The vicious elbow hit that’s left Boston Bruins hockey star Marc Savard with a concussion has pushed head checking to the top of the agenda at the NHL’s annual general managers’ meeting this week.SHARE:
The vicious elbow hit that’s left Boston Bruins hockey star Marc Savard with a concussion has pushed head checking to the top of the agenda at the NHL’s annual general managers’ meeting this
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While the hit does not break regulation and the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Cooke has not been disciplined, Universite de Montreal neuropsychologist Maryse Lassonde said it’s time for the NHL to set an example for younger athletes.
“We really need to have regulations to ban all kinds of violence in contact sports especially in high school and college levels,” says Lassonde, who has studied head injuries in athletes.
Lassonde’s research group followed former athletes 30 years after receiving concussions
and found they had attention problems, brainwave anomalies and motor impairments.
“We found out that they have impairments that are similar to the ones we see in mild cognitive impairment,” Lassonde told CTV’s Annie DeMelt.
Lassonde explained that the condition converts to Alzeimer’s Disease in 20 per cent of cases per year.
Amateur hockey coaches agree it’s time for the NHL to set standards.
“They have to penalize them not for two or three games, but suspend for 25 games,” says coach Pierre Chretien, who admits players on his team often takes cues from their idols.
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