Vancouver Canucks

Hockey Politics

Today, the OHL announced that they have suspended Windsor Spitfires forward Zack Kassian 20 games for his hit on Barrie Colts forward Matt Kennedy. A little shameless plugging but I touched on the issue in my previous blog post.

I think this is an absolutely terrible ruling and that there is an obvious double standard here. I think David Branch’s ruling just proved how much of a joke the entire process of disciplining a hockey player is. Scratch that, it’s not a joke. It’s a disgrace.

The inevitable comparison here will be Michael Liambas, who was suspended for the rest of the season for his hit on sixteen year-old Kitchener Rangers defenseman Ben Fanelli in October which effectively ended Liambas’ junior career. At the time, a lot of people knew Branch would come down hard on Liambas, who had built a reputation as a physical, bruising player, but not this hard. You have to feel sorry for Liambas here because ultimately I think in light of all these situations he’s the ultimate victim of a double standard. I do believe that Fanelli turned his back at the last second, but I also believe that Liambas had no intention to hurt him and was reportedly in tears after the hit. Liambas made an effort to visit Fanelli at the local hospital but was denied. He has attempted to apologize to the Fanellis in person, but a bout with the swine flu in December prevented him from going home. My point is, the intent to hurt is obviously not there. Liambas is now playing with the Bloomington Prairie Thunder of the International Hockey League.

Now onto Kassian. Never mind whether or not he left his feet - Bob McKenzie thinks he did, Branch doesn’t - because I think it’s a debatable issue that really doesn’t have an end. Never mind whether or not Matt Kennedy touched the puck because ultimately I think that’s not the biggest issue. The issue here is that this is Kassian’s THIRD suspension and he only gets 20 games. I don’t understand, Kassian NEEDS to be suspended for the season, especially as a repeat offender for the same offenses. Admittedly the 20 games is a fair amount, but once again this reeks of hockey politics. Kassian is a high-profile player, selected 13th overall in last year’s draft by Buffalo. There is a complete lack of consistency in the OHL’s ruling. In my opinion, Kassian clearly wanted to hit Kennedy hard and didn’t let up even when Kennedy wasn’t looking or had control of the puck. I think it’s pretty clear that Kassian went for his head.

Which now brings to Patrice Cormier (drafted in the second round by New Jersey), who knocked out Mikael Tam a couple days ago with a vicious elbow. Now there’s a clear intent to injure there. QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau will announce Cormier’s suspension soon but he really has to be careful here. Cormier was Canada’s most recent World Junior captain and an all-star in the QMJHL. I think anything less than a season-long suspension for Cormier is too light. There have been reports that Cormier showed a lack of remorse after the hit.

Enough rambling - how do we fix the situation? It’s been made quite clear that the suspensions handed out by the NHL and OHL lack any form of consistency. High profile players are given preferential treatment while others are merely scapegoats to show how willing hockey wants to crack down on these type of hits and teach respect on the ice. I think a good solution is to introduce a system that suspends players not based on the extent of the victim’s injury but rather the act itself. Enough with the provisional “indefinite suspensions.” I think those types of things raise more questions than they answer, and a strong case in point was Todd Bertuzzi’s infamous hit on Steve Moore and his subsequent suspension. Bertuzzi spent most of the year wondering what was going on, whether or not he could ever play in the NHL again, a stressful time for anybody. He put up with the whole situation and never complained. Same goes for Liambas, who has shown nothing but regret and remorse for hurting Fanelli.

If David Branch wants to drive a hard line, that’s fine, but his last two rulings have made the OHL look worse than the hits themselves. I think a good solution is to introduce a set number of games for suspension, depending on the hit. A hit in which a player leaves his feet is an automatic three games. A hit to the head or hit from behind is an automatic five games. Obviously in some cases in won’t be enough and the league will have the power to tack on more games if necessary but at least the baseline is there and everyone involved knows what’s coming. It causes less ambiguity and confusion. Junior-aged players need to understand that their actions will have significant consequences. It’s become apparent that these kids need to learn about respect the hard way.

Hopefully a swift recovery for Ben Fanelli, Matt Kennedy, and Mikael Tam.

The ball’s in your court now, Gilles Courteau.

NB: This is actually my second post regarding the whole Cormier-Tam incident. Read my other previous entries here:
On Auger and Burrows: http://forum.canucks.com/blog/73/entry-599-on-ron-maclean-and-augerburrows/
Patrice Cormier: http://forum.canucks.com/blog/73/entry-601-thumbs-down-to-patrice-cormier/