Jared Aulin: "I've Had Enough of this Crap!"

Jared Aulin, once a promising prospect of the Los Angeles Kings, and former 2nd round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, has given up on hockey at the age of 25.

Boredom? Lack of job opportunities?

Nope...on-ice violence did it for him.

Aulin was the victim of a vicious two-handed slash to the neck after intervening on a scrum involving a teammate, an incident that landed him in the hospital with a concussion, swollen carotid artery and a pail full of painkillers.

"I'm done with it, which is sad," Aulin told the Sun prior to asking police to press charges.

Aulin returned to his hometown of Calgary to play summer hockey after his NHL dream was cut short by injury, hoping to play for fun once again. But what he got was an out-of-control opponent who wielded his stick like a baseball bat.

"It was one of those situations where you see it and blink and wonder 'did that just happen?' It was a little surreal."

Aulin played just 17 games in the NHL, but is of some interest to me since he's one of the very few players that shares my March 15th birthday. I also remember him kicking a whole lot of ass during his WHL days as a member of the Kamloops Blazers.

It's a sad way to end a career, for sure. Aulin had already had injuries problems prior to this little summer league game, and then he gets whacked like a tyee salmon.