To Touch…Or Not To Touch

How would you feel if you and your buddies are gathered around the TV, cheering on your team towards the Stanley Cup, only to see your favourite player go down with an injury that could have been avoided?

I’m guessing not very good. In fact, you’ll probably be so pissed that you’ll throw your hat at the TV in disgust and yell some rather profane language.

Blackhawks fans held their breath Tuesday night as defenceman Brian Campbell and Canucks forward Daniel Sedin were racing to touch the puck for an icing. Campbell won the race to the puck, but not without Sedin poking his skates from underneath him, causing him to crash into the boards.

Although there was no major injury, the potential for disaster was there, and could have most likely been avoided with the no-touch rule in play.

Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing I love more than a heated race for the puck in the midst of the playoffs. Every square inch of ice matters, and these guys go shift in and shift out battling for it.

However, when there is a chance for a serious injury involved, then it is time to take a look at how it can be avoided to prevent further occurrences.

The game has seen an evolution in the ways of injury prevention, as many of you know. Helmets, which many thought would never catch on, and mouth guards, were all implemented in an attempt to curb head injuries and concussions.

A race for the puck is one of the most exciting things in hockey to the avid viewer. On the other hand, to the casual fan, I have a feeling they would compare it to this, especially if an injury occurs.

Don Cherry has conducted many rants over the years, wanting the NHL to switch to the no-touch icing rule. One of his most memorable however, was after Minnesota Wild defenceman Kurtis Foster’s injury in a March 2008 game against the Sharks.

Foster suffered a broken leg and it wasn’t until the end of this past season when he returned to action, completing a rehab stint with the AHL’s Houston Aeros.

Contrary to the usual argument, there was an injury in the QMJHL, who use the no-touch icing rule, on Tuesday night, in a game between the Drummondville Voltigeurs and the Shawinigan Cataractes. Voltigeurs forward, and Maple Leafs prospect, Chris DiDomenico was in a footrace with a Cataractes forward coming back into his own zone on a delayed icing call.

As they skated neck and neck, the two got tangled up at the hashmarks and DiDomenico went feet first hard into the boards. He suffered a broken femur, an injury similar to Foster’s, and will be on the IR for at least 4-6 months.

DiDomenico played a vital role on the Canadian World Junior team in Ottawa this past year, skating on a line with John Tavares and Angelo Esposito en route to a gold medal. Many now believe his attempt to make the NHL, or even AHL, will be jeopardized by this freak accident.

Lost in all of this is that Cherry is so adamant about no-touch icing in his Coach’s Corner segments, but he’s done two shows since this injury, and hasn’t mentioned it once. It just goes to show that “Grapes” might not always be right.

This is also an example that changing the rule does not guarantee that an injury will not occur. I would just like to see the NHL take an in depth look at the risk and reward of implementing no-touch icing into the league for next season.

For now, we all will be able to enjoy the rush of watching two players go head-to-head in a race for the puck, and hope that anymore serious injuries can be avoided.

For OpenIceHockey.com, I’m Jesse Michael