Reply With QuoteYeah now that I think about it the notion of a benevolent head shot is somewhat naive.Originally Posted by metaldude26
Yeah, it's basically referee/IIHF officials discretion whether an illegal hit is malicious.
Yeah now that I think about it the notion of a benevolent head shot is somewhat naive.
@SmittysRant
IIHF Checking to the head and neck Area rule 540 states, "A player who directs a check or blow, with any part of his body, to the head and neck area of an opposing player or 'drives' or 'forces' the head of an opposing player into the protective glass or boards, shall be assessed at the discretion of the referee, a minor and a misconduct penalty; a major and game misconduct penalty; or a match penalty. When injury occurs, a match penalty must be assessed.
Since the Camara hit was called charging and not a head check on the ice, it would have been hard for the IIHF to levy supplementary discipline to the Canadian forward.
I think Camara got away with one here actually. It wasn't malicious but surely he got him in the head.
Last edited by Shoeless; December 28, 2012 at 10:51 PM.
I'm fine with hits to the head like that being a penalty, but I'm really at a loss as to what Camara could have done differently to be honest.
Don't hit him I guess. Dude's got his head down, maybe you just have to strip guys on those plays now.
That's certainly what the IIHF is saying in their video on this topic.
http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/n...ncussions.html
The wording "hit targeted at the head or neck" is interesting though.
I think the term targeted is far too specific for how much it is used with regard to these hits. How often is a guy actually targeting the head? Most of the time it's a body check where the head contact is incidental, whether cuz the guy moves or has his head down or it's a size difference thing or the checker just misses. Contact and targeted contact is two completely different things. The end result is still bad but if you are going to use "targeted" as your key term then you are going about this the wrong way.
The problem with the Camara hit was that the player had his head down and was not upright at all. We have seen this in the NHL when players are lunging forward or bending down along the boards.
It is in these situations where the referees must make a call. To me, and supposedly to at least one of the refs, the hit was clean. If he was not wearing that full shield, I do not think we would have seen any blood, just a big hit. I just wish the refs made the call during the play and not well after. It just reeked of pressure/bias.
I did watch the hit again and I still think it was clean, but I can see how it could have been called a hit to the head by the letter of the law. The problem, as I see it, is that every player would just duck their head when a hit is coming and you are guaranteed that the other player would take a penalty.
This was actually discussed by the NHL/refs/TSN at some point, which solidifies the importance of the refs call on the ice and understanding what is actually occurring on the ice.
Just as a hypothetical, if it was OVI dishing out that hit on Russian soil, is there a hope in hell it gets called at penalty? Didn't think so.
100% correct Dakkster. I will never cheer for Team SCaanda again. Team Sweden FTW. Play the right way with skill and all that shizz/ MiKAEL WIKstraND #1 ppQB
Seriously?
Don't go away mad. Just go away.
I can't wait for someone to watch every penalty that SWE takes and then apply a blanket statement to an entire country. That would be special.
Last edited by Chuk; December 28, 2012 at 11:14 PM. Reason: I can't wait....
bring this tournament back to the small ice c mon yall
I think you just have to put faith in the players and officials not to abuse this, especially since players would be putting themselves at risk of complete maiming if they were to start just ducking their heads in.
I don't know if there's another answer though with regard to how bad head shots can be but obviously you have to figure this will get abused. If you look at some of the player safety changes in the NFL you can definitely see that teams are abusing the rule changes ie. quarterbacks standing in there longer and or scrambling without much concern because the defenders are afraid of penalty/suspension and then there's the whole throwing the ball over the middle thing which everyone was afraid to do five years ago but now everyone does because defenders aren't allowed to decapitate people.
The point is that eventually we have to get to the point where hits to the head just don't happen as often and for better or worse the rules have to reflect that need. I have to have faith that the players and officials will find that middle ground as we all adjust to this. Maybe hockey won't feel the same for a few years but we will adapt. I hate to keep pointing out the NFL example but the NFL definitely feels different than before but it is still thriving even with all the uncertainty and questionable calls and possible overprotectiveness.
I agree that we have to put our faith in the officials. Players ( and coaches)will always look for an advantage and a loophole in the rules.
The reality of players ranging from 5'6" to 6'6" traveling at high speeds with sticks and boards to use as weapons, means that the refs must have control of the game. The league/IIHF should also reserve the right to suspend if something gets missed, but the borderline clearly seen plays should be up to the referee.
It used to be "keep your head up young man or you might get drilled". Don't hear that anymore - too many players are running around looking down at the ice. This is a slippery hill we are on with this and i am afraid where this will all end up with our game
Last edited by cullitons; December 28, 2012 at 11:41 PM.
Has anyone forgotten that hockey is a contact sport, and by association, dangerous? I'm all for eradicating hits where players unnecessarily target an opponents head when they could instead make a clean bodycheck (which is what the Camara hit was). But to start talking about penalizing any hit that contacts the head is ridiculous.
Yes concussions are a serious issue, but you can't eliminate them from a contact sport. If you're not comfortable with the risks involved in the game and the potential outcomes, watch ball hockey or floorball.
BTW, the NFL has become a complete joke with the way receivers and quarterbacks are protected in the middle of the field.
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