Lengthy suspension necessary
Jan 22, 2010 - 04:30 AM
By Shawn Cayley
Some two-and-a-half months ago, Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters felt the wrath of Ontario Hockey League commissioner David Branch.
Now it's Zack Kassian's turn.
Most are familiar with the Liambas story. The hulking overage forward hammered young Ben Fanelli of the Kitchener Rangers into the boards, resulting in a skull fracture for 16-year-old rookie that ended his season.
Branch's reaction? Liambas's season was also ended, the player suspended for the remainder of the year, into the playoffs.
Now Kassian, who found himself in a meeting with Branch earlier this week to discuss his hit that left Barrie Colts forward Matt Kennedy with a concussion and required stitches to repair a cut and staples to close another wound, is the centre of attention.
Playing in his first game with the Windsor Spitfires after a deadline deal saw him jettisoned from the Peterborough Petes, Kassian was looking to make an impression in his new surroundings. Some would argue he did that by scoring a first-period goal in that game last Thursday.
But he wasn't done.
Less than seven minutes into the second, Kassian saw an unsuspecting Kennedy searching for a puck, high in the air in the neutral zone and proceeded to dart across the ice and fly right through the player. (See the hit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAcGSbrEi-c).
The hit brought to light several issues, not the least of which was a lack of respect on Kassian's part. That's nothing new though.
In his final game as a Pete, Jan. 8 in Oshawa, Kassian belted the Generals' Nick Esposto into the boards with excessive force. Esposto was taken from the game on a stretcher and hasn't played since, sidelined with a concussion.
Now I am all for players playing a solid, physical brand of hockey. Solid and physical is one thing. The problem has become that laying a solid body check no longer seems appropriate. The logic behind most big hits seems to be about inflicting as much damage on an opponent as possible.
That is wrong.
For that reason, a message has to be sent. When Branch ruled on Liambas, maybe the impact wasn't as great because the 20-year-old wasn't a 'name' guy. Kassian, a 2009 first-round pick of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, is.
As of our deadline Branch had yet to announce Kassian's punishment, but perhaps a lengthy ban on a player of his ilk will force others to take notice that a lack of respect won't be tolerated. That's not to suggest Kassian deserves to be banished completely, but anything less the balance of the regular season and a few playoff games would be insufficient.
Shawn Cayley's column runs every other Friday
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