I knew Rattie had low hockey IQ, but come on this is next level. His head is so low it seriously looks like he's trying to make sure his skates are tied.
Then I look at Niklas' check and it seems perfectly clean. Didn't leave the feet and was looking to go shoulder to shoulder with Rattie especially considering the position he's skating in.
I was always on the 'keep your head up' side of the fence.
But here's the thing:
1) there are times when your head is down. It happens.
2) the game is way faster now
3) shoulder pads are made of hard plastic
4) we actually now have some understanding of concussions
The old 'keep your head up' argument isn't going to cut it if we want to actually do something about concussions. There has to be an onus on the player throwing the hit to recognize when a player is vulnerable and not drill him with a potentially career-ending hit.
This shouldn't be about whether or not the hit was clean (it was)
It shouldn't be about whether or not he had his head down and shouldn't have (he did, but the simple fact of the matter is that sometimes players do - sometimes players are in vulnerable positions)
It should be about whether or not we want to stop (or at least reduce) serious injury. Not just head shots. Not just dirty hits.
Injury.
Until people want to get off the old-school, keep your head up, train, injuries will continue unabated.
I have changed sides. I don't need to see a crushing hit so badly that I am willing to accept that people often get concussed from them. I am no longer will to throw a guy under the bus with the 'keep your head up' refrain, just so that I can watch a big hit.
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Here's the top comment from a Blues fan on reddit which puts it quite elegantly.
Quote:
Couldn't have been a direct hit to the head because Rattie's head had to be up his own ass, skating through the neutral zone with his head down like that.
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It's rattie's own fault. Hjarlmarson is supposed to not hit him? Keep your head up, it's as simple as that. Ty might be "vulnerable" but the owness is on him to protect himself, not nik to avoid him if he's gonna skate around staring at the ice.
I was always on the 'keep your head up' side of the fence.
But here's the thing:
1) there are times when your head is down. It happens.
2) the game is way faster now
3) shoulder pads are made of hard plastic
4) we actually now have some understanding of concussions
The old 'keep your head up' argument isn't going to cut it if we want to actually do something about concussions. There has to be an onus on the player throwing the hit to recognize when a player is vulnerable and not drill him with a potentially career-ending hit.
This shouldn't be about whether or not the hit was clean (it was)
It shouldn't be about whether or not he had his head down and shouldn't have (he did, but the simple fact of the matter is that sometimes players do - sometimes players are in vulnerable positions)
It should be about whether or not we want to stop (or at least reduce) serious injury. Not just head shots. Not just dirty hits.
Injury.
Until people want to get off the old-school, keep your head up, train, injuries will continue unabated.
I have changed sides. I don't need to see a crushing hit so badly that I am willing to accept that people often get concussed from them. I am no longer will to throw a guy under the bus with the 'keep your head up' refrain, just so that I can watch a big hit.
I hate to be that guy, but the only way to severely reduce concussions is to take away bodychecking. It's inherent to physical contact, and since hockey players are moving at high speeds, it is almost always a possibility that a concussion will occur. There is no way to keep bodychecking in the game and completely avoid all head shots or checks that injure the brain. Hell, even if you remove bodychecking, you can still be concussed. Lots of evidence that soccer players heading the ball can lead to CTE. It's just part of the risk of being an athlete in a contact sport.
Bodychecking is an important part of defending. I can't imagine what Hjalmarsson was supposed to do there other than separate the man from the puck. There was nothing there that made me think he intended to hurt him. He didn't overdo anything, he just finished his check. Rattie was in a vulnerable position. We agree on all that. If the main concern you have is injuries, then you have to outlaw bodychecking. If your main concern is reducing injuries while maintaining the essence of the game, then you have to allow that things like this will happen once in a while, and there's nothing you could have done to prevent it.
Honestly, the game has become so tame these days as it is, but now we're discussing whether a completely legal and clean play needs addressing. That's taking this issue too far for me. If they make it impossible to make an open ice hit by cracking down on stuff like this, then I will probably stop watching hockey altogether.
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"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
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Location: Wondering when # became hashtag and not a number sign.
Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
I was always on the 'keep your head up' side of the fence.
But here's the thing:
1) there are times when your head is down. It happens.
2) the game is way faster now
3) shoulder pads are made of hard plastic
4) we actually now have some understanding of concussions
The old 'keep your head up' argument isn't going to cut it if we want to actually do something about concussions. There has to be an onus on the player throwing the hit to recognize when a player is vulnerable and not drill him with a potentially career-ending hit.
This shouldn't be about whether or not the hit was clean (it was)
It shouldn't be about whether or not he had his head down and shouldn't have (he did, but the simple fact of the matter is that sometimes players do - sometimes players are in vulnerable positions)
It should be about whether or not we want to stop (or at least reduce) serious injury. Not just head shots. Not just dirty hits.
Injury.
Until people want to get off the old-school, keep your head up, train, injuries will continue unabated.
I have changed sides. I don't need to see a crushing hit so badly that I am willing to accept that people often get concussed from them. I am no longer will to throw a guy under the bus with the 'keep your head up' refrain, just so that I can watch a big hit.
Injuries are part of the game. particularly when you leave yourself wide open to them by doing what he did. Hitting is a massive part hockey...might as well make it illegal if this incident crosses the line because Hjarmalsonn had two choices...hit him or dont. He chose to and its because Rattie was in the position he was that he got hit where he did.
Injuries are part of the game. particularly when you leave yourself wide open to them by doing what he did. Hitting is a massive part hockey...might as well make it illegal if this incident crosses the line because Hjarmalsonn had two choices...hit him or dont. He chose to and its because Rattie was in the position he was that he got hit where he did.
If you think there is only one possible way that Hjalmarsson could have hit Rattie, I don't know what to say to you.
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Ty Rattie rocked by Hjalmarsson - Update: hearing tomorrow
