In 1955–56, O’Ree played for the Kitchener Canucks. In one game, he got hit in the right eye with the puck. The shot also broke his nose and cheekbone. O’Ree lost 95 per cent of the vision in his eye, and was advised by a doctor to stop playing hockey. He was back on the ice within two months.
 

O’Ree could not tell anyone about the injury. According to NHL bylaws, he would not be eligible to play, as the league had and still has a rule forbidding all players who are blind in one eye from competing (Bylaw 12.6).
   

February 29, 2012, O’Ree explained the situation he faced:"If it gets out that I’m blind in my right eye, I probably won’t be allowed to play pro, and definitely won’t be allowed to play in the National Hockey League. I never took an eye exam in all the 21 years I played. I never sat in front of an eye machine. I don’t know why back then they didn’t make me. It’s different now. Back then, they were more concerned with your physical condition, and I always kept myself in good shape."