McGrattan ko'ed in the AHL

[Poe969]

It was tough to watch. I didn't want to watch it because I still think he's great and part of the Flames. I'd love for him to be a part of the Flames organization somehow.

[Russic]

While it's great to hear that he's ok, the thing with receiving a head injury like that is he might really, really not be ok. We can confirm he's not comatose – which is great – but what's his quality of life going to be when he's in his 40s?

That's partly why I don't agree with the "you can injure yourself doing anything in hockey" argument. You can destroy your knee and miss an entire season, or you can take a punch and miss a shift. While one injury seems infinitely worse than the other, the lesser one could decimate you later in life.

[AltaGuy]

Watching that type of stuff is horrible. Fighting in hockey could very well come to an abrupt end one day when someone dies after hitting their head like that.

[Huntingwhale]

That looked pretty bad. I respect Brian and what he does. But at the age of 34, do you really need to be dropping your gloves to give your AHL team a lift? I enjoy a hockey fight as much as anybody. But it's an incredibly fine line where you're chucking fists to raise your teams energy, yet a punch at the wrong angle can knock you out cold and you hit your head. An incredibly fine line.

I'm not McGrattan, but I couldn't imagine being 34 and my job being to fight like this. The guy's wife just had a baby and I can't imagine what she must have felt watching her husband go down like that.

[sureLoss]

Darren Dreger @DarrenDreger
Healthy or not, the optics of last nights scary incident involving Brian McGrattan was enough for the Gulls to send him home from road trip.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Gino Reda ‏@GinoRedaTSN
Brian McGrattan says last night was "just part of fighting" and won't change the way he plays. @TSNHockey

Gino Reda ‏@GinoRedaTSN
McGratton says he was taken to hospital by ambulance last night, given CT scans and x-rays. Says all is clear and feels "fine" @TSNHockey

Gino Reda ‏@GinoRedaTSN
"I think sometimes it does take away from the NHL game, but down here (AHL) fighting does have a purpose" - Brian McGrattan @TSNHockey

[taco.vidal]

Originally Posted by kingkahuna

No issues with the people who cheer as soon as the punch is landed and the fight over. The longer the person loudly cheers after the fact, the bigger the ######bag they are. Hope Big Ern's okay.

Lol at the guys trying to make themselves feel better about wanting fighting in hockey. Its ok to cheer the fight and KO. If you stop cheering after the KO then everything is ok and no one is a savage!

Hah. Thats dellusional. Hockey fights are bare knuckle boxing. Theres a reason why gloves are required in fighting outside of hockey and the streets. Its because guys get hurt for real. If you cheer for hockey fights, thats great, but dont delude yourself. Youre no different than the guy who keeps cheering after KO.

Not picking on the poster I quoted as there are many in this thread with the same attitude, but I needed to quote one.

So youve got bareknuckle boxing and instead of a mat, you have a ice to land on. What can go wrong?

[taco.vidal]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Gino Reda ‏@GinoRedaTSN
Brian McGrattan says last night was "just part of fighting" and won't change the way he plays. @TSNHockey

Gino Reda ‏@GinoRedaTSN
McGratton says he was taken to hospital by ambulance last night, given CT scans and x-rays. Says all is clear and feels "fine" @TSNHockey

Gino Reda ‏@GinoRedaTSN
"I think sometimes it does take away from the NHL game, but down here (AHL) fighting does have a purpose" - Brian McGrattan @TSNHockey

Does MCgrattan have a known concussion history? I dont recall iffhand and cant find much oneway or the other on the net. Regardless of him saying he feels fine, he was knocked out cold and that means brain trauma.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

Lol at the guys trying to make themselves feel better about wanting fighting in hockey. Its ok to cheer the fight and KO. If you stop cheering after the KO then everything is ok and no one is a savage!

Hah. Thats dellusional. Hockey fights are bare knuckle boxing. Theres a reason why gloves are required in fighting outside of hockey and the streets. Its because guys get hurt for real. If you cheer for hockey fights, thats great, but dont delude yourself. Youre no different than the guy who keeps cheering after KO.

Not picking on the poster I quoted as there are many in this thread with the same attitude, but I needed to quote one.

So youve got bareknuckle boxing and instead of a mat, you have a ice to land on. What can go wrong?

Aren't gloves more about protecting the hands than anything?

[Bourque's Twin]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Those fans are friggen animals.

Even if it were an Oiler getting KO'd, seeing a guy go down that hard, I definitly wouldn't be hollering like that.

What if it were Ferland KO'ing Bieksa last playoffs? Or what if Russell KO'd Burrows?

At what point does it feel justified? I definitely had a tough time watching this, but I can watch Evander Kane KO Matt Cooke over and over again.

[Poe969]

I love fights and all but as soon as you see a player go down and not get up, it stops being about the game and starts becoming about real people. I've been to games where there's a big hit or fight and the crowd goes nuts but as soon as the guy doesn't get up, the crowd for the most part realizes its serious and becomes a little more tame. Usually ends with the crowd cheering when the guy shows he's somewhat ok, even if it's the opponent.

[polak]

He's a fighter.

I bet if you give him the option to either play professional hockey for a living (and getting paid very well for it when he was in the NHL) vs. having a real job, he'll take getting KO'd like this on occasion and laugh all the way to the bank. Even if he has to stop at the hospital on the way.

Whether having that role in hockey is acceptable or not is a different story but I hardly feel bad for him? He got knocked out. Happens to professional fighters all of the time. If anyone thinks he's anything but a professional fighter then they should look at his stat sheet.

I'm okay with the fans cheering for the initial KO punch (like you wouldn't cheer if Iggy dropped Kesler) as long as they stop once they realize he might be seriously hurt and cheer for him once he gets up. Didn't watch the whole vid so I don't know if that happened.

