Is the word unknown to today's hockey players, from the NHL to the youngest youth leagues?
I don't know, but look at this video and ask yourself the question. 16-year old Ben Fanelli of the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers remains in serious condition after being plastered into the end boards on a hit by the Erie Otters' Michael Liambis.
Was it a head shot? Not from the view in the video. Did Liambis leave his feet? No. Was it a vicious, illegal hit? Not by the rule of law in the rulebook.
Back in my day, and not all that long ago, that was called "finishing your check." Unfortunately, all too often today finishing a check involves drilling an opponent who has his head down.
Doesn't matter if it's against the boards or in open ice, there have been too many incidents (head hunting or not) that have left careers and lives in tatters.
Ben Fanelli's future as a hockey player is in doubt, and the hit has also left Michael Liambis a shattered young man.
As Steve Simmons wrote in today's Toronto Sun, "(s)ince the incident, Liambis has hardly stopped crying and he's not alone."
Simmons asks questions that have been asked for years - questions that hockey execs at many levels don't seem to want to answer:
That is the fine line, the indiscernible line between legal and illegal, proper and improper. Where does it start and where is it crossed ?
From this viewpoint, there's three reasons, in no order of importance, for the increased number of dangerous hits in hockey:
1) RESPECT - Do young players, whether they're in Major Junior or peewee, see their heroes in the NHL smoke someone and say, "Hey, I need to do that" or is it just a case of not thinking about what could happen when I drill a defenseless opponent?
Most youth organizations have added STOP signs to the backs of sweaters, which is helping cut down on the hits from behind, but we see it all the time in the ACHA and other levels of hockey.
Even with the speed of today's game, players should take a second and think before lowering the boom.
2) COACHING - Do today's coaches, especially at the youth level, teach their players to keep their head on a swivel? I'm sure they do, but I don't believe that they stress it as much as coaches did back in my day.
I've said this a number of times -- we were taught to not turn your back on an opponent when you're close to the boards. Back in the day, we were taught to turn a shoulder into the boards (and keep your head on a swivel). Going back to teaching and playing that way would lessen the number of dangerous hits from behind.
3) EQUIPMENT - There is no doubt that today's equipment contributes to the soaring number of head injuries in the game. Don Cherry has been arguing the point for years on Hockey Night in Canada, and he's absolutely right.
The shoulder pads worn by today's players are not much different than those worn by NFL players, and the elbow pads might as well be made from steel.
There's so much hard plastic worn by today's players that even the strongest helmet strapped tightly on a kid's head can offer enough protection. As you can see, Ben Fanelli's helmet came off during the hit, leading one to wonder if his chin strap wasn't as tight as it could/should have been.
Here's Grapes venting on a Coach's Corner segment from the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals -- you'll find it about half-way through the video.
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