Monday, January 12, 2009

Fighting death hits home

By JEREMY TOWNES
sports@stcroixcourier.ca

COURIER WEEKEND
Friday, Jan. 9, 2009


ST. STEPHEN – The Whitby Dunlops, a Senior AAA team in the Ontario Hockey Association, may not be a familiar name to hockey fans and players in Charlotte County, but for those who follow the sport, the name Don Sanderson will remain imprinted in everyone’s minds for a long time.
Sanderson, a 21-year old defenseman with the Dunlops, competed at the highest level of senior amateur hockey in the country. His name has become famous because Sanderson will be remembered as the first player in the sports history to die as a result of fighting.
In a game between the Dunlops and the Brantford Blast on Dec. 21, Sanderson and Blast defenseman Corey Fulton got into a tussle. During the fight Sanderson lost his helmet. Both players fell and Sanderson cracked his head on the ice. He was rushed to a local hospital where he remained in a coma until Friday Jan. 2 when he died as a result of his head trauma.
The massive outpouring of support and condolences for his family have spread everywhere from small communities to the NHL where a Saturday night game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators saw players tapping their sticks on the ice as an image of Sanderson was shown on the video screen.
In the wake of Sanderson’s passing, the debate rages between supporters and non-supporters of hockey fighting. It’s impact on a game can at times be as crucial as scoring a goal, electrifying a crowd and providing a spark for players on both teams. A fight will also send a habitual hacker packing when the opposing team’s enforcer steps between him and his would-be target. But fighting has a dark side. Suspensions, fines, injuries, and now death.
Reacting locally, general managers, coaches, and players shared their insight on fighting’s place in the game.
“Originally I would have been the first guy to say fighting’s a part of the game, but I guess the older I get the more I wonder how necessary it really needs to be when you get people dying,” said St. Stephen Spartan Head Coach and former Major Junior player Joe Bouvier.
“It was only a matter of time, I guess, before something like that happened.
“For hockey not to have fighting, the culture of hockey would have to change in the sense that the fighting is there to control the dirtiness and until hockey players are willing to play without that dirty edge you almost need it.”
Bouvier’s sentiments about the necessity of fighting to control what can sometimes be out-of-control behaviour by players was echoed by St. Stephen Seahawks enforcer Scott Goullette.
“It’s part of the game, it’s a way of keeping guys from taking liberties at your really good players and getting your team motivated,” said Goullette.
However both Bouvier and Goullette acknowledged that repercussions should be in place for the removal of a helmet during a fight, and that in some cases certain leagues have done away with fighting altogether.
“There’s leagues in the world that don’t have fighting, like the NCAA, and they do quite well, so maybe it’s just something as simple as banning it, or making full face masks mandatory again,” said Bouvier.
Blacks Harbour Silverkings Coach Meryl Stewart stands on the bench of undoubtedly the roughest team in the Southern Hockey League and questions the excitement and longevity of a league free from flying fists.
“If you take a league and you’re playing 75 games going up and down the ice with nothing happening, no checking, no fighting, you’re going to see that it isn’t going to work,” said Stewart.
“There was no fighting in the World Juniors, but that was such a hyped up tournament with so few games, fighting wasn’t needed to keep people’s interest.”
Interest aside, hockey players accept a lot of risk when they engage in a fight. For players in the SHL who have day jobs, the threat of an injury is something to be considered before the gloves are dropped.
“In our league, we have jobs to go to, so you’re always worried about that,” said Goullette.
“It’s not our main source of income, so you fight, but you always hope that no one gets hurt and you don’t get hurt.”
“It’s part of the game, we know there’s risk involved when we play at this level,” said Stewart.
One of Stewart’s defenseman and occasional scrapper, Eric Jean, agreed.
“It’s unfortunate what happened, but whether it’s UFC, hockey, or baseball, you accept a certain amount of risk,” said Jean.
“When you’re playing a competitive sport, you can’t always predict what’s going to happen, and sometimes things just don’t end well.”

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