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Sun Jan 04, 2009 8:15 pm EST

Puck Headlines: After tragedy, fight debate reaches critical mass

By Greg Wyshynski

Here are your Weekend Puck Headlines: A glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• The death of Ontario Hockey Association player Don Sanderson of the Whitby Dunlops has sparked more than conversation in the hockey world. With the 21-year-old's funeral scheduled for Monday, police in Brantford are investigating the Dec. 12 fight between Don Sanderson and Corey Fulton, in which Sanderson lost his helmet and was knocked unconscious when his head hit the ice. He was in a coma before his death on Friday. [Toronto Star]

• The OHA plans to address rules about players keeping their helmets on and fastened, and John Mackinnon of The Edmonton Journal believes that's where the conversation should begin for the rest of the hockey world: "The tentative dialogue about more-secure helmets, about rules forbidding players from removing them during fights are small steps in the right direction." [Edmonton Journal]

• The Brantford Expositor's editorial page took an even-handed, sobering look at the issues. [Expositor]

• But as we said when this story first broke, the Sanderson tragedy is primarily a moment for soap-boxing for the anti-fighting crowd. Like David Langford of the London Free Press: "The arguments about permitting fighting are predictable and shallow at best. Rules against blows to the head are gaining in momentum. Unless, of course, it involves a punch." [Free Press]

• Like Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, whose anti-pugilism screed actually begins, "Go ahead, accuse me of opportunism in the face of tragedy." [THN]

• Don Cherry is taken to task in a Sun Media column for being a fighting advocate: "We decided moving from horse and buggy to a car, and from typewriters to computers should happen. But fighting should always be an integral part of hockey?" [Sun Media]

• Finally on the Sanderson front, Edmonton Oilers Coach Craig MacTavish is in favor of stricter helmet rules for players in juniors and the minor leagues. My, how times have changed. [Edmonton Sun]

• Mats Sundin skates for a full practice with the Vancouver Canucks, and could decide to make his season debut this week. Wait, it's Sundin's decision? Make that Valentine's Day. [TSN]

• Pavel Datsyuk scored a pretty darn sweet shootout goal for the Detroit Red Wings against the Minnesota Wild. Wind-aided, of course. [World of Isaac]

• Corey Perry gets a four-game suspension for elbowing the Flyers' Claude Giroux. Adam Gretz makes the expected Sean Avery suspension comparison. Expected in the sense that the NHL has asked for it through its actions. [FanHouse]

• Mike Zigomanis will be placed on injured reserve by the Pittsburgh Penguins. [Penguins]

• Pierre LeBrun tells everyone that the all-star game is a joke not worth getting into a tizzy over, before chastising fans for not voting Alexander Ovechkin in as a starter. [ESPN]

• Congrats to Loser Domi and Dave from Carolina On Ice for taking over for the great Kevin Schultz on Barry Melrose Rocks. Good luck to all. [BMR]

• Jibblescribbits has had enough with the media's constant distortions: "The Colorado Avalanche do not have Royal Blue in their color scheme!" [Jibblescribbits]

• Some Winter Classic leftovers, from "Red Wings suck" to Blackhawks fans holding up a Red Wings logo in the Wrigley stands. [Snapshots]

• With Ryan Craig, Mark Recchi and Matt Pettinger with Andrej Meszaros and Marek Malik on the power play, was Tampa Bay Lightning Coach Rick Tocchet sending a message to the MVP Line? [Bolts Report]

• Capitals Kremlin's take on the Alexander Semin/Marc Staal fight. Brilliant:

• Los Angeles Kings Coach Terry Murray gives the state-of-the-Anze Kopitar address. [Inside the Kings]

• Team USA had a fun and energetic practice today at world juniors, now that the pressure of having to represent their country with success on the world stage has gone down the crapper. [NHL]

• Reading between the lines, it appears Rocky Wirtz knew that firing Denis Savard as Chicago Blackhawks coach would be rather easy without that pesky self-respect thing getting in the way. [Third Man In]

• The glorious Steve Dangle on Canada's world juniors win over Russia and other hockey topics. [YouTube]

• Oh, and if you somehow missed the highlights, here's Jordan Eberle's game-tying goal with 5.4 seconds left and, below, the shootout between the teams. Amazing stuff:

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63 Comments

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  1. Brendan
    1. Posted by Brendan Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:30 pm EDT

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    I can only imagine what a fight between Semin and Crosby would look like (after that Semin interview)....
    Two drunk bums fighting over tickets to scalp on the streets..
    yeah..that sounds about right.
  2. Nathan Onnat-Hanchreim
    2. Posted by Nathan Onnat-Hanchreim Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:13 pm EDT

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    Leave the gloves on Semin....How 'bout Jari Kurri v. ASemin?
  3. firewing
    3. Posted by firewing Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:01 pm EDT

