More Horrific Footage

I'll be honest here: I don't go looking for this stuff. People email me all sorts of stuff, and this one ranks right up there with the recent footage we've seen from Manitoba and Texas in terms of the downright sickening clips of hockey I've brought to light. This one seems to come out of nowhere, though, so I'm not sure what happened in this video to cause the chaos. Needless to say, the referee probably called more than just high-sticking in this one. No names of teams are given and neither player is named in this incident, but I had to stop and replay this one a number of times just so I could believe what I saw.

With the increase of popularity in camera phones, everything is a click away from being on the internet. People like Lindsay Lohan can attest, but it also brings us into the world of sports a lot faster, especially those sports at the amateur level. Here is the video of the latest footage. It comes to us from a Senior Men's League in the province of Quebec. Try to catch what happens on the first time without replaying it. I'm guessing you'll see it, but you'll also rewind the video just confirm what you saw.

Thanks to Marc for sending me that video... I think.

Much like the book review on Lone Skate Skate followed by the Texas high school hockey brawl, I posted an article on protecting yourself from brain injuries yesterday, and we get this today. Am I jinxing hockey in general?

There isn't much to be said after seeing that video. The footage was reportedly taken on March 28, but there's nothing yet that I can find on the two men involved. I don't know if charges have been laid, if suspensions have been handed out, or what happened after the game in the hallway to the dressing rooms.

I do know two things: if you're a little guy who likes to run his mouth, don't skate away from the big guy you were having an animated chat with, and DO NOT CHOP WOOD ON HIS HEAD! How the player in red escaped any sort of concussion is beyond me after seeing someone two-hand a stick across the top of his melon. This is the epitome of dangerous play, and someone needs to remove the player who delivered the tomahawk chop from the game.

Oh, and by the way, Texas? You're not off the hook today. We're not done with you yet.

We got back to the rec leagues - this time, a youth rec league - in Dallas, Texas where we see a pretty routine play turn into a life-and-death situation in a moment. Reportedly, the white team was leading 6-0 when this happened.

Thanks to Jeff for sending me the heads-up on this clip.

The kid in the dark jersey got a 10-minute misconduct. The kid in the white jersey reportedly spent the night at the hospital with no update on his condition after they carted him off the ice on a stretcher. Anyone think that's a fair deal?

All the player in the dark jersey has to do is let up. Pin the man against the boards and trap the puck in his skates. That's all. Nothing more is necessary, and you remove him from a scoring chance as well as making it difficult to pass it to a teammate. That alone should score you points with the coach and your teammates.

Instead, players have this mentality that the big hit is far more effective than the safe play. There's no doubt that the big hit can fire a team up, but these players neither have the maturity nor the capacity to know when and how to throw these kinds of hits. It's clear from the video above, and I pray that the player in the white jersey comes out of this just as well as he was before the hit.

Readers, I'm begging you to go back and read the article from yesterday. Incidents like these cannot keep happening. Luckily, players have dodged some major bullets when it comes to their health in each of these situations, but it won't be long before the odds catch up to someone.

And when that happens, everyone loses.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Playing Safer Hockey

I have long been a supporter of education when it comes to children and teens. I think that education is an invaluable asset, and that more education results in smarter people. Call me "Captain Obvious", but there should be no price tag on education, and I'm glad to see a few major players in the hockey world trying to bring more education to its younger players. ScotiaBank, ThinkFirst, and Reebok-CCM Hockey presented a fabulous series of videos on playing safer hockey, and have produced a DVD called SMART Hockey for all young players. This endeavor sounds very encouraging if you're a coach, player, or parent, and this is exactly the kind of initiative that I want to support.

Spearheading the campaign is an organization called ThinkFirst. ThinkFirst's beginnings were started in 1992, and their start was explained on their website:

ThinkFirst is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of brain and spinal cord injuries. Celebrating over seventeen years in operation, ThinkFirst has been heightening public awareness through education since its inception in 1992, when it was founded by renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Tator. Headquartered in Toronto, our endorsements include a number of prominent organizations including the Canadian Neurosurgical Society, the Canadian Association of Neuroscience Nurses, the Canadian Congress of Neurological Sciences, and the Canadian Spine Society.

As you can see, they have some pretty strong organizations backing them in their efforts to get the message out about brain and spinal cord injuries. With the recent exposure that concussions and hitting from behind in hockey have received, there is no better time to start teaching players about these types of injuries and how to prevent them.

