ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Blues forward Dylan Holloway returned to the lineup Thursday night against Utah in the team's first game since he was taken to the hospital after getting hit in the neck with a puck.
Holloway participated in the Blues’ morning skate at Enterprise Center and declared he felt good to return, and coach Drew Bannister put him in the starting lineup.
“Talking to the doctor at the hospital, he said just no activity for 24 hours. But other than that, I’m fine,” Holloway said at morning skate. “All my tests came back good. There’s no further damage — nothing. It was kind of the best news I could get, and I feel like I’m ready to go.
Holloway was hurt late in the first period of St. Louis’ 3-2 victory on Tuesday night when he was struck by a puck off the stick of Tampa Bay’s Nicholas Paul. Play was stopped with 1:11 left in the period, and referees sent the teams to the locker rooms early after Holloway was taken from the bench area on a stretcher.
“It was definitely kind of crazy. I felt pretty fortunate. I had a Iot of people reach out to see if I was OK,” said Holloway, who signed with the Blues after appearing in the Stanley Cup final last season with Edmonton.
“I appreciate all the love and the support that I was getting. The team has been great, all the boys have been great, the coach has been great. I’m just thankful to have such a supportive group around me.”
Holloway said he felt dizzy and nauseous at the hospital but has had no other ill effects other than a bruise at the base of his neck.
“I just want to go out there and kind of forget about it, put it in the past,” Holloway said. “I feel good and I’m just excited to get out there.”
Bannister said Holloway rode an exercise bike Wednesday and then “pushed himself hard” during the morning skate.
“He’s a worker. He has a high motor. The way we want to play, he dictates a lot of the play,” Bannister said. “He dictates a lot of the energy that happens on the bench and on the ice. He just works to get pucks back and he uses his speed. He does a lot of things really well and he’s fit in nicely.”
“Whether we’ve put him at center or put him at wing, he’s found a way to contribute to the team game and contribute on the scoreboard but also defensively.”
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St. Louis Blues' Dylan Holloway (81) with teammates prior to an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton)
St. Louis Blues' Dylan Holloway (81) skates warmups before an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A self-described Nazi became the first person in Australia to be sentenced to prison for performing an outlawed salute when he was ordered by a magistrate on Friday to spend one month behind bars.
Jacob Hersant, 25, is also the first person in Victoria state to be convicted of performing the Nazi salute. The gesture has been outlawed nationwide since he committed the offense.
He was convicted in the Melbourne Magistrates Court last month of performing the salute before news cameras outside the Victoria County Court on Oct. 27, 2023. Hersant had just avoided a prison sentence on a conviction for causing violent disorder. Performing a Nazi salute had been outlawed by the state parliament days earlier.
Magistrate Brett Sonnet allowed Hersant to remain free on bail after he was convicted until Friday, when he was sentenced to one month in prison.
He faced a potential maximum sentence of 12 months in prison plus a 24,000 Australian dollar ($16,025) fine.
Hersant’s lawyer, Tim Smartt, said the sentence would be appealed and he would apply for bail in a higher court pending an appeal hearing.
Smartt said Hersant should not be jailed for a non-violent act.
“It’s not justified sending a 25-year-old to prison. That is wrong,” Smartt told the magistrate.
Sonnet said a prison sentence was appropriate.
“If there was physical violence, then I would have imposed a sentence close to the maximum penalty,” Sonnet said. “The accused sought to promote Nazi ideology in the public arena and the court is satisfied he took advantage of the media to disseminate extreme political views.”
Hersant was a member of the National Socialist Network, an organization that promoted white supremacy, deportation of immigrants and far-right actors, Sonnet said.
While performing the salute last year, he praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and said, “Australia for the white man.”
Sonnet said his words were “clearly racist and seek to promote white supremacy in Australia.”
“Put bluntly, the white man is not superior to any other race of people,” Sonnet said.
Hersant’s lawyers had argued that his comments and salute were protected by an implied constitutional freedom of political communication.
On his way into court on Friday, Hersant maintained he had a right to express his political views.
“We’re going to argue that the law is constitutionally invalid and it’s emotional and it’s anti-white,” Hersant told reporters. “It’s my political view and I think it’s a good fight for us to have an argument in court saying these laws are invalid.”
Tim Smartt, the lawyer for Jacob Hersant, arrives at Melbourne Magistrates Court in Melbourne, Australia, Nov. 8, 2024, for Hersant's sentencing after he was convicted for performing the Nazi salute. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk)
