Concussion forum set for Ottawa . . . Where are CHL power-brokers? . . . Hlinka tourney on move

GMJR on the point of morning skate: "There isn't one. MTL started morning skate in the early 70s. Mario, Coach and I all don't care for it."

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 28, 2016

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D Jesse Dudas (Lethbridge, Prince George, Swift Current, Regina, 2003-09) has been released by TPS Turku (Liiga, Finland) due to injury. According to a TPS news release, "Dudas' upper body injury is worse than expected . . . season is over." He was injured in the only game in which he played. That was a Sept. 2 Champions League game against Liberec (Czech Republic) on Sept. 2. He scored one goal. . . .

F Dominik Volek (Regina, Red Deer, Vancouver, 2011-14) has returned to Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) from loan to České Budějovice (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). He was pointless in four games. He had been loaned out for one month on Nov. 16. . . .

F David Vrbata (Calgary, 2000-01) has signed a contract for the rest of this season with Benátky and Jizerou (Czech Republic, 1. Liga). This season, he had five goals and six assists in 12 games with Neumarkt/Egna (Italy, Alps HL) before being released by mutual agreement on Nov. 3.

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So . . . it has come to this!

“With the NHL and CFL dragging their feet on the issue of concussions,” writes Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail, “and no action on the government's part after the Prime Minister brought up the topic with cabinet ministers a year ago, the governor-general has decided to go it alone.

“David Johnston will hold a one-day forum titled ‘We Can Do Better’ at Rideau Hall to address rising public concern over the long-lasting effects of sport concussions.”

The conference is scheduled for Dec. 6 at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

This meeting has been talked about for at least five years, and it finally will take place, thanks to Gov. Gen. Johnston, who played hockey and football at Harvard University. Before going on to Harvard, he suffered three concussions as a 16-year-old hockey player in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., so has some experience with brain injuries.

He is adamant that he is not at all interested in removing physical play from sports.

"First," he tells MacGregor, "I love sport myself, so I come at it with a passion. I love competitive sports and played in three sports at the competitive level. Secondly, we're not talking here so much about expertise in the game, whether it be hockey, football or baseball. We're talking about promotion of healthy living for our children. And healthy living includes physical activity. One of the finest forms of physical activity is sport, especially competitive sport.

"So how do we as a society organize ourselves so that our kids can play and play well and be safe? And when we speak of professional sport, I think that applies as well. If we are going to ask people to perform in this form of entertainment, we want to be sure that there is an understanding of risk and to mitigate those risks as best we can."

There has yet to be any indication that any representatives from major junior hockey — the CHL, OHL, QMJHL or WHL — will be involved. That, of course, is too bad, because the time has long since passed for these leagues to place an outright ban on fighting.

Dr. Charles Tator of the Canadian Concussion Centre at Toronto Western Hospital, who is an expert on brain injuries, will be involved with the conference.

"All parents, players, coaches and sports administrators have to wake up to the fact that you only get one brain,” Dr. Tator told MacGregor, “and it needs to be carefully protected, especially in kids and adolescents. We have to put more brain power and resources into preventing concussions and properly managing those that will still occur. So thank you Prime Minister and Governor-General for waving the red flag!"

MacGregor’s complete story is right here and should be widely read.

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The Hockey News has published its annual Money and Power issue — the cover is dated Dec. 5. Included is a feature on the “100 people of power and influence” in the game of hockey.

Interestingly, the people involved in major junior hockey — there are 60 teams in the Canadian Hockey League, which governs the OHL, QMJHL and WHL — hardly rate a mention.

In fact, the only person in the top 100 who is actively involved in the CHL is David Branch, who doubles as the CHL president and OHL commissioner. Branch stayed steady at No. 22 from last year to this.

I was able to find 10 others on the list with at least a tie to the WHL, but there was nary a mention of either Ron Robison, the league’s commissioner, or Bruce Hamilton, the chairman of the board of governors who runs the Kelowna Rockets.

The Hockey News refers to Branch as “the most progressive executive in the game,” but there are no other power-brokers in the top 100 who are active in the OHL, QMJHL or WHL.

Here are the 10 with ties to the WHL:

8. G Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens played for the Tri-City Americans (2003-07).

11. Murray Edwards is a co-owner of the Calgary Flames, who own the Calgary Hitmen.

18. Dave Andrews is the president of the AHL and former coach of the Victoria Cougars (1982-84) before they moved to Prince George.

31. Ken Holland is the Detroit Red Wings’ executive vice-president of hockey operations and general manager; he tended goal for the Medicine Hat Tigers (1974-76).

37. Tom Renney, the president and CEO of Hockey Canada, is a former head coach of the Kamloops Blazers (1990-92).

50. Dale Purinton, a defenceman and enforcer with the Tacoma Rockets, Kelowna Rockets and Lethbridge Hurricanes (1994-97), is, as The Hockey News puts it, at “the forefront of players’ concussion lawsuit against the NHL.”

61. Mike Babock is the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs; he played in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades (1980-81) and Kelowna Wings (1982-83) and coached in the WHL with the Moose Jaw Warriors (1991-93) and Spokane Chiefs (1994-2000).

72. Ken Hitchcock, the head coach of the St. Louis Blues, spent six seasons (1984-90) has head coach of the Kamloops Blazers.

85. Brian Burke, the president of hockey operations with the Calgary Flames, has in the past owned a piece of two WHL teams — the Tri-City Americans and Chilliwack Bruins.

98. Ray Ferraro, a former NHL player who now is a hockey analyst with TSN, played with the Portland Winterhawks (1982-83) and Brandon Wheat Kings (1983-84), setting the WHL’s single-season goal record (108) with the Wheaties.

That’s all, folks.

What makes the lack of major junior pooh-bahs on the list concerning is that this is a crucial time for the game at that level. There is a move afoot at the professional level to make first-round NHL draft picks eligible to play in the AHL as 19-year-olds. For example, that would have allowed the New York Islanders to put F Mathew Barzal in the AHL this season, rather than return him to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Those discussions are on-going, along with talk of perhaps altering the draft-eligible age.

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John Paddock, the general manager and head coach of the Regina Pats, is trying to put on a happy face, but a decision by the CHL will play into the plans of a host team to prepare for the 2018 Memorial Cup. The Pats and two OHL teams — the Hamilton Bulldogs and Oshawa Generals — are the finalists but the decision isn't to be announced until February, well after the Jan. 10 trade deadline. In comparison, the Red Deer Rebels, learned in October 2014 that they had been selected to play host to the 2016 tournament. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has two stories on this subject right here.

