Is minor hockey hurtin'?

Nobody ever claimed minor hockey was for the meek, but is it intended to cause long-term damage?
Of course that's not the intent of hockey. But until the sport gets control of the game, there will be more and more reports like this one by Terry Davidson in the Toronto Sun about brutal hitting (both legal and illegal) causing injuries with life-long ramifications such as concussions.
Whether it's the fault of the amour-like equipment, a size differential of players, too much sugar, odd coaching or under-skilled referees ... I don't know. But there's an increasing buzz about serious injuries in minor hockey.
As one tiny example, I have never seen so many players miss games due to injuries as I did this past season with my son's midget team. Concussions. Broken bones - arm, collar, hand. Broken molar. We even had a goaltender go back into a playoff game after suffering a significant cut. A backup goalie wasn't dressed because he was out with a concussion.
No one signs his kid up for athletics to get hurt. If the reputation of the sport becomes a "hurt factory", parents will keep their credit cards in their wallets and sign up little Johnny for guitar lessons instead.

RCMP investigate head shot

This sort of thing should never happen, especially in a non-contact peewee tournament. But a hit to the head left a 12-year-old boy in New Brunswick convulsing on the ice and led to police investigating it as an assault.
William Theriault is recovering, but suffers headaches and has little ability to concentrate, CBC reports.
Minor hockey organizations can brace for more police invovlement - or civil lawsuits - until such time as hits to the head are taken more seriously. Deliberate contact to the head has no part in minor hockey and happens as the result of poor coaching, questionable sportsmanship and can accelerate during the course of a game due to soft officiating.
Parents, for the most part, want hits to the head eliminated from the sport. If it doesn't happen, they'll start taking action themselves by choosing other sports and activities for their kids.