Complex sentence: Villeridge, we learn, is French Canadian, headed for a serious career as a hockey player when two men "skated over the side of his face" in an accident, ending his career and seriously and permanently disfiguring him.
Split into simpler sentences: Villeridge, we learn, is French Canadian, and had once been headed for a serious career as a hockey player. In an accident, two men "skated over the side of his face," ending his hockey career, and seriously and permanently disfiguring him.