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The Prince Albert Raiders have dropped D Cam Reagan, 19, from their roster. He is expected to join the AJHL’s Calgary Canucks. . . . Reagan, from Sherwood Park, Alta., had two assists in 18 games with the Raiders. He was acquired from the Kamloops Blazers on Sept. 26, in exchange for a seventh-round selection in the 2019 bantam draft. . . . He was selected by Kamloops in the fourth round of the 2012 bantam draft. In 117 regular-season WHL games, 99 of them with Kamloops, Reagan has 10 assists.

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The NHL’s Florida Panthers kicked head coach Gerard Gallant to the curb on Sunday, in Raleigh, N.C., leaving him standing on it while he waited for a cab. The Panthers, who had a pretty good season in 2015-16, have moved out a lot of good hockey people in the past few months. Ken Campbell of The Hockey News writes: “If there’s anyone out there who can figure out exactly what the game plan is with the Florida Panthers these days, feel free to let us know.” . . . That piece is right here.

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If you’ve got a comment, some information you would like to pass along, or if you just want to say hello, feel free to contact me at greggdrinnan@gmail.com.

If you would like to donate to the cause, please visit the bottom of this post and go right ahead.

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JUST NOTES:

The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, a tournament that is owned by the Czech Ice Hockey Association and the Slovakian Ice Hockey Federation, will be played in Edmonton in 2018, 2020 and 2022. This tournament is played annually in August and features the best under-18 players from eight countries. Dates of the 2018 tournament haven’t yet been announced. The Hockey Canada news release is right here. . . . 

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Hockey Canada is scheduled to announce the roster for the national junior team’s selection camp this morning. It is expected that 30 players, plus or minus a couple, will be invited to the camp that is scheduled for Blainville, Que., Dec. 11-14. . . . The Brandon Wheat Kings finished the trek to Victoria on Monday and, if you’re wondering, F Nolan Patrick didn’t make the trip. He hasn’t played since Oct. 11 as he deals with a situation that is related to sports hernia surgery he underwent in July. . . .

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According to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province, F Johnny Wesley of the Vancouver Giants didn’t practise on Monday afternoon, which makes him “doubtful” for tonight’s game against the visiting Prince George Cougars. . . .

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F Eli Zummack, 16, will be staying “indefinitely” on the roster of the Spokane Chiefs, according to the team. Zummack, from Kelowna, has been with the Chiefs since Nov. 23. He had been playing with the Kelowna-based Okanagan Rockets of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. He has two points in five games with the Chiefs. . . . 

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The Kootenay Ice has recalled D Bobby Russell, 16, from the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League. Russell was a sixth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. He is pointless in one earlier game with the Ice, and has 13 points, three of them goals, in 16 games with the Hawks. . . . The Ice also has returned F Eli Lieffers, 16, to the major midget Saskatoon Contacts. Lieffers, a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft, had one goal in four games with the Ice. Before reporting to Kootenay, had had 13 points, two of them goals, in 16 games with the Contacts. 

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We appreciate all the hard work by @ProlianceOrtho Doctors like Dr. Susan Cero who stitched up player this week. pic.twitter.com/6AOO9WCpjL

— Seattle Thunderbirds (@SeattleTbirds) November 28, 2016

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MONDAY’S GAMES:

No Games Scheduled.

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TUESDAY’S GAMES (all times local):

Prince Albert at Medicine Hat, 7 p.m.

Prince George vs. Vancouver, at Langley, B.C., 7 p.m.

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.

Concussion issue won't go away . . . A 16-team Memorial Cup?

