Winnipeg Jets defenceman Zach Redmond will likely be out for the remainder of the NHL season, following a severe injury at a practice skate.

Redmond fell while doing drills and a fellow player accidentally ran over his leg with his skate in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday.

The result was a serious slash to Redmond’s femoral artery in his leg.

“It was a scary moment, that’s for sure,” Winnipeg Jets’ goalie Onrej Pavelec told TSN after Thursday night’s game. “I’ve never seen so much blood in my life.”

Redmond’s artery was severed just above his knee, on the backside of his leg.

The 24 year old was rushed into emergency surgery at a North Carolina Hospital.

He’s now OK, but officials said it’s unlikely he’ll be able to play again this season.

Mandy Los is an athletic therapist with the Manitoba Bison’s men’s hockey team. She said the type of injury Redmond has will be difficult to recover from.

“It will be a long rehab for him for sure,” said Los.

She estimates it will take six to eight weeks just for the cut to heal.

“Then he has to get the range of motion back before he gets the strength back, before he gets to sport-specific activity,” said Los.

Redmond’s is the second season-ending skate-cut in the NHL in a month.

Ottawa Senator Erik Karlsson had his Achilles tendon 70 per cent severed during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 14.

The general manager of the Senators said Karlsson’s season was “effectively over.”

Protective socks fly off Winnipeg shelves

The two injuries have prompted questions about the safety of players in all hockey leagues and what can be done to prevent them.

Proponents of Kevlar socks say they could help prevent some skate injuries from happening in the future at all levels of sport.

The socks are made of a made of a material that can’t be easily cut, and Randy Tesluck of Royal Sports in Winnipeg says they are flying off the shelves.

“It’s the parents calling, so the younger kids are buying and the junior kids are buying now too, especially,” said Tesluck.

Hockey player Kelsey Saelens said she does as much as she can off the ice to keep herself safe when she’s playing.

“I make sure I have good shin pads. Some girls go around with short shin pads. It’s definitely not a good thing,” said Saelens.

Jessie Stot also plays hockey in Winnipeg. She said she does as much as she can to protect herself, but when she’s on the ice, the game is the focus.

“On the ice, you don’t really think about you,” said Stot.

“You just do the most you can to protect yourself. Wear the equipment you need.”