NHL: Derek Boogaard

[Colonel Sanders]

The last NHL hockey game I attended was here in Toronto, in 2010. I had given up on the sport years before — largely because of the violence. But the hockey finale of the Vancouver Olympics had been such a thrill that I decided to give the sport another chance.

I forget who the Maple Leafs were playing that night. What I remember most clearly was the behaviour of the people around me. I’d gotten good seats near center ice, and the row behind us was full of RIM salesmen jabbering to each other about office gossip. The only time they bothered to shut up was when a fight broke out, at which point they instantly jumped to their feet and began howling like warring monkeys. My wife and I were the only ones in our section who remained seated. It was as if everyone around us instantly regressed 3-million years in evolutionary history at the very second the combatants’ gauntlets hit the ice. I haven’t been back to a game since.

In fact, I hadn’t even thought much about hockey since then — until I picked up today’s New York Times, wherein you can find the first installment of a three-part series on the life and death of NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard, who died of an overdose of alcohol and oxycodone in May of this year, at the age of 28. It’s the story of a 6’7″ man-child who was able to realize his dream of nominally becoming an NHL “hockey player” — at the expense of subjecting his brain to uncountable concussions, and beating the rest of his body into premature decrepitude.

I won’t bother summarizing the sad story that Times reporter John Branch tells — you should read the whole thing yourself. I’ll just relate the vignette that Branch opens with, and which more or less summarizes the cynical, inhuman manner by which enforcers are evaluated in professional hockey: Coaches at a W.H.L. training scrimmage in Regina send Boogaard (then 16 years old) and another tough guy onto the ice to see who’s the better fighter. In this ritualized gladitorial episode, Boogaard prevails, breaking the other boy’s nose. Everyone congratulates him — it’s a big moment in his career, never mind that in a civilized country it should be a criminal offence for grown men to send boys out to smash each other as if they were fighting cocks in a Mexican sandlot.

Read the article — especially if you are a hockey fan. In the same way that meat eaters should know how pigs and cows are kept and slaughtered, those who rise to their feet when hockey players fight — or who cheer on Don Cherry when he delivers his idiot peans to the virtues of grown men pummeling each other — should know how the NHL’s junior-hockey clenched-fist sausage factory operates.

The NHL isn’t alone, of course. The NFL, for years, averted its collective eyes from the hideous effects of brain injuries — until no one could ignore the 50- and 60-year-old former players committing suicide, with brains that looked to doctors like those of 85-year-old dementia patients. Yet in some ways, the fighting in hockey is worse.

Violent collisions, including the kind that occasionally result in concussions, are an inescapable part of football. As long as there are safeties patrolling the middle of the field against inside routes, blind-side pass rushes, and special-teams blocking wedges, you will have big men smashing into each other at high speeds. You can improve helmet technology, prevent concussed players from returning to the field on a same-day basis, and penalize helmet-to-helmet contact. But at the end of the day, the basic structure of football demands violence, including occasional violence to the human brain. This aspect of the game happens to be why I don’t watch football — but I concede that you can’t get rid of it without getting rid of football itself.

Fighting in hockey is different: It is a gratuitous crowd-pleasing, steam-releasing artifice that would disappear tomorrow if the league wanted it to disappear. It has nothing to do with the game, whatever apologists may tell you. And it survives only because it appeals to the most primitive and ugly tribalistic appetites of mind that exist within our brains.

As Branch’s article shows us, the greatest price paid is by the cannnon fodder who audition for the enforcer’s role. Next time you’re at a hockey game and a fight breaks out, remember the story of Derek Boogaard. Maybe then, you’ll stay in your seat.

[sky's the limit]

As a life-long hockey fan and player, I would not think twice about banning fighting in hockey tomorrow were the decision mine to make. There is no need, and given recent brain injury research, there's no excuse either.

stl

[North Shore]

Sanders, Where did you quote that from, please - I wouldn't mind reading the rest.