“Now that we know what it is,” writes Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail, “what do we do about it?”
Indeed, what do we do about the concussion problem in sports?
MacGregor continues: “A new scholarly paper published this week by two Canadian experts in head injuries is calling for nothing less than a complete transformation of all sports, soccer included, where contact to the head poses a health threat.”
The concussion epidemic -- yes, it is an epidemic -- has reached such a stage that Dr. Paul Echlin, one of the co-authors of that paper, has told The Canadian Press that “it’s not just a sport issue, it’s not just a medical issue, it’s a public health issue which affects the population as a whole.”
How can that be? How can an injury suffered on the playing field become a public health issue?
Well, consider the case of a former WHL player who suffered two brain injuries, both of them in October 2012.
It wasn’t until 15 months later that he was able, as his father puts it, “to get on with a normal life.”
This ex-player has completed his first year at university, but “still suffers from some headaches from reading or studying.”
His father has seen such progress in almost two years that he now refers to his son as having “healed.”
“But,” the father adds, “we will always wonder about the long-term side effects.”
When it comes to brain injuries, Canada’s leading expert is Dr. Charles Tator, who founded ThinkFirst Canada.
MacGregor writes that Dr. Tator “sees that the public perception has changed dramatically but feels the critical leagues, both amateur and professional, ‘are lagging behind.’ ”
Dr. Tator also told MacGregor: “The leagues have more that they could do, but they have chosen not to do. Some leagues are doing more than others. Governments and ministries have also moved – but not far enough.”
The father of the afore-mentioned ex-WHL player could vouch for that.
“What is very upsetting is that the WHL washes their hands of brain injuries and there is no follow up, the kids are left on their own,” he claims. “Not only that, they are trying to hide all brain injuries, labelling them as upper-body injuries.
“It is the parents and injured son who are left to deal with the healing process. Meanwhile, bring on another willing kid to take the injured player’s place.
“This similar mentality existed in the First World War where soldiers were deemed expendable with an endless supply of new recruits.”
MacGregor’s complete column is right here.
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Colin Priestner is a minority owner and the managing partner with the Saskatoon Blades, and he has brought some different ideas to his WHL franchise. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix takes an in-depth look at Priestner and some of those ideas right here. Priestner’s ideas involving a numerical rating for players are especially interesting.
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As mentioned here yesterday, courtesy Laurence Heinen of the Calgary Herald, the Calgary Hitmen find themselves with three import forwards, what with the return of veteran Pavel Padakin. The 20-year-old Padakin was to have played this season in the KHL with HC Donbass Donetsk in his native Ukraine. However, the political situation in Ukraine has resulted in Donetsk taking a leave from the KHL and in Padakin reporting to the Hitmen. . . . As much as you have to think the Hitmen would love to have Padakin, a 27-goal man last season, in their lineup, it almost certainly would be more beneficial for them to move him, if it comes to it, rather than release either of their two Russians, Radel Fazleev, 18, or Pavel Karnaukhov, 17, both of whom were selected in the CHL’s 2014 import draft. . . . Padakin put up 54 points in 66 games last season, after earning 38 points, 22 of them goals, as a freshman. There must be at least one WHL team that would be interested in a potential 30-goal man, even if he is a two-spotter. . . . Of course, before that could happen, Padakin will play for the Calgary Flames’ rookie team at a tournament next week in Penticton, B.C. A good showing might even earn him a contract and a spot in the NHL team’s organization, rendering moot any WHL-related speculation.
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What if there were 16 teams in the Memorial Cup tournament? What if it was a 16-team single-knockout tournament? Neate Sager of Yahoo! Canada Sports, following up on a report by Gabriel Beland of La Presse, writes that Sportsnet would like changes to the present-day format that features four teams, including a host-team, in a 10-day affair. Sager’s piece is right here.
Before you laugh off the idea, keep in mind that if TV wants it, TV will get it. After all, he who pays the piper gets to pick the tune, or something like that.
Unfortunately, the Memorial Cup, under the present format, has turned stale. It runs too long and is anti-climactic for the competing teams, mostly because those teams will have just completed an eight-month grind culminating with four best-of-seven series. But the present format, with a host team, is a money-maker so it will remain in place, at least for now.
Sportsnet is entering Year 1 of a 12-year deal with the CHL, so there is ample time for changes to be made. Just don’t hold your breath waiting for May Madness in the CHL.
The 2015 Memorial Cup tournament is scheduled to be held in Quebec City.
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Say what you want about Mike Johnston, the former Portland Winterhawks’ general manager and head coach never has been afraid of a challenge. He hasn’t changed now that he’s preparing for his first season as head coach of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo! Sports Canada takes an intriguing look at Johnston right here. It’s intriguing because Johnston obviously answered all the questions and, in the process, is telling the NHL’s other teams: Here’s what we are going to do . . . now try and stop us. Interesting stuff, for sure.
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More than 10 years have come and gone since F Todd Bertuzzi, then of the Vancouver Canucks, jumped Colorado Avalanche F Steve Moore from behind and ended his career. The lawsuit that Moore filed against Bertuzzi and the Canucks was settled earlier this week. Ken Campbell of The Hockey News wonders right here if the culture of hockey has changed since that incident.
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Rick Uhrich, a forward on the 1974 Regina Pats, has died. Uhrich, 60, passed away suddenly near his Toronto home on Thursday morning. The Pats won the Memorial Cup in 1974, winning a three-team tournament at the Calgary Corral. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has more right here.
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Fabiano Caruana is doing the seemingly impossible at the Sinquefield Cup, a chess tournament being held in St. Louis. An Italian who was born in Miami, Caruana, 22, has all but run the table in what international chess watchers are saying is an unprecedented streak. . . . In the end, it could be great news for chess as it just might set up a tremendous rivalry, with Caruana on one side of the board and Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, 23, the reigning world champion, on the other side. . . . There’s more right here.
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If you don’t believe that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, just ask Jimmy Cournoyer. He was the biggest marijuana dealer in New York City. Now he’s doing time. All because his scorned gal pal went to the police. Alan Feuer of The New York Times has an intriguing look at that story right here.
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According to a tweet from Brad Brown (@saskawhat), who writes on the Swift Current Broncos for the Prairie Post, freshman F Cole Johnson is likely to be out for up to four weeks with a should injury. Johnson, from Marwayne, Alta., was a second-round selection in the 2013 bantam draft. . . . According to various Twitter reports on Friday, former BCHL coach Bill Bestwick has joined the St. Louis Blues’ amateur scouting staff. . . . Yes, it’s only the exhibition season, but you have to be at least a bit intrigued by the fact that F Jansen Harkins of the Prince George Cougars has put up nine points, including four goals, in only three games. Last season, as a 16-year-old freshman, he had 34 points, 10 of them goals, in 67 games. He was the second overall pick in the 2012 bantam draft.
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Kim Kardashian named woman of the year..good call GQ let's give Putin a Nobel peace prize while were at it
— Blair Riley (@Briles25) September 5, 2014

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Coaching moves in Seattle and Regina

THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Kevin Nastiuk (Medicine Hat. 2001-05) signed a one-year contract with Dresdner Eislöwen (Germany, DEL2). He had a 2.21 GAA in 26 games with Heilbronner Falken (Germany, 2.Bundesliga) last season. . . .
D Bohdan Visnak (Saskatoon, 2006-07) signed a one-year contract extension with Montpellier (France, Division 1). He had four goals and 13 assists in 26 games last season. Montpellier opens their training camp on Aug. 12.
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It doesn’t seem to be getting much play in North America, but it could be that the biggest story in hockey this summer is playing out in Finland.
If you are a regular here, you will recall that The MacBeth Report filled us in a couple of weeks ago on the goings-on involving the Finnish hockey team Jokerit and its home arena.
Here’s more . . .
“The whole Jokerit Helsinki to the KHL thing is getting uglier. It has been reported that Harry Harkimo, Jokerit owner and former majority shareholder of Hartwall Areena, went to the minority owners in Hartwall Areena and bought their shares without telling them that he was buying up all the minority interests nor what he planned to do.
“At the same time, he created a shell company and transferred the rights to the Jokerit name to it and then transferred the ownership of Hartwall Areena to it, all without any resolutions from the respective boards of directors.
“If I understand this correctly, it was this shell company that Harkimo sold to Russians Gennady Timchenko and the Rotenberg family. Legal scholars in Finland speculate that these transfers may be illegal under Finnish law.
“As if that wasn’t enough, the other 13 members of SM-Liiga are alleging that Jokerit’s actions to unilaterally leave SM-Liiga and move to the KHL are ‘a breach of the (SM-Liiga’s) shareholder agreement and did harm to the image of the league.’
“All 14 clubs are bound by this SM-Liiga shareholders’ agreement. The 13 clubs are considering kicking Jokerit out of SM-Liiga immediately and some clubs are saying anonymously that such a vote would probably carry unanimously, with one club executive saying ‘Jokerit playing in SM-Liiga this season is far from certain. To consider allowing Jokerit to continue in SM-Liiga this coming season is likely to be even more damaging to our own credibility.’
“A press release from SM-Liiga dated July 16 says that Jokerit’s transfer to the KHL requires consent of the Board of Directors. Such authorization has not been asked of SM-Liiga, and no binding agreements allowing the transfer have been made. The Liiga Board of Directors and shareholders are considering the follow-up to the situation in the near future.’
"Jokerit is scheduled to play its first exhibition game on Aug. 8. The regular season is set to open on Sept. 14, but SM-Liiga has removed its 2013-2014 regular-season schedule from its website."
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It is doubtful if anyone in Canada knows more about concussions than Dr. Charles Tator, who is a neuroscientist at Toronto Western Hospital. Laura Kane of the Toronto Star writes right here that Dr. Tator “has published a new guide to treating and preventing concussions in the Canadian Medical Journal.” . . . Kane’s complete story, which deals mostly with the long-term effects of these brain injuries, is right here. . . . At the end is a list of “10 things you should know about concussions — but probably don’t.”
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If you’re an NFL fan, perhaps you are a regular reader of Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback. And now he has a football-themed website. Right here is a look at how King got here from there.
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The concussion noose may well be starting to tighten around the NCAA. As Nathan Fenno of the Washington Times writes right here, “This is an organization, after all, founded in 1905 to protect the safety of college athletes. Email after eye-opening email, however, reveals a bureaucratic wasteland that’s strayed far from the original mission.” . . . The emails to which he refers are part of a lawsuit that has been filed against the NCAA in federal court.
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So . . . how did they miss it? As Gordon Rayner of The Telegraph writes, “The world’s media had been camped outside St. Mary’s for weeks in the hope of being first with the news of her hospital admission,” but when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived at the hospital not one photographer got the picture. . . . How did that happen? . . . Rayner’s story is right here.
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That mother in Romania who said she had burned seven works of art that were worth millions of dollars? She now says she didn’t do it. But where are the paintings? It seems we may never find out. . . . That story is right here.
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Outfielder Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers, who vehemently denied any wrongdoing not that long ago, was hit with a 65-game suspension by MLB on Monday for multiple violations of baseball’s drug program and labour contract. . . . Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports has more right here.
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Ryan Braun a cockroach? Well, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports thinks he is. That piece is right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Seattle Thunderbirds have signed Matt O’Dette to work as an assistant coach with head coach Steve Konowalchuk and assistant Jim McTaggart. . . . O’Dette spent the past two seasons as director of hockey operations and head coach of the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Before that, he worked as assistant GM/assistant coach with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder.
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Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds are looking for a new goaltending coach after Dusty Imoo, 43, signed on with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets. He will serve as the Jets' developmental goaltending coach. Imoo, a former WHL goaltender (New Westminster, Lethbridge, Regina, 1987-91), spent two seasons with the Thunderbirds.
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The Regina Pats have completed their coaching staff with the hiring of Bill McGuigan as an assistant. He will work alongside head coach Malcolm Cameron and assistant Josh Dixon. . . . McGuigan is a veteran of the Maritime junior leagues. Last season, he was the head coach of the Summerside, P.E.I., Western Capitals, who reached the RBC Cup final. . . . He also has worked with the Canadian men’s sledge hockey team. . . . Bo Ford of the Charlottetown Guardian has more right here.
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Bryan Helmer has joined the OHL’s Peterborough Petes as an assistant coach under head coach Jody Hull. . . . Helmer will work alongside assistant Andrew Verner. . . . Helmer is the AHL’s alltime leader in games played, assists and points by a defenceman. He played 24 games last season with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons.
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Kurt Kleinendorst is the new head coach of the AHL’s Iowa Wild today. . . . The Wild is the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, which relocated the team team from Houston after last season. . . . Kleinendorst was a finalist for the Aeros’ head-coaching job in 2010, but it went to Mike Yeo. He now is the head coach in Minnesota. . . . Kleinendorst, the head coach at the U of Alabama-Huntsville last season, replaces John Torchetti, who now is head coach the KHL’s CSKA Moscow.
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TWEET OF THE DAY:
From Vancouver journalist Jim Mullin (@Jim_Mullin): “I called world class badminton on Shaw today and a fist fight broke out between two players & RCMP were called in. Go figure!”
If you haven’t seen the video, you are able to watch it right here.
The scrap featured former doubles partners Maneepong Jongjit and Bodin Issara, who played in the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London. Jongit is alleged to have struck Issara with a racket. Issara then chases Jonglit, catches him, and punches and kicks him. Jongrit ends up shirtless and is led away.
Issara needed two stitches to repair some damage. The WHL would list him day-to-day with an upper body injury.


