Head Shots

By now most people in the hockey world have heard about or watched the devastating elbow delivered in Juniors. Patrice Cormier (property of the NJ Devils) threw an elbow in an open ice check on Mikael Tam, leaving Tam to start to convulse on the ice. Cormier was then given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. The league then suspended Cormier indefinitely until a decision about his suspension is reached on Monday.

Where am I going with this? I think head shots in hockey (at any level) have ZERO place in the game. Recently Zack Kassian (property of the Buffalo Sabres) was suspended by the OHL 20 games for his headshot on Matt Kennedy. Looking at that replay...Kassian seemed to leave his feet as he hit Kennedy. The punishment, was severe but fair. I applaud the OHL for coming down hard on Kassian because respect for other players starts in the developmental leagues. You can even argue it starts in the pee wees. But I'm not going to go that far today. In the past decade we've witnessed brutal acts on ice in both the NHL and Juniors. The only way to fix these vicious crimes is to develop the mentality in college and juniors that it's wrong. Maybe the McSorley two handed chop to Brashear's head doesn't occur, or maybe Bertuzzi doesn't sucker punch Moore ending the later's career. What will make it stop? Someone actually suffering severe brain damage because of a vicious blow to the head? What happened to the respect players had for one another. Not too long ago no one even wore a helmet. I remember, even in my short lifetime, Craig MacTavish not wearing a helmet. I believe he was the last player to do so. It was not that long ago that players were "ok" with not wearing a helmet because there was a sense of respect.

What I find even more sickening is Cormier may be allowed to play in the AHL this year. Even if Cormier gets suspended by the CHL for the remainder of the season, he will still be eligible to play. Granted he would have to pass an AHL board review, but what makes you think they will uphold the suspension? You'd be going from the Juniors to professional hockey...they have no reason to honor the suspension of the CHL. Would they? I sure hope so.

So we've established I'm not a fan of headshots and I am a fan of heavy suspensions. But...I believe the powers that be can go too far. A criminal investigation is being conducted on Cormier on whether or not there should be legal action taken against him. I don't believe this is necessary. Hitting and aggression are part of the game. People get injured and players do stupid things. While I don't condone violent behavior in the game, there is no way to actually determine whether or not Cormier INTENTIONALLY elbowed Tam and meant to send him into a seizure. Let the discipline be handled in-house. If they decide to ban him from hockey, ok that's fine. But he should not face any legal action.

Again I reiterate, respect should be taught in the lower levels. This is the only way for the game to see progress in this area. Weed out the dirty players in Juniors and the college ranks. GMs should take heed on these matters and not reward players who have had multiple incidents in juniors/college by drafting them. It has to start somewhere...and it needs to start at the bottom.

-Brett