Headshots and Hockey: WHL following NHL’s lead on headshots (Part 2 of 5)

[CdnSailor]

The issue of head injuries in hockey has been front and centre, especially with respect to concussions. Although the most prominent discussions have pertained to the NHL, the repercussions are far-reaching, extending to hockey’s developmental system. With that in mind, Leader-Post sports writer Greg Harder has prepared a five-part series on head injuries. In today’s instalment — Part 2 of the series — we look at the measures taken by the WHL and how the players feel about the changing landscape.


REGINA — As the enduring concussion debate reached a new apex this summer, the Western Hockey League found itself standing at a crossroads.

Based upon its reputation as a favoured pipeline for NHL talent, the WHL fell squarely under the microscope as league officials put their heads together in search of a consensus on the game’s latest self-inflicted crisis.

One option was to simply stay the course, addressing the headshot problem by enforcing its current rule book with a little more veracity. In the end, however, the WHL determined that a change of direction was required. Not only did the league recognize an obligation to protect its own, there was also an opportunity to lead by example and show the hockey world that the once-wild west could be tamed — just enough to make safety a priority while (in theory) still preserving the rugged elements for which it’s revered.

“Part of our responsibility is to make sure at all times that we have a safe environment for our players,” explained WHL commissioner Ron Robison. “There was an acknowledgment we have a problem and that we need to address it. The trends we were seeing were disturbing to say the least with regard to the increasing numbers of concussions. Part of that is due to the higher level of detection that we have now and a good concussion management program, but the other part of it was we could see situations where we definitely wanted to remove certain hits from the game.”

The WHL responded by adopting several new measures — including a head-check penalty — at its annual general meeting in June. Although not precisely a zero-tolerance approach that mirrors Hockey Canada and the Ontario Hockey League, it did fall within the NHL’s new guidelines and enforcement strategy.

“We believe any severe hit to the head will be covered with our current rules,” said Robison. “We’re of the view that at our level we’re very much a transition between minor hockey and preparing players for professional hockey. As a result, players also have to take responsibility for protecting themselves. That’s a big part of our emphasis in that we didn’t eliminate entirely hits which occur from the front (usually in open ice).

“We try to mirror the NHL rules to a large extent but at the same time we’re putting more emphasis on a narrow field of vision which the players have a responsibility to protect themselves. But any blind-side or any hits which the player would be in a vulnerable area are definitely a zero tolerance for us and we’ve increased our suspensions significantly to any players that would be (delivering) hits of that nature.”

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The WHL’s head-check penalty was just one component of a larger “seven-point plan” designed to address the issues in a more comprehensive manner. It also includes the adoption of “more severe suspensions for repeat offenders, production of an educational video on the risks of concussions, educating the players to be more responsible for themselves on the ice, a seminar for all WHL head coaches and general managers, new soft-cap elbow and shoulder pads, expanded research data, and a review of all WHL arena facilities safety standards.”

Robison believes the seven-point plan has the WHL headed in the right direction.

“We’re working together,” he said. “It’s not just the league office. Everyone understands they have a role and responsibility in that process. The rule changes are effective but if you don’t have everybody buying in to what you’re trying to accomplish it sometimes leads to not (achieving) the results you’re looking for.”

Robison noted that the WHL is placing more onus on coaches to be accountable for the actions of their players, including the need to show respect for the game and each other. In addition, coaches are expected to provide instruction on bodychecking as a fundamental skill — no different than passing and shooting — while also educating players on how to receive hits and avoid placing themselves in vulnerable positions.

In the end, however, it’s up to the players to embrace those lessons and put them into practice.

“Part of the seven-point plan is really asking players to be a participant in their own safety,” said Robison. “We’re really focused on not only making players aware of when they’re making illegal hits and tightening that standard but we are also focused on making sure players are aware of how to play the game and to avoid dangerous situations.”

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From an education standpoint, the WHL is contributing to a greater sense of awareness about concussions that has been generated throughout hockey. However, the league also recognized that awareness can’t be taken on faith, which is why director of officiating Kevin Muench met with each team during the first month of the season to reinforce the new standards. Each WHL club is also required to place two posters in its dressing room, one of which outlines some of the key rules and expectations for players, the other specifically targeting checks to the head. In addition, the league has produced a DVD which explains the new measures and provides specific clips on what’s legal and what isn’t. The captain of each team is required to send a letter to the league, signed by all players, which confirms that they’ve seen the video and understand the message.

Of course, the most direct deterrent is suspensions, which is why the WHL provides a text explanation on penalties of five or more games — although stopping short of utilizing video methods promoted by the OHL.

“We certainly think we’ve done everything we possibly can to educate our players,” said WHL vice-president Richard Doerksen. “Our goal is to make it as safe as we can and yet keep the context of our physical hard-nosed game intact. The WHL is known for how hard the players play, how tough the games can be, and we want that to continue. We want a physical game but we want to protect the players in the areas we can protect them.”