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Hey, all my pals in the Portland media. Yeah, I’m talking to you Paul Buker. And you Scott Sepich and Jason Vondersmith. Yes, and you Kerry Eggers, even though we’ve never met.
Don’t you folks be getting your hopes up. Heck, don’t be putting fresh batteries in the digital recorder. Forget about booking the photographers. You won't be needing a new notebook.
Because I’m told your long-awaited date with the WHL commish is going to have to wait.
A source familiar with all the goings-on has told me that “for the first time in WHL history,” at least to his knowledge, the news conference that has in past seasons preceded the WHL’s championship final “has been cancelled.”
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Just when you thought we were out of the dinosaur age, along comes Canada’s daft grandpa with an attempt at taking us back to days of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Of course, I am referring to Don Cherry and his Neanderthal-like performance last night on the people’s corpse (aka CBC). . . . Now, to be clear, I didn’t see it – I haven’t watched the man in a long, long time – but I knew something had happened just because Twitter about blew up. . . . At the end of the day, I would suggest that Jeff Blair of The Globe and Mail addressed things as well as anybody, and his column is right here.
And then there was veteran sports reporter Karin Larsen (@CBCLarsen), who tweeted: “I’m embarrassed by and for Don Cherry and for CBC. Sorry.”
Larsen is right. It is sorry. Unfortunately, it isn't unexpected.
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Dr. Charles Tator is a pre-eminent expert on the brain, brain injuries and the prevention of same. He also has been a lover of the Toronto Maple Leafs for a long, long time. These days, the Leafs are the NHL’s leading practitioners of the pugilistic side of hockey. So what does he think when he’s at a game and there is a fight? “You know what? My heart races,” Dr. Tator told Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post. “I worry about that brain that is being pummelled. It really is a sad event, to me, when it happens. Because virtually every day in my practice, I see people who have had brain injuries of one sort or another, and these folks suffer terribly.” . . . Fitz-Gerald’s column is right here, and be sure to read the comments. Oh, by they way, this piece also includes statistical evidence that fighting has very little to do with the outcome of games.
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Columnist Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe has an intriguing piece right here that takes a moment-by-moment look at the conclusion of the manhunt in Boston. “What you’re about to read,” he writes, “is how it all ended. The denouement. It is a story of remarkable drama, bravery, and terror, and it is based on interviews with Watertown police and fire officials, State Police and Boston police, including Dan Linskey, the superintendent in chief of the Boston Police Department.”
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The QMJHL has a donnybrook one night, and the fines and suspensions are announced the following morning.
The QMJHL has a game decided by an overtime goal that was preceded by an uncalled offside and there is a news release in less than 24 hours.
If you missed it, the host Baie-Comeau Drakkar scored a 2-1 victory over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada on Friday night, with the winning goal coming off a play that was offside, but not called, at the blueline.
Here is the statement from Gilles Courteau, the QMJHL commissioner:
“It is unfortunate that the result of a game was determined by an offside goal without the possibility of a video review. It is for that reason that as a league, we are taking the initiative to bring this addition to the Canadian Hockey League. We will therefore formulate a directive, beginning next season, allowing video review for all offside goals. The QMJHL has a very competent and passionate group of officials; because of the fast-paced nature of hockey sometimes things go unnoticed on the ice. It is for this reason that a technological aid will allow officials, during this type of situation, to make adjustments, if necessary, in order to make the right decision.”
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THE COACHING GAME:
Former WHL sniper and coach Troy Mick is about to add to his job description with the BCHL’s Salmon Arm SilverBacks. Randy and Terry Williams are in the process of selling the franchise to a group headed up by Mick, who started this season as general manager and head coach before bringing in Scott Robinson to handle the coaching. . . . Under new ownership, Mick will be president, general manager and head coach. The new group won’t renew Robinson’s contract.

Rick Swan is the new general manager and head coach of the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs. Swan, who signed a three-year extension, actually was promoted, after serving as the club’s assistant GM and assistant head coach under Chad Mercier. . . . Swan had been the head coach of the midget AAA Edmonton Knights of Columbus team before joining the Pontiacs. . . . Mercier resigned from both positions earlier this month.
———
 
The WHL’s playoff situation:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Edmonton (1) vs. Calgary (3)
(Edmonton leads series, 3-2; Game 6 in Calgary today, 4 p.m. MT; all games on Shaw TV, with Dan Russell calling the play.)
———
WESTERN CONFERENCE
THIRD ROUND
Portland (1) vs. Kamloops (3)
(Portland wins series, 4-1)
———
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
Portland vs. Edmonton/Calgary winner
(Series opens May 3 and 4 in Portland)
———
SATURDAY’S GAMES:
No Games Scheduled.
———
CHECKING-FROM-BEHIND COUNT (21):
None

CHECKING-TO-THE-HEAD COUNT (6):
None

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Pam and Jim Duquette want only for their 10-year-old daughter Lindsey “to be a normal kid.”
Hopefully, their wish will come true now that Jim, a long-time baseball executive who now is a broadcaster, has had one of his kidneys surgically transplanted into Lindsey.
The New York Daily News has a story right here.
Kevin Kaduk of Big League Stew has more right here.
———
THE MacBETH REPORT:
F Nathan Rempel (Saskatoon, 1994-98) signed a one-year contract extension with the Guildford Flames (England, Premier). He had 43 goals and 30 assists in 47 games this season with the Flames. Rempel was named to the First All-Star Team in the English Premier league and was the Flames leading scorer this season. . . .
F Mikhail Fisenko (Vancouver, Calgary, 2008-11) signed a two-year contract with Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia, KHL). He had one goal and two assists in 27 games for Metallurg Novokuznetsk (Russia, KHL), one goal and five assists in 13 games for Yermak Angarsk (Russia, Vysshaya Liga), and one goal and one assist in three games for Kuznetskie Medvedi (Russia, MHL) this season.
———
Dr. Charles Tator, the foremost concussion expert in Canada, will be honoured for his work by USA Hockey on Wednesday in Colorado Springs. Roy MacGregor of The Globe and Mail has the latest with Dr. Tator right here.
According to Dr. Tator, MacGregor writes: “There is currently zero treatment for concussions” that can be proven effective, apart from time itself. Much of the treatment there is in today’s sports medicine is, in his learned opinion, “worthless” and needs to be“discarded.”
“Research is sadly lacking,” Tator says. “It has been a neglected issue in medical research.”
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Peter Schaefer, who was honoured as the WHL’s top player in 1996-97, has joined the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles as an assistant coach and also will work in the area of player development. Schaefer, from Yellow Grass, Sask., played nine NHL seasons. In Surrey, Schaefer will work with GM/head coach Matt Erhart. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades have added Curtis Leschyshyn as a full-time assistant coach. He will work alongside GM/head coach Lorne Molleken and assistant coach David Struch. . . . Leschyshyn worked with the Blades on a part-time basis this season. . . . Leschyshyn played 127 regular-season games with the Blades (1985-88) before going on to a pro career. He was selected by the Quebec Nordiques with the third overall pick in the 1988 NHL draft. . . . The Blades are to be the host team for the 2013 Memorial Cup tournament. . . .
The QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles have signed Jean Francois David as a new assistant coach. He replaces Kevin Higo, whose contract wasn’t renewed. . . . David, who will work alongside head coach Ron Choules, played five seasons in the QMJHL before going on to a nine-year pro career. . . . Higo worked in the AJHL before spending two seasons as an assistant coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Higo now is the director of hockey operations and head coach, varsity boys hockey, at Rothesay Netherwood School in Rothesay, N.B. . . .
Steve Martinson has signed on as head coach of the Central league’s Allen Americans. The signing was announced Monday night as minority owners Ed Belfour, Mike Modano and Craig Ludwig, along with assistant coach Richard Matvichuk, all took part in a press conference that was open to the American’s fans. . . . Martinson was the head coach of the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals (2007-10) and was the head coach of the ECHL’s Chicago Express this season. The Express ceased operations after the season.
———
JUST NOTES:
D Max Mowat, who played one game with the Kamloops Blazers in 2009-10 but has since been dropped from their list, has been involved in a BCHL transaction. Mowat, who will turn 19 on June 23, has been dealt by the Vernon Vipers to the Trail Smoke Eaters as the future considerations in a deal that was made on Jan. 10. Mowat, who is from Coldstream, B.C., had 15 points in 46 games with the Vipers this season.
———
John Branch of The New York Times has written a devastating piece about the late Derek Boogaard and the ease with which he was able to obtain prescription drugs. . . . Len Boogaard, Derek’s father and a long-time RCMP officer, did a lot of digging into his son’s death, wanting to know why it had to happen.
Branch writes: “Len Boogaard knows that his son supplemented his drug habit with purchases of pills from dealers in Minneapolis; New York; and Regina, Saskatchewan. But he has found no sign of abuse until injuries sustained in fights were followed by steady streams of pills provided by team doctors.”
At one point, Len Boogaard tells Branch: “Derek was an addict. But why was he an addict? Everyone said he had ‘off-ice’ issues. No, it was hockey.”
You won’t want to miss this. It’s right here. All of it.
Just the other day, I was listening to an interview with an NHL player who talked of not being able to unwind on game nights until after the "adrenaline and Sudafeds" have worn off.
And I can't help but wonder if there is a connection from the use of Sudafeds to the abuse of prescription drugs.


