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I know a thing or two about concussions.
Over the course of my active hockey playing and refereeing careers, I sustained 26 concussions. Those are just the ones I know about or suspect in retrospect. There were probably others, too.
Concussions have a cumulative effect. In my own case, things that I jokingly attribute to "senior moments" are probably related to all the concussions. I have issues at times with short-term memory.
I am on the Concussion Committee for the ECAC and Ivy League. I also sit on the Discipline Committee for both the KHL and the ECAC. I review every major penalty that gets called in every game as well as any plays that may have gone unpenalized. I am co-commissioner of ISL Prep Hockey, where we look at all the egregious hits in that league for similar types of discipline.
Do we REALLY want this stuff to stop, or at least to be greatly reduced? Then we need to take a multi-faceted approach to dealing with the problem. There are many different factors that contribute to the problem and we can't just legislate the problem away.
Here are seven areas where I would look for starters:
1. Look at the equipment players wear. It needs to be softened.
2. Review how many concussions have been diagnosed since the NHL strictly enforced the non-restraint mandate. Too often, attacking players get a full head of steam and run at people unopposed. For safety reasons, I would allow for some leeway on slowing down the forechecker. For the same reason, I would consider re-instituting the red line for purposes of the two-line pass offside.
3. Does a player get injured as a result of a head shot? Automatically sit down the offender for a number of games.
4. Give a similar suspension to the coach for a team that goes over a certain specified limit of player suspensions.
5. Make all players wear mouthpieces until it is proven that they don't help. If a player comes on the ice chewing his mouthpiece, he is deemed "not ready to play" and goes back to the bench. On the second instance, he is given a misconduct.
6. Players must wear their helmets correctly. After a warning, a misconduct will be given to players whose helmet are not fixed on their heads properly. Hockey players hate to sit so, to get them to do what is necessary, sit them until they do the correct thing according to the rules.
7. All players in all leagues must have a pre-concussion screening to establish a baseline and periodically re-evaluate the concussion protocols on an ongoing basis. The NHL has made strides in this area, but we can all do better.
In conclusion, if we keep going the way we are now, as parents, we may find ourselves spooning apple sauce and wiping the mouths of the older children that we once thought was going to conquer the hockey world. I don't want that for my boys and certainly not for yours either.
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.
Stewart is currently working with a co-author on an autobiography.