Kariya retires due to concussions

Paul Kariya is forced to retire from the NHL after multiple concussions. He says hockey still hasn't done enough to remove hits to the head from the game, reports the Globe & Mail.
Easy to agree, isn't it?

Canada's New Tourism Ad After Stanley Cup Loss

U.S. talk show host Jimmy Kimmel debuts a new tourism ad for Canada following the Vancouver Stanley Cup riot.

Clever.

Minor hockey checking debate goes on and on

The debate about body checking in minor hockey seems to go on and on. Logical compromises are being found in most jurisdictions - no checking in participation-oriented house leagues at all ages; checking at peewee for competitive teams where tryouts are involved.
The point of eliminating this aspect of hockey in the kids' game is obviously twofold: No one wants kids getting needlessly hurt in athletics and no one wants enrolment to drop.
Checking works when coaches and referees are skilled in their roles. It works when kids are allowed to make contact with the body, not the head or knees, and when all kids on both teams are generally of the same athletic and skating skill.
Height difference is not an excuse - a head is a head is a head.
Preying on a child who finds himself in a league over his head is not fun, fair or sporting.
Here's the latest media coverage on the issue from CBC.

Father's Day hockey dad

In Tweet world, TSN's Bob McKenzie is giving away copies of his Confessions of a Hockey Dad book, a tome recommended by one of the smartest hockey guys I've ever met, verbal reviewer James Gardiner. To get in on the contest, find Mackenzie on Twitter at TSNBobMcKenzie.
Or buy it here from Amazon.

Vanloser riot

How not to act after losing a big game? See Vancouver, post-Stanley Cup. As the black eye for Canada and hockey spins around the world, here is a take on events from an animator in Taiwan, via former Sun Media mate Stephen Hui of Georgia Straight. Here is the riots cartoon link.
My favourite late night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live (I get home after midnight, so what can I say?), mocked hockey fans in his opening monologue last night. If you are reading my blog from the United States, here is the Kimmel link. Readers from Canada and elsewhere are banned from viewing it.
It goes on and on. Thank you Vancouver hockey fans/hooligans.

Junior

What's it like for a teen to take a shot at junior hockey in Canada. Our National Film Board answers the question here.

Caps coach helps minor hockey development

Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau is coming back in St. Catharines, Ont., running his hockey school and supporting local minor hockey. Good!
But let's hope his choice of words is different from how he rants in front of his NHL players .

Max Domi dance with Knights continues

Morris Dalla Costa of The London Free Press writes that the Max Domi saga is far from settled, and maybe has as much to do with a battle of wills between ex-NHLer and hockey dad Tie Domi and his ex-wife, Max's mom.
Seems mom favours a hockey and American university development program for Max.
Tie, maybe prefers the OHL, but only if it's the London Knights under the wing of Dale Hunter.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Doug Gilmour, GM of the OHL Kingston Frontenacs, drafted Max one spot before the Knights got to pick in the recent minor midget draft.
Dramas like this play out often, but this one has gained special attention because Max is almost certainly a future pro.

Horton hit aftermath

The Niagara Falls Review went back to Boston Bruins Nathan Horton's minor hockey roots in Welland, Ont., in the aftermath of that awful, stupid hit on Horton by Vancouver Canucks Aaron Rome in the Stanley Cup final.
Horton's former junior coach called for a five-game suspension for Rome. Wasn't too far off - the NHL suspended Rome for four games.

Meet the Gretzky who can't skate

Love the headline - yes, I've borrowed it - for this National Post article about Wayne and Janet Gretzky's son, Trevor.
Growing up in New York and California shaped the athletic Trevor into a baseball player instead of the hockey (or lacrosse) player he might've been if he'd grown up in Brantford, Ont.
Trevor, 18, has been drafted by the Chicago Cubs and while he has a long way to go, he just might have a pro career in his future.
Who knows, maybe he'll get traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, fall in love, get married, have kids and raise them as ... elite hockey players.

Rome falls

Congratulations to the NHL for getting it right and suspending Vancouver Canucks defenceman Aaron Rome for his late, stupid, concussion-causing hit on Boston Bruins Nathan Horton.
The NHL suspended Rome for four games - the rest of the Stanley Cup final.
It is just and sends the right message to professional players and kids alike.
Here's a link to the Globe and Mail story about the suspension and the hit.

NHLPA gives bantams a boost

There's a nice program being offered by the NHLPA for bantam players to build their skills. In a perfect world, there'd be more of this sort of thing, particularly involving NHL retirees. Trouble is, the swagger of pros and ex-pros is not always conducive to moulding young minds.
Here's a link to information about the NHLPA program.

Is NHL serious about concussion prevention?

We'll soon discover just how serious the National Hockey League is about concussion prevention - and how much of a role model the professional game wants to be for the millions of minor hockey players in the world.
A nasty, stupid blindside hit by Vancouver Canucks Aaron Rome on Boston Bruins Nathan Horton is the icing on the cake in a season which saw the world's best hockey player, Sidney Crosby, sidelined by NHL concussion-causing hits.
If the NHL is serious about bringing sportsmanship back into the professional game, then Rome will be suspended for at least Game 4. Never mind that the rules get more lax during the playoffs, particularly the final. Are we playing this sport with standards or not?
The NHL judgment on Rome will have a ripple effect on kids' hockey, setting an example for what is and is not acceptable.
Meanwhile, on another issue of sportsmanship, what immaturity by the millionaire professional athletes on the Boston Bruins, giving the finger to opposing players at the end of the Game 3 routing. Not classy, not sporting, not right. It's the kind of action we'd expect from 16-year-old minor hockey players who don't have the benefit of strong coaching or good parents.