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Seattle’s Justin Hickman (9) celebrates the Thunderbirds’ first goal
— he scored it — of Saturday’s game against the visiting
Victoria Royals. The ice was pink for ‘Pink The Rink Night’.
(Photo by Kyle Scholzen/Seattle Thunderbirds)

SOME SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS:
In Kent, Wash., F Brendan Troock scored two third-period goals, the last one breaking a 4-4 tie at 17:03, as the Seattle Thunderbirds beat the Victoria Royals, 5-4. . . . That was Seattle’s first victory in four games this season. . . . Troock also had an assist. . . . Seattle G Calvin Pickard stopped 39 shots. . . . The Royals had erased a 4-2 deficit when F Kevin Sundher scored at 10:52 of the third period and F Austin Carroll counted at 13:30. . . . The ice in the ShoWare Center was pink as the T-Birds held their first ‘Pink The Rink Night’ in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Valley Medical's Glow Women's Health and Wellness Program. The first 3,000 fans received pink T-Birds baseball caps courtesy of Glow. The Seattle players wore pink skate laces and used pink tape on their sticks. . . .
The Regina Pats honoured the memory of the late Rick Rypien, a former team captain, prior to their Saturday night game with the visiting Prince George Cougars. Rypien’s mother, Shelly, handled the ceremonial faceoff and the Pats announced that their annual Unsung Hero Award has been renamed the Rick Rypien Award because, the club said in a news release, “he best exemplified hard work not just on the ice, but also what he meant to his teammates and all the work that Rick did in the community.” . . . On the ice, G Drew Owsley stopped 19 shots as the Cougars beat the Pats, 2-0. . . . Owsley has two shutouts this season and 11 in his career. . . . F Jordan Tkatch got the winner, his fourth goal in as many games. . . . The Cougars had lost two in a row; the Pats had won two straight. . . .
In Swift Current, G Jon Groenheyde stopped 21 shots to help the Broncos to a 6-3 victory over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. It was Groenheyde’s first appearance with the Broncos since being acquired earlier in the week from the Edmonton Oil Kings. . . . This one was 3-3 with about eight minutes left in the third period when F Coda Gordon scored two goals 46 seconds apart for the Broncos. . . . Gordon, a 17-year-old freshman from Cochrane, Alta., has 10 points, including four goals, in six games. . . .
In Portland, G Brendan Burke, 16, stopped 26 shots in earning his first WHL victory as the Winterhawks beat the Prince Albert Raiders, 5-4. . . . Burke is the son of former NHL G Sean Burke. . . . Portland got nine points from the line of Sven Bartschi, Ty Rattie and Nic Petan. . . . Bartschi had two goals and two assists, Rattie drew three helpers and Petan had one of each. . . . Portland was 3-for-6 on the PP. . . .
In Saskatoon, the Blades beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-1 in a game that featured 116 minutes in penalties. . . . The Oil Kings took 60 of those minutes. . . . Saskatoon G Andrey Makarov stopped 33 shots. . . .
In Red Deer, the defending-champion Kootenay Ice improved to 4-1-2 as they beat the Rebels, 2-1. . . . G Nathan Lieuwen stopped 33 shots and F Elgin Pearce broke a 1-1 tie with his second goal of the season at 15:48 of the second period. . . . All three goals came via the PP; however, the Rebels failed to score on two power plays in the game’s last five minutes. . . . D Jagger Dirk drew assists on both Ice goals. . . .
In Vancouver, F Jayden Hart, a 17-year-old freshman from Spruce Grove, Alta., ended a six-round shootout with a goal that gave the Medicine Hat Tigers a 5-4 victory over the Giants. . . . Hart, whose older brother, Tyler, is a defenceman with the Giants, had scored his first WHL goal in the first period. . . . Vancouver tied the game 4-4 when F Jordan Martinook scored with 1.4 seconds left in the third period. . . . Medicine Hat F Emerson Etem scored the game’s first goal, his 11th of the season. Originally, he was credited with four goals in Friday’s 5-4 loss to the Royals in Victoria. However, on Saturday, the last of those goals was changed to F Hunter Shinkaruk, with Etem drawing an assist. . . . F Brendan Gallagher had two goals for the Giants, giving him four on the season. . . . Gallagher was stymied on a first-period penalty shot by G Kenny Cameron, who was making his first WHL start. . . . Medicine Hat F Cole Grbavac, the Tigers’ captain, was back in the lineup after not playing Friday because of what was termed a minor injury. . . .
In Spokane, F Anthony Bardaro had two goals and two assists to lead the Chiefs to a 5-1 victory over the Kelowna Rockets. . . . F Mitch Holmberg added two goals and an assist for the Chiefs. . . . The Rockets have lost two in a row after opening the season with three victories. . . . Kelowna managed just 12 shots on Spokane G Mac Engel -- three, four and five by period. . . . The Rockets a post about a minute into the game. The Chiefs then proceeded to get 15 shots on goal and score three times before Kelowna mustered its first shot on goal. . . . Spokane F Darren Kramer had three assists for the first three-point night of his career. Kramer, who led the WHL with 46 fights last season, is the Chiefs’ new captain. He was coming off his first two-goal game in Friday’s 6-4 loss to the Blazers in Kamloops. . . . Kramer, who totalled 14 points in 68 games last season, has seven points in four games this season. Oh, and he has been in two fights, the first with Kamloops D Tyler Hansen on Friday, the second last night with Kelowna F Tyrell Goulbourne.
———
Randy Starkman of the Toronto Star has spoken with Dr. Charles Tator, perhaps Canada’s most pre-eminent expert on concussions. Dr. Tator has some concerns with some of the information coming out of the clinic in Boston that is examing the brains of select dead athletes; in fact, Dr. Tator wonders if there isn’t some grandstanding taking place.
Starkman’s piece is right here.