Combining these efforts with those of the Scotiabank Hockey Club and Reebok-CCM will give ThinkFirst two very good partners in bringing their message to thousands of young hockey players who, for the most part, try to emulate their heroes on the ice. Especially when their heroes do something bad.

Let's take a look at some of these videos. The first trailer has Boston's Patrice Brisebois, New York Islander John Tavares, and Canadian women's team member and CWHL superstar Tessa Bonhomme!.

Ok, a decent start to these videos with some big names. The second video is just over two minutes of information on concussions, and it really should be seen by everyone. I recommend watching this with your children or younger players.

Having seen these video, we need to remember something very important: the video provides parents, coaches, and players with information to support safer hockey. The information should only be used to support, not replace, the advice of a doctor or other health professional. Always listen to your doctor or health professional when it comes to matters of your health. They know what's best for you in every health situation!

I commend the collective efforts of ThinkFirst, Scotiabank, and Reebok-CCM in tackling this sensitive subject. By having players learn some basics about protecting themselves at a younger age, I'm hoping that this will help in the battle against brain and spinal cord injuries. There are lots of ways that a player can be hurt, but none have such lasting effects as those injuries seen with the brain and spinal cord.

I'm hoping to have a DVD copy of SMART Hockey available in the HBIC Playoff Pool, but we'll see what happens. I may offer it up to a young hockey fan in a contest, so stay tuned! I'm proud to help get this message out, and I want to thank Scotiabank, ThinkFirst, and Reebok-CCM for giving me an opportunity to distribute this DVD!

If you want to see 27 minutes of information on how to prevent injuries, please click here for the video. I watched it, and it's incredibly good! Take some time, and get the knowledge you need to protect your brain and spinal cord! For additional information, head over the Scotiabank Facebook page, and see all the videos there!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Team Heart Attack

If I'm Philadelphia or Washington at this point, I'm dreading the thought at meeting the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After today's win over the Philadelphia Flyers in dramatic fashion that resembled the last game of the season last year between these two teams, the Rangers are making things very difficult for the top teams in the Eastern Conference while putting a ton of pressure on the teams trailing them in the standings. The Rangers are becoming a very dangerous team, and they appear to gaining momentum down the stretch as they work towards securing a playoff spot.

The Rangers have now won eight times in their last twelve outings, and have beaten San Jose, Pittsburgh, Boston, and Philadelphia twice over those twelve games. That's a pretty impressive list of teams they have dismissed in games. While there's no chance of meeting up with San Jose in the Eastern Conference, the other three teams could potentially be a first- or second-round playoff series.

Of course, New York shouldn't be content with their record against these teams thus far. Looking back over the season, the Rangers are 2-4 against Philadelphia, 4-2 against Pittsburgh, and 3-1 against Boston with one game to play. The problem is that unless Tampa Bay, Montreal, and Buffalo falter, the Penguins and Rangers probably won't meet in the playoffs in the opening round. The Rangers have a shot at Boston, but need some help there too.

As it stands, it appears that New York's most likely opponent will either be the Philadelphia Flyers or the Washington Capitals. The Rangers were 3-1 against the Capitals this season, so I'm guessing that the Rangers would like to play the Capitals more than they would the Flyers based on their records against those teams.

However, the last two games against Philadelphia showed three things that the Rangers do very well against the Flyers, and they used these factors to beat Washington three out of four times.

First, the transition and speed of the Rangers from defence to offence is pretty scary. The Rangers have wheels with Gaborik, Callahan, Dubinsky, Stepan, and Anisimov leading the rush. All five of those players are atop the scoring stats for the Rangers, so there's a ton of speedy talent that the Rangers can boast. The Rangers showed an uncanny ability to generate and convert odd-man rushes over the last twelve games, and it's something that opposing teams need to be wary of when playing the Rangers.

Secondly, Dan Girardi is the second coming of Craig Ludwig. Through 78 games, Girardi has blocked an amazing 231 shots! That's 30 more than second-place Greg Zanon of the Minnesota Wild! Girardi is a full 123 blocked shots better than teammate Marc Staal who is second on the Rangers! After watching him block about a hundred shots against Philly today, Girardi could become one of the most important pieces in a playoff upset.

Lastly, is Henrik Lundqvist the best goalie in the NHL right now? He sure looks like he wants to make a case for everyone to consider him as top-flight NHL goalie. There's no doubt that Lundqvist is one of the top goalies in the NHL that has only won international glory, but Lundqvist is really getting hot at the right time. If he can carry this hot streak into the playoffs, the Rangers will be dangerous.

