Just over two years after having his left leg amputated below the knee following a cardiac arrest prior to puck drop of an AHL game, Craig Cunningham showed that he can still skate like a pro.
The former captain of the Tucson Roadrunners posted a video to Instagram on Wednesday displaying his slick edge-work and crossovers while wearing a prosthetic attached to a modified blade.
Cunningham, a 28-year-old from Trail, B.C., was standing on the ice during the national anthem of a game between the Roadrunners and the Manitoba Moose on Nov. 19, 2016 when he collapsed to the ice. His heart stopped beating for 83 minutes, but a rare surgery saved his life. The cardiac arrest affected the circulation in his leg and it was amputated about a month later.
The incident brought an end to a career that spanned more than five professional seasons — including 34 games with the Boston Bruins and 29 with the Arizona Coyotes — but hockey is still part of Cunningham’s everyday life, having joined the Coyotes as a pro scout.
Despite his new gear and new skating style, the former right winger Cunningham conceded one thing hasn’t changed about his game.
“Still can’t skate backwards,” he joked in the Instagram video.
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