The Globe and Mail

KEN CAMPBELL
THE HOCKEY NEWS

Don’t tell Don Van Massenhoven that players are the only NHL participants who get injured in the line of duty.

Just one week prior to the one-year anniversary of having facial reconstruction surgery, Van Massenhoven caught a rut in the ice at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Nov. 16 and is now on the shelf for four-to-six weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

“I zagged when I should have zigged,” said the veteran referee. “There had previously been a lot of scar tissue in there.”

Van Massenhoven was in considerable discomfort when it happened and elected to have the surgery right in Los Angeles. He’s now recovering at his home in Strathroy, Ont.

“I joked with my colleagues that last year I tried out the medical system on the east coast, so this year I thought I’d try it out on the west coast,” Van Massenhoven said.

Last November, Van Massenhoven was seriously injured after being hit in the face with a puck during a New Jersey Devils- Florida Panthers game. Van Massenhoven required seven hours of reconstructive surgery in Fort Lauderdale to repair his nose, nasal cavity, orbital bone and forehead.