Hit Me with Your Best (Head) Shot

Once again, the hockey cognoscenti is bending to the will of the public and they are promising to do due diligence in eradicating head shots from the game. The public uproar stems from the serious skull and facial injuries suffered by OHL player Ben Fanelli in a ferocious hit two weeks ago.

The entire situation is eerily similar to all of the hot air blown by NHL general managers about cracking down on fighting after a senior player died when he hit his head on the ice in a fight. I covered the topic of fighting in hockey back in March. They said all the right things but has anything really changed? Of course not. Staged fights between two lunkheads with zero hockey skill still occur on a nightly basis.

However, something needs to be done about head shots as NHL players have been dropping like flies with concussions in this fledgling season. The safety of players is paramount, along with their intelligence. Concussions have been proven to have adverse effects on mental acuity and, let’s be honest, hockey players can’t afford to be any dumber.

The hit on 16 year old Ben Fanelli by over-ager Michael Liambis was brutally vicious, but it was also clean. Liambis never left his feet, he hit Fanelli with his shoulder and he didn’t the kid from behind. Unfortunately, Fanelli turned his back as the last second to make a pass, which caused his face to rocket into the glass when he was walloped by Liambis’ bulk.

Should Liambis have been suspended for the rest of the year? Absolutely not. But, OHL commissioner David Branch had to take a strong stance to show parents he is committed to keeping their kids in Canada’s top junior league.

In my opinion, the Fanelli incident could have been avoided, but not in the way Branch thinks. Have you seen the press pictures of Liambis and Fanelli? Liambis looks like a 20 year old man; Fanelli doesn’t look like he can grow facial hair yet.

That’s the biggest safety issue in junior hockey: having boys as young as fifteen face off against men five years older. The differences in strength, power and testosterone production at those ages is astounding.

Teenage boys can’t compete physically with twenty year olds. It’s physiologically impossible. And it’s also why I beat up high school kids on weekends. It makes me feel like a big shot.

To fix the problem in the NHL, forget about making the game less violent. To quote my buddy Brian Burke, “this isn’t ringette.” I think you have to look at the equipment. Players are ensconced in heavy duty plastic from head to toe: it offers too much protection. Guys race around the ice throwing their bodies at opponents with reckless abandon. Not to mention today’s players are so big and fast – it’s a recipe for disaster.

If you soften the equipment (especially shoulder pads), players will think twice about turning themselves into human battering rams. Less vicious hits, fewer concussions, safer playing conditions, better hockey.

Voila.