Ever since Donny Sanderson’s death and the “legal” hit Jamie Heward suffered at the hand of Alexander Ovechkin a couple weeks back, (you know- the one that sent him to the hospital and into a concussion) I have tossed the issue of helmet safety around in my head, intending to write a blog.
MetalheadfanUK’s blog of today at nhlconnect: “Ken Campbell is Wrong”- an astonishingly well written and researched piece, focuses on the debate about whether to remove fighting from the game. That is not my issue, but his work prompted me to talk about an issue I think is more important.
When Don Sauderson’s death was announced after he lay in a coma for weeks as a result of his unprotected head hitting the ice, the first thing I heard out of the League was “The NHL will not review its rules on fighting”. I think everyone discussing fighting has missed the point.
All such an announcement warranted from me was a sigh of resignation and the strengthening of an already intense belief that Heads Should NOT hit the Ice Unprotected.
Donny was a fighter, and as near as I can tell, the fight was normal course of business until his bare head cracked against the hardest sports surface known to man. (Yes, I am saying wood and even clay give more than ice, I’ll bet NASCAR race tracks are softer, I just don’t have any evidence to back such a claim up.)
In a boxing ring the mat is very soft and helmets are designed for the punch and landing on an already cushioned mat. When helmets are not used in boxing we see the results in the likes of some of the greats – Muhammad Ali, for example. On a football field, the helmets- even sparser than boxing- are designed to hit soft turf or grass and for neck protection.
The hockey rink ice surface alone requires that we address the injuries potentially suffered from hitting the ice, (be it either from a fight, a check or a fall) as much more serious and potentially dangerous. I do not see evidence of concern for this reality in the various leagues.
Helmets in hockey are designed for two things: Errant puck stoppage (like a baseball batting helmet) and clear visuals (including and especially allowing for peripheral vision). They offer little or no protection from contact with the ice surface.
There are too many deaths, concussions, comas and head injuries in this league from heads hitting the ice. SAFER HEAD EQUIPMENT MUST BECOME A TOPIC OF SERIOUS DISCUSSION IN THIS LEAGUE and if a player’s death and the alarming rise in concussion rates in the league don’t prompt swift change,
Then my feeling is that until the game is made safer, fighting needs to be tempered.
Fact is that I am not a fan of sanctioned fighting in a sport which utilizes a playing surface of ice, with head equipment that has little or no protective qualities. If the League won’t do something about fighting, then it must do something about head safety.
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