Thread: When shoulder meets head, head loses;Is it time to ban ALL head hits?

The cause of Derek Boogard's death has not been confirmed yet.

But if it is concussion or brain-related, it could be an influential death indeed.
Combined with Crosby's concussion problems, we may reach a critical mass
where the policy on head hits could change.

It wouldn't be overly easy to enforce/distinguish from incidental contact, etc
But it just might be time to ban ALL HEAD HITS.

Up 'til now, head-on-shoulder hits have been perfectly legal.
But why?

These are world-class athletes with shoulders like granite, but skulls of normal
thickness.
Head and shoulder must be forbidden to collide from now on in the NHL, IMO.

All hits should be shoulder-to-shoulder, chest-to-chest, or basically hip checks.

In this age of super-athletes, the human head has not evolved any special protections.
It's time to evolve hockey some more.

It's time to change the rule.

That doesn't solve the problem. If you want to eliminate sudden stopping of the body so the brain doesn't continue into the skull, you remove hitting. There are two steps that would need to be taken and neither will be.

1. Change the equipment that players wear. Make the shoulderpads not solid plastic caps. Go back to the cushioned pads that they used to be. Players won't hit as hard because the pads don't absorb the impact in the same way. Basically, both guys feel it again.

2. Make the rinks olympic sized. Guys are larger and faster than ever and they close ground too fast. They made rinks a mandatory size many years back and they can do it again. Give more room for the players to move, they have more time to react and get out of the way. Ever wonder why you don't see as many big hits in the Olympics? Also, don't show me the Ovechkin hit on Jagr or else I'll ask you to show me 10 more like it.

Like I said though, these will never happen even though it's a simple solution.

Originally Posted by SmytheKing

That doesn't solve the problem. If you want to eliminate sudden stopping of the body so the brain doesn't continue into the skull, you remove hitting. There are two steps that would need to be taken and neither will be.

1. Change the equipment that players wear. Make the shoulderpads not solid plastic caps. Go back to the cushioned pads that they used to be. Players won't hit as hard because the pads don't absorb the impact in the same way. Basically, both guys feel it again.

2. Make the rinks olympic sized. Guys are larger and faster than ever and they close ground too fast. They made rinks a mandatory size many years back and they can do it again. Give more room for the players to move, they have more time to react and get out of the way. Ever wonder why you don't see as many big hits in the Olympics? Also, don't show me the Ovechkin hit on Jagr or else I'll ask you to show me 10 more like it.

Like I said though, these will never happen even though it's a simple solution.

How abt a rule regarding those chin straps? Tighten those things up guys. See so many hit the ice with helmet flying, I'd be a lot more inclined to blame head injuries on that then the fighting.
With hockey being such a close contact sport, I don't see how fights can be avoided. Have enough rules now as it is.

Originally Posted by taz42

How abt a rule regarding those chin straps? Tighten those things up guys. See so many hit the ice with helmet flying, I'd be a lot more inclined to blame head injuries on that then the fighting.
With hockey being such a close contact sport, I don't see how fights can be avoided. Have enough rules now as it is.

I BELIEVE they have a rule on that actually, but I'm not certain. The only thing that will help though is impact in the glass or ice. Concussions are directly because of the body suddenly stopping and the brain smashing into the skull. The tightest helmet in the world won't help that or any whiplash effect. Mass plus force and all that stuff.

I'm telling you, make those two changes and you'll see it get better. There's a reason head injuries weren't as prevalent back in the day. Same thing with football. Once the equipment started getting better, and players got bigger and faster, you started seeing bigger injuries too. A guy that is 225lbs of solid muscle skating at 20mph is going to do more damage than a guy who is 180lbs in decent shape going 15 mph. Just simple physics at play.

Originally Posted by SmytheKing

Also, don't show me the Ovechkin hit on Jagr or else I'll ask you to show me 10 more like it.

Well anyone who points that hit out can be told that it was in an NHL sized rink.

The best thing the NHL decided recently was to rid itself of seem-less glass.

Changing to Olympic size ice makes a lot of sense to me.

I think a solid first BABY step would be to make mouthpieces mandatory because there have been studies that have shown they can prevent concussions when your teeth smack together.

Originally Posted by Sylar

I think a solid first BABY step would be to make mouthpieces mandatory because there have been studies that have shown they can prevent concussions when your teeth smack together.

This would help in a couple instances, but SmytheKing's points still stand. Along with the conditioning and advances in "padding" (it's really armor at this point), one thing that hasn't been mentioned here is the "New NHL." I hear guys talking about it all the time on Vs/NHL Network. The simple fact of the matter is with all the hooking and holding penalties being called, guys aren't being osbtructed like they were. That means a hellova lot more speed when it comes to those checks, and a hellova lot more injuries