NHL playoffs undo good work of minor hockey leaders

The brutally violent NHL playoffs may be good for TV ratings and provide comedy for American sportscasts (although not as funny as NBA fights), but it's a disaster for Canadian minor hockey where the movement to sportsmanship and protection of children's heads will be derailed by the pros. It's a case of monkey see, monkey do, especially among teenage players.
Worst was Shea Weber, captain of the Nashville Predators and an elite defenceman any team would welcome. But his slamming of Detroit Red Wings star forward Henrik Zetterberg's head into the glass. It was a stupid WWE moment. Just substitute "glass" for "turnbuckle". How do you convince kids to respect heads now?
My No. 1 stupid playoff moment - so far - is a Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers game in which the world's greatest player, the face of the pro game, a usually class guy, turned into a petulant child instead of a leader of a pro team. Following a scrum, Sidney Crosby knocked away the glove of Jake Voracek
 (its at the 2:25 mark of the video). How to minor hockey coaches tell kids to be sporting when an icon like Crosby behaves like a twit?
Trust me, the spectacle undoes much of the progress and good work done by minor hockey, from tyke house league all the way up to the future pros of major junior.
Hockey's a sport, not a circus.

Is Crosby at a crossroads?

Here's why, according to a Toronto Star columnist, Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby should retire now, at age 24, rather than risk further brain damage.
He's won the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold medal and has enough money to keep himself and his heirs comfortable for lifetimes in Nova Scotia.
He's also had two serious concussions, the second of which is going to keep him from starting the season despite eight months of recovery. Forget that his agent and team are in denial - they have financial interests in making sure Crosby plays.
One more ugly NHL hit and Sidney could be in miserable healthy by middle-age.
If there ever was a siren for hockey at all levels to get hits to the head out of the game, this is it. The world's No. 1 player at a crossroads. Maybe Crosby, if cleared by doctors, should stay out until the league fixes the safety of the game.
Do it to keep the stars healthy and with long-term careers. And do it for the kids who'll never be paid to play the game.

Penguins pay for kids' concussion tests

Kudos to the Pittsburgh Penguins for stepping up by helping local minor hockey monitor concussions.
Fox News reports the NHL team's foundation is funding baseline testing for young players - the same type of testing minor hockey organizations in Ontario have sometimes offered for free.
Of course the Penguins know all about concussions in hockey. The world's best player, Pens captain Sidney Crosby, has been sidelined for months because of a stupid hit that resulted in a concussion.
Still, their concern for kids and captain Crosby doesn't stop the Penguins from employing perhaps the dummest, most reckless player in the NHL. If the Penguins really wanted to make a statement that would lead to some common sense in pro and youth hockey, they'd turf Matt Cooke today.

Crosby could change hockey

Does Sidney Crosby really want to change the tone of both the NHL and minor hockey everywhere?
All the world's best player has to do is say he wants Matt Cooke off his team, even before the NHL and the lame players' association deal with a suspension over the rogue player's latest offence, a nasty elbow to the head of a fellow players' association member.
Crosby has the power, influence and respect to make a difference - assuming he's thinking clearly enough to do it as he recovers from a significant concussion himself.
Kids are watching, captain.

Canada's next hockey hero?

Is this 15-year-old from Nova Scotia the next Sidney Crosby? Some people are staring to make comparisons, as we read here.
It's amazing how Canada, decade after decade, produces the world's best hockey players, from Gordie Howe to Bobby Orr to Wayne Gretzky to Sidney Crosby.
I remember when I was in university and a roommate started touting a teen from Brantford as being better than Orr. I scoffed, thinking there'd never be another player on par with Orr.
Turns out I was wrong.
Then came Crosby, the youngest captain to win a Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medalist and now enjoying a dominant season that has Mario Lemieux in awe.
It's too early and not fair to label MacKinnon as the next in line. But if not him, history shows that some Canadian youngster growing up in small places such as Floral, Sask., Parry Sound, Ont., Brantford, Ont., or Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, will emerge to dominate the sport we love.

Sidney Crosby brings Cole Harbour team to Winter Classic

Does Pittsburgh Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby remember his minor hockey roots?
You bet he does - often helping teams from Nova Scotia.
The most recent example is arranging for an AA bantam team to play in a minor hockey tournament as part of this year's NHL Winter Classic weekend.
Don't we all wish Crosby came from our home town.
Read the story in the Dartmouth Chronicle-Herald.