Professional hockey can be a dangerous sport to play. We have sadly been reminded of this multiple times this season with on-ice tragedies. Earlier this month though we nearly saw an off-ice tragedy take place but luckily, one former NHL star was there to save the day. <h2>Tony Hrkac Saves NHL Employee From Chocking To Death At Kings Game</h2> The events took place at the LA Kings game on January 4th. An NHL employee was reportedly in a press box when he started to choke. Luckily, former NHL center Tony Hrkac was there to save the day as he correctly utilized the Heimlich Maneuver to save the employee's life. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Osiecki24/status/1748036617426649447'> </a></blockquote></div> <q>Sources tell TMZ Sports an NHL employee (who wishes not to be identified) began choking and turning purplish while eating inside the arena. It was an incredibly dire situation ... but fortunately, 57-year-old Hrkac -- a Tampa Bay Lightning scout -- was on the scene. We're told Hrkac sprung into action, administering the Heimlich maneuver on the choking person, who then ejected a piece of pretzel. The employee then began to breathe normally.</q> Hrkac was drafted 32nd overall in 1984 by the St. Louis Blues. He went on to play 785 career NHL games, recording 132 goals and 371 points in the process. Hrkac was the ultimate Journeyman as he played for nine different NHL clubs in his career in addition to three AHL clubs and two in the now-defunct IHL. Hrkac is now a pro scout for the Tampa Bay Lightning, but perhaps no moment in his career can compare to this in terms of importance. Luckily, he was there and prepared to take action. Otherwise this story could have had a very different outcome. As seen on <a href='https://www.bladeofsteel.com/nhl/news/Former-NHLer-saves-life-of-league-staff-member-during-Kings-game?fbclid=IwAR0NCPB3MN1WUrkLNj0QT-2iXxBLdQc5BlMrdUOVEKpew0mw8UK22lr5lPQ' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Former NHLer saves life of league staff member during Kings game</a>