One thing is for sure, though: the Rangers' ride into the playoffs have been thrilling. And it could lead to more heart-stopping action!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Un-Devil-ish Playoffs

This is a sight all too familiar for Devils fans this season. Normally a shining example of how to keep the puck out of the net, the Devils found themselves fishing the puck out of the back of net far too often earlier this season, and the magical, improbable run to the playoffs is now over thanks to the Montreal Canadiens. For the first time since 1996, the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs will not have the New Jersey Devils involved. It seems weird to write that, but it truly became a case of the Devils racing against time as they tried to make up an insane amount of ground that they gave up early in the season.

If you didn't already know this, the Devils had the second-best run of consecutive playoff appearances going in the NHL until this season. They had appeared 13 straight times in the "second season", and were second only to Detroit's 20-straight appearances (which will continue for another season). During that run, the Devils were Stanley Cup winners on three separate occasions.

Tonight, the Montreal Canadiens, who had been thwarted by the Devils in 1997 in the opening round of the playoffs, set the Devils up with an early tee time thanks to a 3-1 victory. Mathieu Darche was the key culprit as he deflected home two of the three Montreal goals in leading Les Habitants to victory. Normally, there is some sense of disappointment when a team misses the playoffs, but you got a different feeling from Martin Brodeur after the game.

"We knew it was going to come," goaltender Martin Brodeur said to The Associated Press. "It doesn't come as a shocker. We had a good run, played really hard to get ourselves in position to compete. It was just too much. We've got four more games and we'll try to keep doing what we've been doing."

With the team 27 points out of a playoff spot in January, the Devils began a remarkable run that began with the hiring of Jacques Lemaire as their head coach after dismissing the ineffective John MacLean. The Devils made additional changes after losing their first game with Lemaire behind the bench, and immediately began producing results. After tearing through the league on a 23-3-2 mark, the Devils found themselves in the fight for a playoff spot as they sat six points out of eighth-place.

As the stretch drive began, though, the Devils' improbable run slowed, and it started to look grim as teams puled away from the Devils in the standings. A recent 1-4-1 stretch put the Devils on life support, and the Canadiens pulled the plug with their 3-1 win tonight, thereby eliminating the Devils mathematically from the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The bright spot in this game was the return of Zach Parise from a knee injury after a four-month absence. Parise didn't factor in on the lone New Jersey goal, but he did record two shots in 21 minutes of action.

Said Parise, "Mentally I felt great. Physically for the first part of the first period I felt like I didn't belong out there. I felt more comfortable as the game went on."

It's nice to see Parise back on the ice, and I'm really glad he's past the knee problems he was having. Parise is one of the heart-and-soul Devils, and they really missed his presence on the ice this season. If the Devils could have had Parise all season, we might be talking about them competing for sixth-, seventh-, or even eighth-place in the Eastern Conference, but injuries are part of the game. Just ask Pittsburgh - they have struggled with Crosby and Malkin. Would they be first in the Eastern Conference if both players hadn't gone down with injury?

In any case, the Devils will start anew next season on building a new streak of consecutive playoff appearances. They have enough talent to be there next season if they can catch a few breaks in the injury department and can continue playing as well as they did over the months of January and February. It's not hard to believe that there could be as many as four Atlantic Division teams in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket next season if the Devils can return to their lofty standing.

Wouldn't that be hell for the rest of the Eastern Conference?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

April Fool's Prank?

If you're wondering what the image above is, I was in the same boat as you for a while on March 31. You see, I apparently am sort of award-winning blogger according to Tripbase. It appears that Tripbase is some sort of travel-based website. I'm not sure how I got onto a travel website's "best of" section, but I'm quite honoured that they have recognized my efforts in blogging.

There are ten winners according to Tripbase's website. You can view the winners here. I'm honoured to be lumped in with some pretty prestigious blogs like On Frozen Blog, HockeyBarn (which at one time asked me to write for them), and Houses of the Hockey. It's a pretty cool honour, and I'll throw the "badge of honour" up on the site.

There are a pile of other award-winning sites, so I encourage you to check out the winners in each category. Maybe you'll find a new site that you want to read daily? And if not, it might just inspire you to start writing on something you're passionate about as well.

My only question is this: will this come back to bite me in the rear as an April Fool's joke?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

***UPDATE: the info is still up, so it appears it was not a prank! WOOHOO!***