STL, Thanks for the brekky! No joy getting off the ticket, tho. Guess the city is strapped for cash! lol.

[Phlyer]

It is a good article.

Part 1:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/sport ... brawl.html

Part 2:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/sport ... e-ice.html

Over 400 comments as well - many worth reading.

[iflyforpie]

Yet enforcers like Gino Odjick and Todd Bertuzzi just keep on going. Maybe there were no brain cells to begin with...

[sky's the limit]

Gino is long gone, and Bert was never an enforcer - he's a skill player who happens to be huge. There was that one punch however...

Sorry about the ticket Northy, good to see you too. See you again soon.

stl

[iflyforpie]

Odjick is dead? I thought this thread was about enforcers who wound up dying....

[Indanao]

Dave Semenko was on TV the other night saying he never did anything wrong. So, he is missing some brain cells. Nick Kypreos made a good point, the owners want to put bums in chairs, and if they don't do it they are gone. Brian Burke threw Todd Bertuzzi under the bus. He is a talented player - and I wish Vancouver would get him back. Burke screwed that up too. Toronto's loss was Vancouvers gain with Burke.

[Just another canuck]

If the Boogie man or any other enforcer despised their role so much, they could very easily quit. Oh, but of course, that would also include giving up their million dollar salaries. Why am I asked to feel sorry for someone who chooses to be in the very situation they are in? I feel sorry for poor starving children... they were born into poverty. I feel sorry for abused animals... I'm a big dog person. I don't however, feel sorry for the likes of Boogard, Belak or any other NHL tough guy who abused alcohol and drugs. They chose substance abuse... and what I find funny is that the same people who pity the enforcer will condemn the common junkie.

FYI, the role of the enforcer is dying... there's simply no room for players on a team who can not contribute in many, if not all aspects of the game. Fighting still happens though... some of the best players in the game have fought at some point or another including the likes of Sid Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.

We all have the power to make our own choices in life. Do you feel bad for the smoker who eventually got lung cancer? Or the alcoholic who developed cirrhosis? No... but a handful of hockey players is cause for a revolution? Haha... what a joke. They paid for what they do, just like everyone else. Same thing as football, rugby, boxing, MMA, whatever.

Want something to whine about... attend one of those idiotic occupy your town bullshit protests. And ignore hockey... I hate reality TV, so know what I do, I change the god damn channel. Pretty simple actually. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm heading to hockeyfights.com to see what I missed last night.

Flame away.

[grimey]

As a life-long hockey fan and player, I would not think twice about banning fighting in hockey tomorrow were the decision mine to make. There is no need, and given recent brain injury research, there's no excuse either.

stl

I'm not really concerned about the fighting, as it's typically between two willing (and hopefully, in light of recent events, informed) participants. But yea, there's no real need for it in the game. In my opinion, headshots and boarding are bigger problems. Early in the season it looked like Shanahan was going to deal with it harshly, but after seeing that most of the headshot suspensions since the regular season started are around 3 games, it doesn't look like it anymore.

[cdnpilot77]

I wasn't going to weigh in on this one, but alas here I am. I played hockey from the age of 3 until I was 21 and managed to get to a level where I was making money to play the game. Certainly not millions, but it was a decent earning. All through minor hockey, I played at the highest level possible for my age group. In those years, I never scored more than 15 goals in a season and recored my lifetime high of 44points in one season at 17years old. I did however lead my team in penalty minutes from ages 14-21 and had my share of gloves on the ice. I broke my nose a few times and broke a couple of fingers in fights. In all of that, I was only ever suspended 1 time for 2 games!

There are some players that are there to score goals, some to set up the goal scorers, some to dig in the corners to get the puck to the setup men and others to keep the other team honest and not take liberties at your star players.

Although I am not an overly large person, those last 2 roles were ones that I took very seriously as this was my shot to play the game I loved so much. I even suffered the effects of concussions. I understood the risks and the consequences but accepted them freely as not only did I earn as much respect from the star players on our teams that were scoring 50goals but also the fans and coaching staff.