Tuesday . . .

Tri-City goaltender Drew Owsley kicks out a shot while Vancouver
forward Spencer Bennett looks for rebound on Tuesday night.
(Photo by CJ Relke)

THE MacBETH REPORT:
G Juha Metsola (Lethbridge, 2007-08) signed a three-year contract with Tappara Tampere (Finland SM-Liiga). Metsola had a 1.80 GAA and a .941 save percentage in six games with HPK Hämenlinna (Finland SM-Liiga); a 1.48 GAA and a .930 save percentage in two games on loan to Ilves Tampere (Finland SM-Liiga); and, a 3.05 GAA and a .907 save percentage in two games on loan to LeKi Lempäälä (Finland Mestis) this season.
———
The debate on headshots and concussions in hockey isn’t going to go away. If anything, in fact, it is heating up.
Dr. Charles Tator, a prominent Canadian neurosurgeon, told a news conference in Toronto on Tuesday that the IIHF rules on hits to the head should be adapted by North American leagues.
“I’m optimistic that the big attention to this issue will pay big dividends,” Tator said. “We will save the game.”
James Christie of The Globe and Mail was at the news conference. His story is right here.
———
Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette takes a hard look at the QMJHL and concussions, and wonders if the league is doing enough to curtail headshots. Guess what conclusion Hickey reached? That column is right here.
———
The first head-coaching change of the WHL offseason has taken place in Kent, Wash., where the Seattle Thunderbirds dropped Rob Sumner on Tuesday.
Sumner had been part of the Thunderbirds organization for 15 years, the last seven as head coach. He took over from Dean Chynoweth for the 2004-05 season.
The Thunderbirds missed the playoffs in 2009-10, thanks to a 19-41-12 record. And they went 27-35-10 this season, missing the postseason again.
“It was a very difficult decision,” Russ Farwell, Seattle’s general manager and majority owner, told freelance writer Jim Riley, who covers the Thunderbirds for the Seattle Times. “I don’t think we got the most from our team. There were a lot of factors,  but unlike last (season) when we were young and not good enough, this (season) we were in the hunt and I thought we should still be playing at this point.”
If you’re wondering about candidates to replace Sumner, it’s really too early for that.
You can expect Seattle assistant coach Turner Stevenson to be in the pool of candidates.
Mike Caccioppoli of mynorthwest.com has a chat with Farwell right here.
———
The Moose Jaw Warriors have signed a lease with the City for the use of the Multiplex that will replace the Civic Centre as the team’s home in the fall.
According to Carter Haydu of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald: “Under the five-year agreement, the Warriors will pay a base rent of $110,600 per season, or 10 per cent of gate revenues (whichever is greater). This is an increase from the current Civic Centre rental rate of approximately $47,000.”
———
There were 5,063 fans in the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Monday as the host Brandon Wheat Kings beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-3 to take a 2-1 lead in that first-round series. According to the Wheat Kings, that “was the largest turnout for a Wheat Kings game at the MTS Centre.” The Wheat Kings have played 12 games there. . . . The Wheat Kings also report that “it also was the biggest crowd in Winnipeg since 7,042 turned out for Game 6 of the 2004 Eastern Conference quarterfinal against Prince Albert at the Winnipeg Arena.” . . . After seven seasons, the SJHL’s Melfort Mustangs have decided not to renew the contract of head coach Darrell Mann. The Mustangs were 32-18-8 this season. Their season ended in a conference final when they were beaten by the La Ronge Ice Wolves. . . . The Everett Silverips will be without concussed forwards Clayton Cumiskey and Parker Stanfield tonight when they play host to Game 3 of their first-round series with the Portland Winterhawks. The Silvertips also are expected to continue to be without G Kent Simpson (ankle). . . . The WHL has hit Chilliwack Bruins F T.C. Cratsenberg with a two-game suspension for a charging major and game misconduct he incurred in Game 2 of a series with the Spokane Chiefs on Saturday. . . . Medicine Hat Tigers F Hunter Shinkaruk won’t play Thursday in Game 4 against the Brandon Wheat Kings in Winnipeg. He is on one of those tbd suspensions. This one was issued under supplemental discipline for a hit on Brandon F Brenden Walker in Game 3 on Monday night.
———
TUESDAY’S GAMES:
In Moose Jaw, G  Thomas Heemskerk put up his second shutout in three games as the Warriors beat the Kootenay Ice, 4-0. . . . Heemskerk stopped 28 shots. He had stopped 30 on Friday in a 4-0 Game 1 victory in Cranbrook. . . . The Warriors lead the series 2-1 with a fourth game in Moose Jaw tonight. . . . The Warriors took control on first-period goals by F Spencer Edwards, at 12:15 on a PP, and F Joey Kornelsen at 19:29. . . .  The Warriors were 2-for-5 on the PP; the Ice was 0-for-4. . . . Attendance was 2,714. . . . The Ice lost F Drew Czerwonka in the first period after he was hit by Moose Jaw D Joel Edmundson. Czerwonka didn’t return and his status for tonight isn’t known. . . .
In Prince George, the Kelowna Rockets erased a 5-3 deficit with four straight goals and hung on to beat the Cougars 7-6 . . . . The Rockets lead the series 3-0 and can wrap it up tonight in Prince George. . . . F Mitchell Callahan got the Cougars to within one at 18:45 of the second period and F Brett Bulmer, who is from Prince George, tied it just 13 seconds into the third. . . . F Shane McColgan, at 12:07, and Callahan, at 14:16 on a PP, gave the visitors a two-goal lead. . . . Prince George D Martin Marincin got his guys to within one at 19:23. . . . Attendance was 2,475. . . . The Cougars were without F Brett Connolly (separated shoulder). . . .
In Vancouver, F Adam Hughesman returned from a knee injury to score two goals and lead the Tri-City Americans to a 4-0 victory over the Giants. . . . The Americans get their first chance to wrap up the series tonight in Vancouver. . . . G Drew Owsley stopped 22 shots to earn the shutout. . . . Hughesman had 39 regular-season goals. He missed the last 12 games of the regular season and first two games of this series. . . . This is just the second time in their 10-year history that the Giants have trailed 3-0 in a playoff series. They were swept by the Kelowna Rockets in the first round in 2003. That ended Vancouver's second WHL season. . . . The Americans were 3-for-6 on the PP, which both of Hughesman’s goals coming with the man advantage. . . . The Giants were 0-for-4. . . . The Giants had F James Henry, their captain, back in the lineup. He also had been missing with a knee injury.
———
TUESDAY’S CFB COUNT:
None.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
     