In the first 11 weeks of this season, the league handed out an unprecedented 40 suspensions for a total of 119 games. In that same period of time over the previous four seasons, the numbers were as follows: 24 suspensions for 52 games in 2010-11, 17 for 32 in 2009-10, 26 for 46 in ’08-09 and 31 for 54 in ’07-08.

So far this season, the league has handed out seven suspensions for head shots, totalling 37 games. That includes the three longest penalties issued this season (10 games to Charles Inglis of Prince George, seven games to Moose Jaw’s Cody Beach and 10 games to Everett’s Jesse Mychan).

“Certainly the suspensions we’ve given this year are heavier than what we had given in previous years,” said Doerksen. “If you tabulate the number of suspensions and how many games they serve, we’re going to be up that way. I would sure like to have fewer suspensions in total. I thought we had too many last year. We hope the players grasp what we’re trying to do. The last thing we want to do is suspend players.”

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Robison said the league is keeping close tabs on the concussion situation and continually compiling data on the subject. According to the league’s weekly injury report, 97 players suffered a concussion during the 2010-11 regular season, eight of them sustained two and one had three. That, of course, doesn’t account for the presumption that teams tend to disguise concussions as “head” injuries — or even hide them altogether.

In fact, that’s precisely what happened this season when the WHL took the unprecedented action of modifying its official injury report, replacing specific details with “upper body” and “lower body” — terms which have become notorious in an era where injuries are often shrouded in mystery. Despite the game’s acceptance of those terms, the WHL has come under fire for its lack of transparency and disclosure, seemingly contradicting itself in the wake of proactive headshot measures. However, the league has defended its decision, stating that it’s strictly a safety issue.

“We had a lengthy discussion on that and decided to take more of the NHL approach to releasing information on injuries,” said Robison. “It came up as part of the concussion discussion as far as: ‘Do we want players to be further exposed by the knowledge that they have (an injury)? When they return, would that prompt people to maybe take advantage of it?’ That was the genesis of it. The Ontario and Quebec leagues do not even release an injury report. We’re just trying to protect the players.”

Although Robison is confident the WHL’s efforts will pay dividends, he cautioned that meaningful change won’t happen overnight. The initial results confirm that belief.

“In the early part of the season our data indicates the numbers (of concussions) were similar to previous years,” he added. “Only recently in the last two weeks have we started to see a decline. We’re certainly prepared to release that type of information (to the media) because we’re all part of the same process.

“We’re encouraged by the results.”

[CdnSailor]

WHL players support safety measures

REGINA — Despite great pains to accelerate hockey’s transition into a new-and-improved era — built on speed and skill — there are occasions when the evolution of the sport demands that you hit the brakes.

This is one of those times.

A perceived lack of respect among today’s players has resulted in a crackdown on blows to the head that cause concussions. It’s similar to what happened a few years ago when teams were sewing STOP signs on the backs of their jerseys in hopes of slowing the outbreak of hits from behind.

Given the threat to player safety, leagues like the WHL have taken a hard-line approach toward head shots, handing out suspensions that would have been unprecedented in the not-too-distant past. Now, it’s all part of the landscape.

“The game is changing,” offered Regina Pats captain Brandon Davidson. “It’s just like with the new rules (for clutching and grabbing). Teams are bringing in more-skilled players, not always big and tough guys. This is just another part of the development of the game and it’s for the better. I really think safety is No. 1.”

For players who are less concerned with safety, suspensions are often an effective deterrent.

“When guys get suspended, they’re going to take a second look at what they’re doing and be a little more aware (of their actions),” noted Pats star Jordan Weal. “The game is getting so fast now. Back five, 10 years ago you could kind of bump a guy when he wasn’t looking because there was more holding and grabbing. The consequences weren’t as dire. Now you have to take a step back from those situations because guys are allowed to fly around. It comes with a lot more onus on the player to know when the other guy is in a vulnerable position.”

Some players have learned the hard way. One of them was ex-Pats forward Mikael Jung, who received a four-game suspension early this season under the WHL’s new headshot rule. While noting that he didn’t have malicious intent, the hit still resulted in a concussion to Jason Swyripa of the Brandon Wheat Kings — and a stern retort from the league office.

“It’s unfortunate I did get suspended but I agree with the league ruling; I ended up deserving that,” Jung said at the time. “I’m maybe a bit of a scapegoat now but it shows everybody else that (WHL officials) are not going to be lenient. It’s not my style to be doing that to anybody but it did happen and that’s the outcome. You have to take responsibility for what you do.”

Jung isn’t the first person to do so, but that doesn’t mean the new measures have been universally embraced. In fact, some players admit to feeling handcuffed by the threat of an accidental hit to the head — and a subsequent suspension.

“It’s always in the back of my mind,” noted Pats defenceman Artem Bidlevskii. “I think the league has done a good job explaining what’s allowed and what’s not allowed. But when you’re out there playing a full-contact game you only have a split second (to make decisions). A guy like me, it’s my job to be physical out there. You have to walk the line. Sometimes when their backs are turned, that’s an easy way to lay off. With the head shots, the line is a little greyer. There are smaller players in the league (whose heads only come up to his shoulder). It’s just a lot of grey area.”