There are people in this world that are of different builds and different skill levels. If there is no fighting or removing body checking from the game, this immediately makes everyone a "tough guy" as there will be no consequences for roughing up the star player that may be 4 inches shorter and 40lbs lighter.

One perfect similar example, I believe, is a Junior league I played in British Columbia vs. a Junior league I played in Ontario. In Ontario, we had to wear full face cages, in BC, we had half shields. High stick infractions and injuries were drastically higher in Ontario with the full shelter of the cage. However, open yourself up to potential consequences, getting high sticked yourself in a semi-protected face, and you are going think twice about bringing your own stick up. Its the same with fighting, if you have players with no fear of any reprisals other than a 2 minute penalty, they become much larger, bolder and dangerous.

Now, having said thag one thing that I do not agree with is 20seconds into a game, 2 "heavyweights" step onto the ice, skate to centre ice and drop the gloves in a battle of the blades competition for no apparent reason. That is pointless!

My point is, if you remove fighting from the game, it will create a host of new problems, it may end a few concussions from fists, but it will no doubt add concussions from blind side hits or cheap shots.

Something most people do not realise is that many tough guys or heavyweights were standouts in Junior hockey. I will check the stats, but I am pretty sure Kypreos was a 40+ goal scorer in Junior hockey but didnt have the ability to make the jump in a goal scorers role in the NHL. These players know and understand their opportunity to play the game and they accept the risk vs. reward. It is clearly pleasing to the vast majority of fans to see a fight. If you eliminate it altogether it would be a very shortsighted and narrow minded view to take as to why there is in fact fighting in hockey, how it started and why it continues to be a part of the game IMHO.

Flame away!

[Colonel Sanders]

It is clearly pleasing to the vast majority of fans to see a fight

I am sure the vast majority of fans also are clearly pleased by girl-on-girl porn, but does that have to be part of hockey, too? I am sure it would improve the ratings and the $$$ for the NHL, so why not add it to the game?

I even suffered the effects of concussions

I am not sure many young people really understand or acknowledge the terrible consequences down the road. It's a lot like smoking. Are young people really ok with having black lungs, and brains like swiss cheese down the road?

if you have players with no fear of any reprisals

Now you've hit the nail on the head. I suggested previously that if any NHL player hit another NHL player hard enough to give him a concussion and make him miss any games, both players get to sit out the games. That would make people think twice about making the cheap headshots.

And I simply don't believe that in this day of multiple camera angles and instant replay, that there is ANY excuse for the refs to not call the cheap shots.

Everyone knows that the refs don't call the penalties because the NHL wants the players to fight, and while that might be good for ratings and the money, I'm not sure that drop-the-gloves-goon-on-goon fighting is really any more part of the game than girl-on-girl porn.

To me good hockey is about fast skating, great stick handling and good clean hits, with your hip or shoulder. Not with your head, elbow, fists, knees, stick or skates.

[Just another canuck]

I'm not sure that drop-the-gloves-goon-on-goon fighting is really any more part of the game than girl-on-girl porn.

You're not sure because you are obviously uninformed when it comes to the game of hockey and where fighting fits into a team's strategy.

I will agree with cdnpilot that when two guys drop the gloves off the face off 10 s into the game, that is too much. But like I said, the Boogards and the Laraques are on their way out. Boogard was a healthy scratch for most of his remaining years in the show and Laraque was simply let go and not picked up again. There are few, if any players left in the league, whose soul purpose is fighting, unlike 10 + years ago, where every team had that one guy, or one line who fought all game long.

Here's a fun fact... there are far, far more injuries/concussions from LEGAL hits than from fighting, so does that mean we should take hitting out of the league? The game involves a real amount of risk and the players know that and are well compensated for their efforts.

[Colonel Sanders]

when two guys drop the gloves

I would toss both idiots out for the rest of the season. But the crowd likes the blood on the ice, and the league likes the crowd's money.

Don't pretend this is about hockey. This is about money for old fat men. Lots of it.