Cormier deserves season ban for headshot, at least

Cormier nhl.com

When  Patrice  Cormier’s elbow connected with Mikael Tam’s face Sunday night in overtime of a  Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game, it appeared both of their seasons were in jeopardy.

The hit left Tam, 18, face down and convulsing. My gut reaction was that the injury would sideline him indefinitely. And for Cormier, he had just committed a violent check in plain sight and would surely be reprimanded with a long suspension.

Turns out, it may only be Cormier’s year that’s through (he was  suspended indefinitely by the league Tuesday) after Tam, a defense-man with the Quebec Remparts,  was released from hospital less than 24 hours after he was rushed there following the cheap shot.

Praise the hockey gods for that, because that’s pretty lucky. Cormier, a forward with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies,  should be suspended for the remainder of the season for it. Upon watching the hit, you’ll see why.

It was gruesome.

But if you’re not into disturbing scenes, it all went something like this:

Cormier, Team Canada’s captain at this season’s World Junior Hockey Championships, leaps off the bench on a line change with the game tied at 2-2. With the opposition rushing up the ice, late in overtime, he takes five, big strides toward the middle of the ice.

Meanwhile, Tam rushes the puck up the right side of the ice, and cuts through the neutral zone. He chips the puck ahead and BAM. He’s blindsided by Cormier’s swinging elbow, right in the chops. He drops, face down. As trainers rush onto the ice, Tam is in convulsions.

He was taken to hospital with busted teeth and treated for brain trauma. Cormier was given a five minute penalty and a game misconduct for charging.

It’s the kind of the image that perpetuates the view that hockey is too violent–something officials at the highest levels have been trying to fix. The  NHL Board of Governors has pledged to find ways to cut down on head shots and find measures to better protect its players.

But the league hasn’t really cracked down much. Earlier this season,  Philadelphia Flyers forward Mike Richards  was let off the hook after he laid a flying hit to the head of Florida Panther’s young talent David Booth. The hit has kept Booth out of action all season. In another instance, 6-foot-6 tough guy Chris Pronger, also of Philly, poped18-year-old rookie John Tavares’ teeth out with a hit from behind. Tavares’ face was smashed off the glass even though he didn’t have the puck. He was no worse for wear, other than the busted gums, but the damage could have been extensive.

It’s going to take harsh disciplinary action on the part of the NHL to set an example for its own players, and more importantly kids and junior hockey players, to follow. The NHL is the standard for major junior hockey players. They’re coached to play like the pros. The Canadian Hockey League, major junior hockey’s governing body, adapts the same rules at the big leagues to prepare its players for the pro game.

But if anything, this season, it’s the disciplinary officials of the CHL that are setting the bar when it comes to protecting players and punishing offenders. In an Ontario Hockey League match earlier this season, Michael Liambas of the the Erie Otters plowed through a 16-year-old defense-man and fractured his skull. OHL commissioner David Branch took swift and harsh action and suspended Liambas, 20,  for the remainder of the season–effectively ending his junior career. Liambas had a rough house reputation and had been tagged with suspensions for questionable hits before.

And Cormier too has gotten some attention for questionable hits. In a world junior championship pre-tournament game, the Team Canada captain clipped Swedish forward Anton Rodin with an elbow to the nose on the way to the bench, away from the play. It was a cheap shot.

While the Liambis hit was in the OHL, and Cormier’s latest happened in the QMHJL, the precedent has been set.

So if he wants to do the right thing, QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau should suspend Cormier for the remainder of the year, or maybe for life. That would send the message that head shots have no place in hockey, and if you give one, you’ll pay dearly. And it wouldn’t be the end of Cormier as a future pro. He technically still has another season to play at the junior level, but it’s not likely he would return to the QMJHL as a 20-year-old. The league is expected to hand down the full suspension Monday.

See the hit here–>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aplfhPu4iiU

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Posted by Jamie Ross on Jan 20, 2010. Filed under Opinion, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.