Brandon Underwood feels the same way, pointing out that hitting a player with full force — and without hesitation — is ingrained in the hockey mentality.

That mindset isn’t easily undone.

“You see a guy coming down centre ice with his head down, as a defenceman you’re licking your chops,” noted the bruising Pats blueliner. “You’re a hockey player. We’re warriors out there. It’s war against the other team and you go as hard as you can. It’s tough because you never want to hold up on anyone but it’s about doing your best (to be safe), keep your elbow down and just play. Some guys are more prone to taking (illegal) runs at players. The league has already sent a message to a few of those guys. For myself, I just try to play my game and not think about it too much. But it’s always in the back of your head.”

Clearing up the grey areas is considered a team effort. While the league has a duty to help educate its players, much of the day-to-day responsibility has been thrust upon the coaches.

“We probably as an entire hockey group haven’t done that well enough over the years,” said Pats head coach Pat Conacher, a former NHLer. “We’ve put the STOP patch on and all these things to protect the players instead of teaching them more about how to protect yourself. I came from an era when guys were still playing without helmets. We had more respect for players but we also learned how to protect ourselves.”

Teaching players how to properly deliver and receive a hit isn’t the first thing you’d expect to find in the WHL coaching handbook, especially given the inherent pressure to win. However, Conacher thinks it’s a critical part of his role to educate players on how the game needs to be played.

“Hockey is a physical game and it has to be played with passion and physicality but you have to play within the rules,” he added. “You have to respect your opponent. You have to respect the game. You have to be able to recognize when there’s a player in a vulnerable position. The players have gotten bigger, they’ve gotten stronger, we’ve devised more systems, our teachings are better, everything. The game has evolved to this. Now we’re reacting. I know from the time when I was playing to today, the game has come (a long way). It’s just part of the evolution.”

[CdnSailor]

Headshots and Hockey: Taming the Wild West


REGINA — The Old West is dead.

The landscape of the Western Hockey League — a once-lawless frontier, by today’s standards, anyway — has undergone drastic changes over the years. That includes the role of WHL vice-president Richard Doerksen, who serves as judge, jury and executioner in matters of league discipline.

“I get asked quite often about how the game has changed,” offered Doerksen, a member of the WHL’s front office for 30 years. “On a Monday in today’s game, we’ll get a phone call from a general manager who’s really upset because a hook was called or wasn’t called in the second period of a 5-2 game. When I started, the general manager would call and he was upset because it wasn’t his guy who was first off the bench (in a bench-clearing brawl), it was a guy from the other team. The way hockey used to be played and the way it’s played now can pretty much be summed up in that comment.”

Make no mistake, Doerksen’s memory bank contains many more examples.

He could write a book on the subject.

“I can remember one year we sat at the general managers’ meeting and, in our wisdom, we decided when a player received his seventh game misconduct he would get a one-game suspension and then his eighth and ninth game misconducts would be freebies,” recalled Doerksen. “On his 10th, he would get a two-game suspension. His 11th and 12th would be freebies and on his 13th he would get a three-game suspension. For the most part when a player gets a game misconduct now he gets suspended for it. We hardly ever have players getting three game misconducts anymore. It has changed so drastically over the years.”

The same goes for fighting.

“A lot of our officials that start working for us now will have never been involved in a line brawl,” noted Doerksen. “In the old days, you were happy to go through a few games in a row without a line brawl. It’s fun (to talk about). You can tell those old stories and you watch the new people and their eyes get big. They just can’t believe some of the things that went on.”

Despite the nostalgia that some people feel for those times, Doerksen believes the game has changed for the better.

“We grow every year,” he continued. “The last few years we’ve really, really tried to crack down on hits to the head. This is the first year we actually have the checking-to-the-head penalty, which I think is going to be very, very good for our game. We have evolved right through the years. Checking from behind came in after the Brad Hornung situation (the former Regina Pats star was paralyzed in 1987). We jumped right on that and we’ve dealt with that ever since. I remember way back guys would run (opposing players) on icings. We had to put a stop to that with rules and suspensions. Then of course we changed and evolved right into automatic icing, which takes that out totally. The multiple fights, we put in rules to stop that because we felt we were getting too many line brawls. We put the instigator in. Our league has been very proactive over the years as things developed.”

Looking back, Doerksen admits he would have been laughed out of the room as recently as 10 years ago if he walked into a league meeting and proposed the measures taken today to curb head shots and concussions.

No one is laughing now.

“I’m glad to see the NHL has increased their suspensions,” noted Doerksen. “In the past they were perhaps a little less than we were. I think us and Quebec have always been very similar, us and the American League have been very similar. The Ontario Hockey League from time to time has really big suspensions and they’ve given out some very big ones at the start of this year. In terms of the areas of emphasis this year, the checking to the head especially, I really think the players get the message right through all of hockey. I think the game is better for it.”

gharder@leaderpost.com