I drove up to look after some personal business, and so that I won't have to ride home on the bus after Saturday's game! I'm looking forward to Sunday, because on the trip home I'm going to visit with John Dufford, one of the original Penn State hockey players.
Killing time in Connecticut gives me the chance to update you on Ben Fanelli. If you recall, earlier this month, I blogged about the 16-year old defenseman for the Kitchener Rangers on the Ontario Hockey League.
Fanelli was seriously injured when he was slammed into the boards by Erie Otters forward Michael Liambis, who has since been suspended for the season by OHL Commissioner Dave Branch.
On Wednesday, Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington reported that Ben is out of the hospital and recovering from his injuries at his suburban Toronto home.
As I wrote, the hit was another example of the lack of respect shown by players at all levels. It is also an example of how players today are taught a different way to play along the boards than how we were taught when I was younger.
Well, none other than Don Cherry and former NHL goalie Kelly Hrudey have joined the chorus. "Grapes" has been preaching for changes in coaching and equipment for years, as you will see in last Saturday's "Coach's Corner" segment on Hockey Night in Canada.
By the way, the second half of the segment is Don's homage to Canadian soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.
Hrudey, now a HNIC analyst,
used an unscientific process to determine that players turn their faces to the boards as many as 600 times in a 60-minute game!"Here’s how I came to that number. I simply replayed a game from this past week and watched around 10 minutes of action. I counted how many times in my opinion players put themselves at risk, and then multiplied that by six.
True, not the most scientific procedure, but I’m pretty sure the numbers would bear out over a full 60 minutes in most games. Again, it means 600 times that players are putting themselves in the most vulnerable position possible."
Hrudey proposes a radical idea that could curb the rate of injuries from hits along the boards:
"(W)hy don’t we consider giving minor penalties to all players that intentionally turn their back to “protect the puck” when they are within five feet of the boards?
It seems to me open ice hits are not nearly as dangerous and catastrophic as when the boards are involved."
Certainly something to think about!
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