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    i wish good thoughts and prayers to the sanderson family i hope they have nothing but the peace of god watching over them in their time of grief.
  4. cristobal
    4. Posted by cristobal Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:24 pm EDT

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    Here we go. It's happened.
    What a f@#king tragedy.
    Can we finally get this sh1t out of the game?
    Hitting from behind and fighting are costing lives and careers now.
    We need to change the culture of violence.
    Boxing and martial arts are sports already.
    And the old guys who were fighting weren't 240 pound weapons.
    Enough.
  5. Brian L.
    5. Posted by Brian L. Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:23 pm EDT

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    Those pucks are really hard, and people have occassionally been seriously injured/ killed by them on the ice. Maybe we should ban those. Or those really sharp skates that have almost killed a few people over the years. Those are dangerous too. Perhaps we should revamp the whole game:
    Instead of sticks, use those water noodles.
    Instead of pucks, nerf balls
    Instead of ice, it's to be played in one of those moon walk things.
    Actually that sounds like fun. I may have to try it.
    Anyways, it was a freak accident. It could have happened if his helmet had been knocked off during play and he had been knocked over. [profane]e happens sometimes. I'm sorry for the loss, but banning fighting will not reduce this risk so long as helmets can come off (and its not hard even when strapped on tight) and the game is played on ice.
  6. Brendan
    6. Posted by Brendan Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:30 pm EDT

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    @Brian L. -- It's Nerf or nothing man! hah!
  7. GT
    7. Posted by GT Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:14 pm EDT

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    It may be a good idea to have a technology whereby shields could be moved up atop the helmet for a fight. That way, the players could keep their helmets on during a fight and tough guys could opt to wear shields. BTW, if Corey Fulton is charged for that fight, then they need to charge Hollweg with a capital offense.
  8. Sobu
    8. Posted by Sobu Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:31 pm EDT

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    Malarchuk was almost killed by a skate and I don't see anybody rallying for roller hockey... Bad things happen in a physical sport played n a hard ground. A b-ball player could fall over and injure their head the same way and they don't have fighting. A Baseball Player could get killed by an errant fast ball, yet they haven't pushed for a wall in front of the batter. Many football players die every year due to the physical nature of that sport every year, but I don't see people crying for no contact flag football.
    Sports are physical and it is an INEVITIBILITY that somebody will die. The fact the this is the first death due to hockey in many years should be a good sign.
    Fighting should stay. Take it out and be prepared to see somemore McSorely and Bertuzzi events happen.
  9. Michael
    9. Posted by Michael Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:19 pm EDT

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    Amazing JWC-stuff there. But that's not my comment, this is:
    It's obviously a weekend round-up of all sorts of news but I just gotta say that, although amusing, the Mortal Kombat "Finish him!!"-take on the Semin-Staal bongo session does not belong in the same entry as Don Sanderson's death - from fighting. Not brilliant.
  10. jb
    10. Posted by jb Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:45 pm EDT

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    i give his family all my positive thoughts. as horrible as the situation is, its not a reocurring event. fighting is part of the game and unless deaths or serious injuries start happening regualrly, it should stay.
  11. onmyown
    11. Posted by onmyown Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:18 pm EDT

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    Semin is not fighter.
    Leave the kid alone already.
    He embarrassed himself enough.
    I predict he's taking fighting lessons from the UFC greats this coming summer. Maybe Matt Hughes or Chuck can show him some skill for fighting
  12. Tito "TD" O'Dell
    12. Posted by Tito "TD" O'Dell Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:36 pm EDT

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    The Edmonton Sun's Robert Tychkowski touches upon the subject, but maybe Wysh or someone could enlighten us. Some league(s), that do(es) not mandate visors, have a rule that tacks on an unsportsmanlike penalty to anyone who fails to remove their visored helmet for a fight. If a player makes the decision to don a visor, he is not only at a disadvantaged when fighting a guy with a plain skull cap, he is actually encouraged to remove his entire helmet.
    Until Jofa develops the retractable mask that GT envisions, non-caged goons are given the additional shield in bouts against less one-dimensional skilled guys who want to pretect their eyes.
    Personally, I am not in favour of wearing any type of helmet when fighting. If you've ever shredded your knuckles trying to land a straight jab on a guy who turns his head, you might agree with me.
  13. Tito "TD" O'Dell
    13. Posted by Tito "TD" O'Dell Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:36 pm EDT

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    Valid point Michael, but dayyyummmm that is clever of Capitals Kremlin.
  14. onmyown
    14. Posted by onmyown Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:18 pm EDT

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    I think Taveres goal was nicer than Eberle, and how can someone say because of a backhand shootout goal that someone will be a scoring threat in the NHL.
  15. onmyown
    15. Posted by onmyown Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:18 pm EDT