[habernac]

From Friedman:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/b...ed-and-family/

“It looked a lot worse than it was,” he answers. “That’s what can happen. I’ve been the top dog for a long time. I was humble as the top guy, and you’re humble when you lose. It’s not a big shot to the ego. As for being scared in the future? No chance. I’m going to play the same way, and if I have to fight, that’s the way it is. I’ve done that to guys, that’s the brutality of that job.

“But I’m not stupid when it comes to injuries. I’ve had concussions. You let them ride out, don’t battle through them, wait until fully healed before returning to play. I always see how my body feels. If it says you don’t go, you don’t go.

“We have one more game next week before the (AHL All-Star) break. If I’m not ready by then, I’ll wait until after.”

He knows what question is coming next. The question about fighting. He cuts me off.

“Let’s face it, it’s not going to be around much longer.”

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

Lol at the guys trying to make themselves feel better about wanting fighting in hockey. Its ok to cheer the fight and KO. If you stop cheering after the KO then everything is ok and no one is a savage!

Hah. Thats dellusional. Hockey fights are bare knuckle boxing. Theres a reason why gloves are required in fighting outside of hockey and the streets. Its because guys get hurt for real. If you cheer for hockey fights, thats great, but dont delude yourself. Youre no different than the guy who keeps cheering after KO.

Not picking on the poster I quoted as there are many in this thread with the same attitude, but I needed to quote one.

So youve got bareknuckle boxing and instead of a mat, you have a ice to land on. What can go wrong?

Not that I disagree, but is this any less brutal than boxing or MMA? I would imagine getting punched in the face with plastered knuckles hurts equally as much as bare knuckles.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by codynw

Aren't gloves more about protecting the hands than anything?

No. They significantly soften the blow to the receiver as well. They also allow you to block punches with various parts of your body.

[genetic_phreek]

Originally Posted by blankall

No. They significantly soften the blow to the receiver as well. They also allow you to block punches with various parts of your body.

This is false. I tried to find the video but I watched a fighting science study and having gloves protects the hand which allows the person to put more force and delivers a higher impact. The bare knuckle does more structural damage because it's concentrated but not delivering as much force.

[chedder]

And pretty sure boxing gloves increase the risk of concussion due the increased surface area of the hitting object.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by habernac

From Friedman:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/b...ed-and-family/

“It looked a lot worse than it was,” he answers. “That’s what can happen. I’ve been the top dog for a long time. I was humble as the top guy, and you’re humble when you lose. It’s not a big shot to the ego. As for being scared in the future? No chance. I’m going to play the same way, and if I have to fight, that’s the way it is. I’ve done that to guys, that’s the brutality of that job.

“But I’m not stupid when it comes to injuries. I’ve had concussions. You let them ride out, don’t battle through them, wait until fully healed before returning to play. I always see how my body feels. If it says you don’t go, you don’t go.

“We have one more game next week before the (AHL All-Star) break. If I’m not ready by then, I’ll wait until after.”

He knows what question is coming next. The question about fighting. He cuts me off.

“Let’s face it, it’s not going to be around much longer.”

That was sickening.

With regards to what Brian said here, I have no doubt that he thinks he is taking all the necessary precautions he can to ensure his safety and health. The problem I have with the response is that McGratton doesn't know any more about brain science than the rest of us, and we know significantly less than the experts who are only scraping the surface of causes and effects in their studies of head trauma.

Fighting is irresponsible and exceedingly dangerous. Period. So much so that no one should be given the option to make this a way of life.

Be well and good luck, Brian McGratton. God knows you are going to need it in the long term.

[doctajones428]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

Lol at the guys trying to make themselves feel better about wanting fighting in hockey. Its ok to cheer the fight and KO. If you stop cheering after the KO then everything is ok and no one is a savage!

Hah. Thats dellusional. Hockey fights are bare knuckle boxing. Theres a reason why gloves are required in fighting outside of hockey and the streets. Its because guys get hurt for real. If you cheer for hockey fights, thats great, but dont delude yourself. Youre no different than the guy who keeps cheering after KO.

Not picking on the poster I quoted as there are many in this thread with the same attitude, but I needed to quote one.

So youve got bareknuckle boxing and instead of a mat, you have a ice to land on. What can go wrong?

He caught him on the chin, he would have dropped like that even if the guy had gloves on. KO's are a part of fighting. MMA, boxing, whatever, KO's in the heat of the moment can be very exciting, especially if it's an upset

What isn't exciting is a KO that leads to someone smashing their head on the ice. It's rare, but it indeed happens, and the fact they continually cheered while a guy could have been dead on the ice for all they know, is disgusting. If someone was dropped like that in MMA and was unresponsive for that long, the crowd would go quiet too.

It's really no different than when the crowd goes crazy after a huge hit then quickly goes quiet when it's clear the guy is hurt and/or needs stretchered. Should we take hitting out of the game? Is everyone no longer a savage when they stop cheering after a huge hit that lead to injury?

Concussions and long term brain damage happens during regular play too, not just fights

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

That was sickening.

With regards to what Brian said here, I have no doubt that he thinks he is taking all the necessary precautions he can to ensure his safety and health. The problem I have with the response is that McGratton doesn't know any more about brain science than the rest of us, and we know significantly less than the experts who are only scraping the surface of causes and effects in their studies of head trauma.

Fighting is irresponsible and exceedingly dangerous. Period. So much so that no one should be given the option to make this a way of life.

Be well and good luck, Brian McGratton. God knows you are going to need it in the long term.

You just hope he's not someone who in 5-10 years wishes he hadn't done what he does.