When Kyle Wellwood first started playing hockey in the late 1990s, he didnB次元官网网址檛 even know what a concussion was.
B次元官网网址淲e didnB次元官网网址檛 even talk about concussions,B次元官网网址� said Wellwood, who kicked off his hockey career in OntarioB次元官网网址檚 Golden Horseshoe Junior B League before playing for the Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Ontario league, which is a level below the B.C. Hockey League, had no concussion protocol.
While things have improved since then, with the implementation of Hockey CanadaB次元官网网址檚 protocol, players can, and still do slip through the cracks.
The BCHL is hoping to stop that through a new partnership with the app HeadCheck, which will allow coaches and athletic therapists to assess a playerB次元官网网址檚 condition in 5-10 minutes. If the test shows negative results, the player will be pulled from the game and assessed by a medical professional.
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B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a way of standardizing the process and making sure we have record of this as a league,B次元官网网址� said BCHL commissioner John Grisdale.
Players will now all undergo baseline concussion testing before they ever set foot in an arena.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e seen situations where players can be lying down after a hit, carried off, and next thing we know theyB次元官网网址檙e back in,B次元官网网址� said Grisdale. B次元官网网址淭his isnB次元官网网址檛 going to stop that, but coaches and trainers have to be accountable for the decision made to put [that player] back in.
B次元官网网址淚f the trainer says, B次元官网网址業 told him to stay out,B次元官网网址� [the] player said he wanted to go in, and [the] coach said go back in B次元官网网址� well, then we have a problem.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 a stark contrast to WellwoodB次元官网网址檚 hockey playing days.
B次元官网网址淚t was wake up and go,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ou just wanted to play so you waited till you could physically skate and then you played.B次元官网网址�
Surrey Eagles coach Brandon West sees it as a promising step, but admitted he didnB次元官网网址檛 think anything could fully solve hockeyB次元官网网址檚 concussion woes.
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B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e never going to put an athlete in a situation where their health is in jeopardy,B次元官网网址� said West. B次元官网网址淏ut if I had a dollar for every time someone had their bell rung and didnB次元官网网址檛 get testedB次元官网网址次元官网网址�
Added Grisdale: B次元官网网址淭here are always ways to fool the baseline test. The reality is we hope we are one step better than we were last year.B次元官网网址�
PHOTOS: HeadCheck, the app:
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