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    How could a rule be passed for one single incident of someone hitting their head on the ice during/after a fight and getting seriously injured or dieing?
    There is no rule that says players have to wear neck protectors because of the Malarchuck or Zednik injuries.
  16. Tito "TD" O'Dell
    16. Posted by Tito "TD" O'Dell Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:36 pm EDT

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    I didn't click on the WJC links yet, but I remember Pierre Maguire's comment when I re-watched the end of the game last night. I believe Maguire was suggesting that the Oilers' prospect will be an NHL scoring threat due more to his prior backhander. Hard to argue with Pierre this one time.
  17. Garth the Hoser
    17. Posted by Garth the Hoser Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:06 pm EDT

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    Brian L, Sobu, if you can't tell the difference between assault and accidents, you're both retards. You should check in with your legal guardians. They're probably worried whether you're eating right.
    Proponents of fighting are stuck in a time warp, when husbands hit their wives, germ theory hadn't been discovered, and Zeus made it thunder. Your God is the despicable Cro Magnon Don Cherry, who makes money pimping fight videos. He's shameless and it's time we stopped giving him a forum for his antediluvian views.
    No other sport allows fighting, other than sports that are specifically about fighting.
    What don't you simpletons get?
  18. cristobal
    18. Posted by cristobal Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:24 pm EDT

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    Sobu - I hesitate to insult your intelligence here, but if there are accidents enough within the valid "rules" of the game without fighting, isn't the game dangerous enough? Last I checked, not one player I recall in NFL or NCAA football has died from the contact. I've not paid close attention, but what body count? Ironically, the most deaths occur in a simi-contact sport - soccer, but those are usually from Cardiac arrest. In the past 2 years I've seen fractured skulls and compound fractures in the EPL - sports are dangerous enough without violent assaults being a part of the game. We've got a league that allows fighting and Bertuzzi and McSorley happened anyway. How does your argument make any sense? Unfortunately you don't get that a culture of violence is costing us great players. If Adam Deadmarsh hadn't tangled with Jovo-cop he might not have had to retire 5 years ago because of Post-concussion syndrome that all started as a result of that fight. Plus, if you ever watched Matt Johnson play hockey I cannot fathom how you'd think the game would be worse without talentless players taking up ice-time - after all, fights don't even burn time on the clock. It's all extracaricular to the game.
    I also guess you haven't watched any of the WJC's, which make the NHL look boring and has no fighting. Hockey is a game, fighting is an attack.
    I can't believe people find these incidents acceptable. And for what? An OHL game? Yay?
  19. cristobal
    19. Posted by cristobal Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:24 pm EDT

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    Garth, do you really think they know what "antediluvian" means?
  20. 9
    20. Posted by 9 Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:22 pm EDT

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    One time, when i was watching Mr. Rogers with my kid Jake 20 years ago, the puppet King banned ladders for awhile because someone fell off of one and got hurt. Then he later realized the ladders weren't much of the problem, so he allowed them but added some rules for their use to prevent as many accidents as possible because the lives of his people were precious to him, and that was the bottom line in the tale...Whoa, how did i get here!!??? Damn Amtrak...
  21. Ed K
    21. Posted by Ed K Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:21 pm EDT

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    So pro-fighting fans are mouth breathing imbeciles now? Here, I'll help you get down off your soap box.
  22. Curtis W
    22. Posted by Curtis W Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:32 pm EDT

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    Ahahhahaha That Semin fight cartoon drawing was hilarious!
  23. Bubbabanjo
    23. Posted by Bubbabanjo Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:05 pm EDT

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    Deepest condolances to the Sanderson family.
    The day we breathe our first breathe we await its end. Hope he was happy and lived his dream.
    Terrible tragedy. Fulton must be having an awful time of it too.
    Wyshynski enjoy life...........its such a fast ride.
  24. Garth
    24. Posted by Garth Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:07 pm EDT

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    "We decided moving from horse and buggy to a car, and from typewriters to computers should happen. But fighting should always be an integral part of hockey?"
    Ok, fine, so if you're going to make that retarded comparison, what is the technological advancement that is replacing hockey? Is this guy proposing that we have robots fight one another when two guys get mad at eachother?
  25. cristobal
    25. Posted by cristobal Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:24 pm EDT

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    I read about hockey every day but had never heard of Sanderson's coma before today.
    How many comas, paralysis cases, deaths, ended careers, and hospital bills do we NOT hear about?
    It's one thing to have fighting in leagues like the NHL, but the culture of fighting trickles down to areas where there are no "professionals" on hand to deal with the mess.
    In the US, we have the right to bear arms, but assault weapons are banned.
    Is ejecting players from games for fighting such a reprehensible idea?

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Puck Daddy is an NHL blog edited by Greg Wyshynski. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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