

The mother of one-month old Béatrice Meloche said the puck was apparently tossed into the stands by crowd favourite P.K. Subban.

“At the end, the players took the time to throw pucks at their young fans,” Valérie Meloche, wrote on Facebook. “Unfortunately, one of the fans who caught a puck thrown by P. K. Subban was just a month old — and she caught it with her head.”

The infant suffered a concussion, but was released f rom the Montreal Children’s Hospital on Monday.

Although it is customary for Canadiens’ players to toss pucks and other souvenirs into the crowd after the annual practice, the players and club officials did not know about the incident until Monday, said Donald Beauchamp, vice- president of communications.

Subban was relieved to hear the baby had been released from hospital, Beauchamp added. He said Subban, who pledged $10 million to the Montreal Children’s Hospital in 2015, came to see him three times Monday to check on Beatrice’s status.

The family has been invited to watch a game at the Bell Centre from the Canadiens Children’s Foundation private suite.

Beauchamp described the incident as a “freak accident.” The souvenir puck was touched by an adult, who fumbled the puck. “It touched two other people before ending up on the poor baby’s head.”