Now that the World Junior Hockey Championship is over (sorry to reopen that wound hockey lovers), Canadians can shift their focus back to the NHL.
One player that’s been in the news for not-so-positive reasons this season is Pascal Leclaire. The Ottawa Senator goaltender has recently returned from a month off his skates. In November Leclaire fractured his cheekbone when a puck struck him in the face while he was sitting on the bench during a game. The human puck target may be injured again, but that’s beside the point.
I know that from time to time a player has to take a slug of water from their water bottle. And for a goaltender, that means raising his mask to get hydrated. But Leclair said he was, “…just chit chatting” to his trainer when the puck hit him, suggesting that he had his face exposed for a while.
When I played hockey in my youth, we had to wear cages on our helmets to protect our faces. Sure we opened them up from time to time, but we’d get a harsh reprimand from the coach if we kept it open for much longer than a few seconds.
Leclaire’s injury was not a common one in professional hockey. However, it could be argued that Leclaire’s injury did more than damage himself and his career temporarily; it set the example that you don’t have to wear protective equipment if you don’t want to.
If professionals don’t wear helmets during a game, why should junior players?
Do you think the attitudes of NHL hockey players towards safety influences how youngsters view their own safety on the ice?
