[News] VGK defenceman Nate Schmidt suspended 20 games for Performance Enhancing Substance

[Gundo]

I feel for the guy. I failed a random drug test at work that cost me my job once. I tested positive for opioids and told them it was from a poppyseed bagel, then they asked me about the methamphetamine, THC and cocane. I told them it was an everything bagel....

[Chingas]

How did he get caught? Anyone know the frequency or process by which nhl players are tested?

Becoming an NHL player is one of the most difficult positions to attain. I would be very surprised if the frequency of players that are "using" something, bending the rules, using any advantage in the grey area that could give them the edge in making and staying in the show isn't a lot higher than we'd like to admit.
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[カナダ人です]

Originally Posted by Chingas

Anyone know the frequency or process by which nhl players are tested?

Well Schmidt has only been in the NHL since 2013-14, and only played more than 60 games in a season 3 times, but said he's been tested several times, so it seems fairly frequent?

[zamler]

Originally Posted by handgroen

Did we expect that his body would be like 40% banned substance?

Yes, yes I did.

[sureLoss]

Originally Posted by Chingas

How did he get caught? Anyone know the frequency or process by which nhl players are tested?
,

per the CBA the testing frequency is:

Each club is subject to no-notice testing once during training camp.

Each club will be selected at random for no-notice testing once during the regular season.

Individual players will be selected at random for no-notice testing during Regular Season and Playoffs.

For all of the above, testing can not happen on game days.

During the off-season a league wide maximum of 60 randomly selected individuals for no-notice testing.

There is also a provision that allows the NHL or PA to test a player if it has information that gives them reasonable cause.



Without knowing how long it takes for the lab to test samples, it is hard to say when Schmidt's sample was collected. It is possible it was taken during the playoffs, but more likely during the off-season.

The CBA does specify that once a positive test occurs, the B sample must be tested within 5 days of notifying the player. If the B sample is also positive, the NHLPA has 48 hours after receiving the "A and B sample litigation package" to file appeal. The appeal hearing must commence withing 9 days of the NHLPA filing for appeal. The arbitrator has 6 days after he receives the transcript of the hearing to issue an award. Given those timelines and the announcement of the suspension, the first notice of the positive test probably occurred in early August.

[Canada 02]

Originally Posted by Chingas

How did he get caught? Anyone know the frequency or process by which nhl players are tested?

Becoming an NHL player is one of the most difficult positions to attain. I would be very surprised if the frequency of players that are "using" something, bending the rules, using any advantage in the grey area that could give them the edge in making and staying in the show isn't a lot higher than we'd like to admit.
,

players are tested a maximum of twice per season, including playoffs and the summer. given how infrequent testing is, I think it would be very easy to cycle on and off between tests

•Players receive education on prohibited substances and the nature of the program each league year. No testing takes place and no discipline can be imposed under the program until the Program Committee has provided players with an orientation session regarding the program.

•Every player who has participated in an orientation session is subject to testing as follows: each club will be subject to team-wide no-notice testing once during training camp; each club will be selected at random for team-wide no-notice testing once during the regular season; individual players will be randomly selected for no-notice testing during the regular season and playoffs; tests are not conducted on game days.

•During the off-season, each player who has participated in an orientation session will be subject to testing as follows: a league-wide maximum of 60 tests may be conducted during each off-season; individual players will be randomly selected for no-notice testing.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/kings/...929-story.html

[heep223]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

players are tested a maximum of twice per season, including playoffs and the summer. given how infrequent testing is, I think it would be very easy to cycle on and off between tests







http://www.latimes.com/sports/kings/...929-story.html

I’m assuming that “no notice” means that they have no idea when it’s coming. How could players plan cycles around that?

[sureLoss]

The maximum of being tested twice in a season was in the 2005 CBA but was eliminated in the 2013 CBA.

It is possible for a player to be tested more than twice in a season now. The 2013 CBA doesn't specify a maximum number of tests a player is subject to.

The 2005 CBA also only allowed testing from the start of training camp to the end of the regular season. The 2013 allows for testing during the playoffs and off-season.

[cracher]

Heep - Sat through a lecture by one of the big founders of WADA a couple years ago. The key thing he expressed was that it was impossible for testing to keep up with the clever ways of circumventing tests.


From what I understand (and definitely not my area of expertise), traditional cycles are definitely not the only way to gain a performance edge. Everything from designer peptides (that don't pop on tests) to microdosing (doesn't throw your ratios off too much, generally doesn't require the post-cycle estrogen blocker stuff)... There absolutely are avenues to get around random testing times.

[csnarpy]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

The old Sammy Sosa routine.

I have no idea how this HGH entered into my blood stream... Maybe osmosis?

Ahem...





It’s been around for awhile...

[sureLoss]

per Katie Strang of The Athletic:

https://theathletic.com/507940/2018/...ts-suspension/

In his statement, Schmidt did not name the substance, the date when he was tested or the circumstances, but multiple sources told The Athletic that Schmidt believes he unwittingly consumed a contaminated meat product this past spring, which ultimately triggered his positive test.

While this may seem a bit far-fetched to a casual observer, this is not the first time such a defense has been made within the context of professional sports drug testing programs. Back in 2016, NFL player Duane Brown tested positive for Clenbuterol, although he was ultimately cleared after the NFLPA effectively traced the positive test back to tainted beef the Houston Texans’ left tackle consumed while on a bye week trip to Mexico. The test prompted the NFL to circulate a memo internally to its players warning about the dangers of consuming contaminated beef. Back in February, MMA fighter Canelo Alvarez also tested positive for the same substance and said it was a result of tainted meat. He later submitted to a hair follicle test that came back negative for the substance, which lent credibility to his original argument.

Internally, MLB also warned its players to be advised about Clenbuterol. Clenbuterol is a substance banned by the FDA for use by humans (it is approved for use in horses) but is used in other countries to bolster lean muscle mass in livestock. To a lesser degree, there has also been concern about the substance Zeranol; in June 2017, there was an advisory issued by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency about the “extremely small risk” of encountering Zeranol-contaminated meat in the U.S.

[Split98]

It seems so easy now to circumvent these tests that you have to wonder what these suspensions are actually doing.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Publicity and legal protection most likely.

Some fans will actually believe that there is a very very small number of players using PEDs and that somehow adds legitimacy to the game. I think it makes some sense that the average fan doesn't want his team to be cheating and certainly doesn't want the other team to be cheating.

And with the NHL mandated ban, no one can come back at the NHL and say that due to their steroid or HGH that left them with vision problems or impotence and it's somehow the NHL's fault for pressuring them to use it.

If they really wanted to catch people they would have been pushing for testing players on IR more.

[troutman]

How would you know if beef was contaminated?

[pseudoreality]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

per Katie Strang of The Athletic:

https://theathletic.com/507940/2018/...ts-suspension/

A lot of people trying to make excuses for him. If this was even a remote possibility it would have been in his press release. There is a reason why he did not say what he tested positive for.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Azure

Yeah, this is rather hilarious.

You can mash a guys head in a complete blindside hit and receive little to no punishment, but those darn cheaters getting ahead of everyone by using PEDs. That is the real problem in this game.

One of these has been subject to multiple governmental investigations over the past century and is a directly violates the legitimacy of the sport.

The other is none of those things.

Whenever the American Congress begins to hold hearings on blindside hits, you'll start to see greater punishments there too. Until then, comparing apples to oranges adds little value to the topic.