Headshots and Hockey: Retiring was ‘right decision’ for Colton Stephenson (Part 5 of

[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. Today’s fifth-and-final instalment looks at players who’ve had their careers — and lives — impacted by concussions.

REGINA — Regret? There’s barely a trace of it in Colton Stephenson’s voice — not when he talks about life after hockey, not even while reliving the details of his sudden retirement.

At age 19.

Sure, the occasional ‘what if’ subtly creeps into the narrative. How couldn’t it? Stephenson can’t help but wonder how things might have been different if he hadn’t sustained a concussion three years ago in his rookie season with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. It was the first of five dominoes to fall as a promising young man watched his health abandon him, eventually forcing Stephenson to come to grips with his own career mortality.

“I’m not a very stubborn person when it comes to that kind of stuff,” explained the happy-go-lucky Saskatoon product. “I can step away and see the big picture. It was a really tough decision to walk away from the game I love but, when I thought about my future, I want to be a good father, I want to be able to do things with my kids. It was pretty much a no-brainer.”

The events that led to Stephenson’s premature retirement were set in motion Dec. 3, 2008, in a game against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. It started innocently enough as he carried the puck up the wall and beat his man with a quick inside move, only to have the defender catch him with an elbow to the temple. The jolt snapped Stephenson’s head back, but he didn’t go down, instead carrying on to finish his check before retreating to the bench.

“I knew something was wrong,” he said. “I looked in the crowd and things were double and I was really sensitive to light.”

Stephenson’s concussion symptoms quickly faded, but in hindsight he came back too soon. During a subsequent practice, he took a light bump in the head and found himself back on the shelf, this time for the rest of the season.

Stephenson made a full recovery in time for training camp, only to be hurt again after a collision at the start of the campaign. Advised to take the entire season off, he followed doctor’s orders and returned with a vengeance at age 18, ready to make his mark in the league. Then came another setback. While trying to deliver a bodycheck, he missed the target and hit his head on the boards. Fortunately, the symptoms were short-lived, allowing him to play nearly a full season (50 games) and — for the first time — finish the campaign on his own terms.

Stephenson was optimistic his problems were behind him when he reported for camp this past fall, but it didn’t last long. He took a shoulder on the chin in the pre-season and suffered his fifth concussion.

That was it.

“My parents’ first instinct was, ‘OK you’re done,’ ” recalled Stephenson, who thinks he might have had a couple of undiagnosed concussions in minor hockey. “I was told not to make a decision until I was symptom-free. With the symptoms, it kind of makes you depressed. I wouldn’t wish that upon anybody. It’s horrible. The symptoms didn’t go away for about 2 1/2 weeks. I was cooped up in my room, I couldn’t watch TV, couldn’t be on my computer, they said I probably shouldn’t even text. It was a pretty depressing couple weeks.”

The news got worse.

“The doctor said if I got another one I’d have to retire,” said Stephenson, whose younger brother Chandler is an up-and-comer with the Regina Pats. “The biggest thing was, it wasn’t me getting hit (that caused most of his issues), it was me finishing my checks. It was pretty much inevitable that I was going to get another one. I didn’t want to change my game. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. That’s where Chandler is different than I am. When I watch him and see a play where he could finish his check, it bothers me when he doesn’t. But that’s probably why I’m not playing and he still is.”

Although Stephenson is at peace with his decision, some days are tougher than others. One of the toughest was the night of Oct. 26 — just a short time after announcing his retirement — when Stephenson watched Chandler in action against their hometown Saskatoon Blades.

“It just killed me,” he said. “I can watch highlights and stuff, but a full game, I can’t watch it yet.”

While acknowledging that the transition from player to fan will take some time, Stephenson is reminded by a friend that things could always be worse.

Much worse.

“I played with a guy in Edmonton,” he began. “Our first year when I was 16, we both got a concussion in the same game but he kept playing through his and I saw what happened to him. He kept lying to the trainer and saying he was fine. He still has symptoms to this day. We talked about it a lot. That was a big part of (the decision). I didn’t want to have the next one be the one that gave me symptoms for the rest of my life. I was 100 per cent (healthy) so I just decided to make the decision while I was ahead.”

Stephenson wouldn’t have been the first player to be blinded by a love of the game, but his senses are as sharp as ever. Pausing a moment, Stephenson’s mind wanders as he recalls the sights and sounds of the rink — all the little things he once took for granted.

The same things that were taken from him.

“I never really had a chance,” he said of his WHL career. “I’d like to know what would have happened if I hadn’t got a concussion, just to see. But it also made me appreciate the game so much more, every little bit about it — the sound of the skates of the ice, the puck on your stick. When the guys in Edmonton would say, ‘I don’t want to practise,’ it’s like, ‘You don’t even know what it’s like to not have that.’ People take everything for granted. Now I try to tell Chandler that, to enjoy going to the rink, because he could be like me and not get to go anymore.”

As he observes the game from a distance, Stephenson approves of the measures being taken to minimize concussion-inducing hits.

However, he is skeptical.

“It’ll be impossible to completely take head shots out of the game,” he said. “The biggest problem is, they took out the red line, then they took out the hooking and interference. The game is so fast now. There’s nothing holding guys back. They have some good rules but lots of it is a respect thing, respecting your opponent when they’re in a vulnerable position.”