gdrinnan.blogspot.com
     
Taking Note on Twitter

Concussions, CTE mean it's time for fighting to go

The time has come to rid major junior hockey of fighting.
There. I said it.
And you know what?
It doesn’t feel half bad. In fact, it feels pretty good.
Having been around the WHL for more than 30 years, I have long been a drinker of the Kool-Aid. When hockey people would say that fighting is an integral part of the game, that a fight could swing a game’s momentum one way or the other, that players rarely got injured in a fight, I would nod my head in agreement.
Fighting, the hockey lifers will tell you, has always been part of the game.
And it has been. Just like the centre-ice red line. And goaltenders handling the puck without restrictions. And obstruction. And one referee.
But now it’s time for fighting to go.
Why?
Because the time has come for the WHL to rid its game of headshots. It has to do this because it is imperative that it do more to protect its young players from concussions.
And it would be hypocritical to invoke a ban on headshots and not take fighting out of the game.
How can you ban headshots while saying it’s OK for two players to stand there and punch each other in the face?
My thinking started to change about the time that researchers at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at the Boston University School of Medicine revealed that an examination of the brain of former NHLer Reggie Fleming, a disturber in the 1960s who died in 2009, showed indications of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Then, in the last while, the same researchers found CTE in the brain of former NHL enforcer Bob Probert.
That, along with some on-ice happenings, has made headshots and concussions the hot-button topic in and around hockey at all levels.
Also influencing my thinking were incidents involving Sidney Crosby and Killian Hutt, Zdeno Chara on Max Pacioretty, Matt Cooke on Marc Savard and on and on.
And then came an email from the mother of a WHL player. She expressed concern over the number of concussions and head injuries in the WHL this season, a figure that now has reached at least 100. This wasn’t your ordinary email, because it came from a professional who provided documentation, some of it frightening, to every statement she made.
It is most obvious that, while the study of concussions and their long-term effects is in its infancy, head injuries no longer can be looked at in the short term. Studies that have been done contain too many words and phrases like “ongoing impairment” and “recurrent or cumulative damage” and “chronic neurocognitive impairment” and “early onset of dementia.”
During the 2009-10 season, a group of medical professionals, including Dr. Charles Tator, who is considered Canada’s pre-eminent expert on sport concussions, put together the Hockey Concussion Education Project, a study involving “67 male fourth-tier ice hockey players from two teams.”
Physicians involved attended 52 regular-season games involving junior-aged players and observed 21 concussions to 17 players. “A concussion was diagnosed in 19 (36.5 per cent) of 52 observed games,” the resulting report reads.
It is interesting, too, that “no concussions that occurred in practices were reported by either team during the study. Previous sport concussion studies demonstrated that concussion predominantly occurs in game situations.”
The professionals involved in this study, however, ran into some problems.
As they reported: “Complaints by coaches, players and parents concerning the inconvenience of multiple physician visits for serial testing and evaluation were common. The reluctance to report concussion symptoms and to follow such protocols likely results from certain cultural factors such as athletes asserting their masculinity by playing through the discomfort of an injury, and the belief that winning is more important than the athlete’s long-term health.”
The report summarized that “the incidence of concussion in fourth-tier junior ice hockey players was significantly greater than has previously been reported in the literature for this age group.”
Another report — this one by Drs. Jeffrey S. Kutcher, Christopher C. Giza and Anthony G. Alessi, titled simply Sports Concussion — concludes with this:
“Increasing animal and human data suggest that the developing brain’s reaction to concussive injury is distinct from the mature brain, and that age-specific clinical guidelines for concussion management be developed, with perhaps a more conservative approach to assessment and recovery.”
You don’t have to look very hard to find warning signs and lots of them.
According to one study involving U.S. college football players, those who suffered one concussion “were 3.4 times more likely than uninjured teammates to sustain a subsequent concussion during the same season.”
And then there is this from a study titled Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: A Potential Late Effect of Sport-Related Concussive and Subconcussive Head Trauma:
“A minority of cases with neuropathologically documented CTE developed dementia before death; the relative infrequency of dementia in individuals with CTE may be due in part to many individuals with CTE having committed suicide or died from accidents or drug overdoses at an early age.”
Unfortunately, the only way to diagnose CTE is through the examination of a brain, although efforts are being made, according to this report, “to identify biomarkers to detect the disease and monitor its progression and to develop therapies to slow or reverse its course.”
In the meantime, the WHL, indeed all of hockey, owes it to the athletes to do more to protect them from themselves.
“It is widely accepted that the symptomatic effects of up to 90 per cent of concussions are short-lived, lasting only seven to 10 days,” reads the report titled Sports Concussion. “This viewpoint puts sports concussion in the light of being a transient phenomenon with little or no long-lasting effects. There is increasing concern, however, that this may not be the case.”
It is imperative, then, that the WHL and other junior hockey leagues err on the side of caution and work harder to get headshots — and fighting — out of the game. According to hockeyfights.com, there were more than 800 fights in the WHL’s  792 regular-season games in 2010-11.
The adults charged with the care of these players must do all they can to protect their charges.
It is becoming more and more evident that the cost of not doing so is far too high.

(Gregg Drinnan is sports editor of The Daily News. He is at gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca, gdrinnan.blogspot.com and twitter.com/gdrinnan.)