Kelowna Rockets forward Ty Hurley steps up to save man from drowning

In a story posted on WHL.ca, Kelowna Rockets forward Ty Hurley stepped up to the plate to save an unconscious man from drowning.

The 19-year-old was waiting in the hotel lobby for his teammates in Strathmore, Alberta while their team was on a Western road trip. While waiting, he noticed a fully clothed man bobbing in the water, submerging himself for long periods. When the man slipped beneath the surface, that’s when Hurley jumped into action.

“At this point, I decided I’ve got to do something here. This isn’t right,” Hurley recalled. “I took off my shirt and leaned over the edge (of the pool) and grabbed him by his shoulders and ripped him out of the water. He was probably under there for at least 30-40 seconds. I got him out of there, flipped him on his back and he wasn’t breathing at all. It was pretty scary.”

Once out of the water, Hurley started doing chest compression and CPR to save the man’s life.

“You’re not really thinking about anything but the situation. Your mind is cleared out and you’re acting in the moment,” Hurley said. “After 15-20 compressions, he started breathing all of a sudden. That was a relief.”

Rockets teammate Ethan Neutens also joined in aiding the man, and by this point, a small crowd had formed and an ambulance was en route.

“His pulse was weak, his hands had no colour in them at all, he’s barely breathing,” Hurley said. “We flipped him on his side and got him some towels. At this point, someone had called an ambulance so we just waited there with him.”

“We were just hoping the guy was alright, hoping he comes out of it on two feet,” Neutens added. “It was pretty scary.”

Alberta Health Services has confirmed the man was taken to hospital in stable, non-life-threatening condition.