Stephenson is no longer vulnerable — and he’s happy about that. Rather than looking at what he lost, he’s focusing on what there is to gain. With the concussion symptoms gone, he’s now free to forge ahead with his life, including plans to go to school and realize another dream by becoming a firefighter, perhaps even do some work as a personal trainer.

“It’s a different perspective, that’s for sure,” chuckled Stephenson, whose schooling will be paid for by the WHL’s education program. “I never actually thought what my life would be like without hockey. But, in the end, it was the right decision.”

[CdnSailor]

REGINA — Brayden Cuthbert used to be no different than any other teenager who thought he was 10 feet tall and bulletproof.

Boy, was he wrong.

A 17-year-old forward with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, Cuthbert has learned the hard way about the fragility of the human body — and the human brain — after spending the past 10 months in limbo due to a serious concussion.

“Trust me, I thought I was indestructible my whole life,” said Cuthbert, who still has no timetable for his return. “This has woken me up to say the least.”

Cuthbert has tried to remain patient, but his fortitude has limits. Since being injured on Jan. 22 by an open-ice check from Red Deer Rebels defenceman Matt Dumba, Cuthbert has believed on more than one occasion that he could see a light at the end of the tunnel, only to have it disappear.

“I never thought it was a problem I’d ever have to go through, jumping from no concussions in my life to a very serious one,” he said. “Some days are a little hard. (One day) it seems like everything is going great — you’re playing in the Western League as a 16-year-old — and then everything is sort of taken away.”

Given the uncertainty of his situation, Cuthbert admits he has been forced to consider the unthinkable.

“There are times when it seems like you’re never going to play again,” he continued. “After 10 months, it’s starting to be more of an unfortunate truth, the possibility that maybe I don’t play hockey again. I don’t think it’s likely at this point but you only have one head. Everybody has to stop playing hockey at some time in their life. If it comes sooner than later, that’s unfortunate, but it is what it is. I’ve learned to come to terms with that. I’ve accepted it and I would have to go on with my life.”

That said, Cuthbert isn’t jumping to any conclusions — on either side of the ledger.

“I’ve been getting better,” he said. “I kind of take everything day by day and do everything I can to stay symptom free. I’ve been to a few different neurologists, talked to a bunch of different people, done pretty well every test they could imagine. My brain and everything is intact and everything is looking good. I just can’t seem to shake the headaches right now. I’m on an assortment of pills. They say I need a little more time so that’s what we’re giving it.”

When Cuthbert was hurt on Jan. 22, it was his first concussion — the first he knows about, anyway. About a month later, the Brandon native was on the road to recovery when he was involved in a minor car accident that caused him to hit his head on the passenger window. Although the bump didn’t seem serious at the time, it ended up being enough to keep him out for the rest of the season.

To make matters worse, it wasn’t just Cuthbert’s career on hold, it was everyday activity that most people take for granted.

“Athletes are competitive no matter what they do,” he noted. “It’s not taking away just hockey, it’s taking every physical activity out of your life.”

Cuthbert resumed skating and light workouts toward the end of the summer in preparation for Warriors training camp, but he pushed himself too hard during one particular non-contact session and was dealt a setback.

He has been idle ever since.

“I thought I would be playing a long time ago,” said Cuthbert, who hopes to resume skating in a couple of weeks. “It’s already twice that I’ve been skating and thought I was able to practise and feeling pretty good and I started skating and I guess I went a little too hard and pushed myself over the edge. This time I’m really not jumping into anything headfirst, literally speaking. I’m going to take it slow. When I think I’m ready, I’m going to wait a little longer.”

In the meantime, Cuthbert is doing his best to keep busy. Already something of a concussion expert, Cuthbert has shared his story through speaking engagements in addition to offering advice to other concussion sufferers.

“I’ve talked to so many doctors that I’ve basically heard every possible scenario, so I really know what’s going on — I like to think, at least,” he added. “It’s a good thing to know what’s going on with my body. I can help other people, give them somebody to talk to. If I can guide them along the way a little bit, that’s great.”

[mjw22]

“The biggest problem is, they took out the red line, then they took out the hooking and interference.”

He is bang on with this comment and from a kid who never played in the dub when there was a red line. Too bad the powers that be at the NHL level can't figure it out and fix the mess they made. There's a saying " speed kills " well you can apply it to concussions in hockey. When there was a red line the overall speed thru center ice was slower as you had to make sure you were on side . Now guys are coming thru there looking to make or get a pass at speeds when they do get hit the results aren't always good. Scott Stevens introduced a generation to how to hit a guy not to separate him from the puck but to knock his brains loose. Same with being able to hold a guy up a bit so he couldn't hit your teammate full force. Coaches & marginal players started using this as a way to check as the dead puck era proved. They said the reason for the above changes were to open up the game for the skilled players . No it was to allow the game to be played without a hundred whistles every night caused by 3rd & 4th lines now filled with AHL players . This was a result of owners greed for expansion money causing them to need more players from a shrinking talent pool.
Players now may be bigger faster better conditioned but the skill level in passing stickhandling is probably worse 7 -14 in forwards 5 thru 8 in d men at all levels. There was always speed in the game whats lacking now is talent and some basic common sense.
Good luck to this young man .