Louis Crevier is the last player to lose a tooth

Even though Chicago Blackhawks rookie Louis Crevier is missing one of his upper central incisors, he still flashes a wide grin as he describes how he lost it.

Pointing to the Crevier gap, he said, “This is, I don’t know where it is. “Fifth is lost forever in the Third Arena.”

This incident occurred during training on February 20.

“It seemed like 15 seconds had passed since my first drill,” he said. “It was a power play/PK, it was Beauvy (Anthony Beauvillier) shooting at my stick and it went right there. So it’s just a hockey game.

“I wish there had at least been a blocked shot in the game or something like that.”

Beauvillier was shy about this.

“Oh, I felt bad,” the striker said. “Just an unfortunate play. He took a stick from there and the puck went up. … It wasn’t fun to see.”

Beauvillier apologized and said Crevier was “fine about it.”

Crevier said he joked with Beauvillier: “We French must stick together.” Crevier may make light of it now, but at first it looked pretty ugly.

“I had a few crooked stitches, like they’re still a little bit out of place right now, (needed) a few stitches,” he said. “Missing teeth aren’t bad, it’s more like I have to wear braces now. So I like this part a little less. But I’m a real hockey player with a missing tooth. “That’s a good stereotype.”

“I don’t know where this is. It’s like being lost forever in Fifth Third Arena.”

—Louis Crevier broke his front tooth during practice on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/w3TOmAdhcu

— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) February 24, 2024

Not everyone in his family shares his sense of humor.

“My mom was a little angry that I had braces for two years when I was little,” Crevier said with a laugh.

He ate for about the first day after recovery.

“Eating sucks right now because I can’t really chew with these guys,” he said, referring to his front teeth. “So I have to put all the food in the back of my mouth.”

Coach Luke Richardson said some players still view losing their teeth as a rite of passage.

“Because of the nature of this game, there was always some point of view,” he said.

But this is not the only medal of honor.

“I don’t think the appearance (of a missing tooth) is the strength part,” he said. “I think if someone gets hit and they get up and keep playing, it’s the resilience part of it.

“Sometimes this doesn’t mean a hit to the face, it can be a blocked shot from anywhere (across the body). “It’s more of a sign of playing despite some pain.”

He added the bright side: “At least we have better dentists and better dental work now. They could put in better looking replacement parts.

Philipp Kurashev also accepted this, but it cannot be said that any player is looking forward to it.

“So of course you don’t want to lose your teeth, but sometimes that comes with hockey,” he said. “I lost part of myself and yeah, it’s not fun. … It sucks. Not cool.”

Crevier’s only other gripe was having to wear a full face shield, which he said was “a little weird at first.”

And he might not even be the Hawks player most associated with donning the fishbowl mask; Rookie Connor Bedard has become synonymous with the “bubble” since returning from a broken jaw.

Bedard said his injury does not make him worry about tooth loss.

“I guess it’s a chance, but you don’t really go in there worrying about it,” he said. “Maybe at an odd moment in practice if your stick is out and you see the puck coming, you can put a glove in your mouth. But I don’t think he thought about it too much.”

When the comparison to Bedard’s mask came up, Crevier said with surprise: “I want to be like him. I don’t even need it. “I just want to look like him.”