Western Hockey League (WHL) calls GMs meeting to discuss head shots, ways to reduce concussions
In an attempt to cut down on the head shots and concussion epidemic the ice hockey world is facing nowadays, the Western Hockey League (WHL) commissioner, Ron Robinson, called a meeting of all 22 franchise general managers on Tuesday, September 9, in order
to discuss the situation and devise a plan deal with the situation.
The meeting took place in Calgary.
"We realize that it's all about wins and losses, making the playoffs and having a championship-calibre team", Robison said. "That's what coaches are charged with."We have one more challenge we have to face. We need a correction. We've acknowledged we have
a problem and we have to address it. It's in the best interests of the game to do that".
For many who were attending the meeting, it was a first of its kind since they could not recall when such a high level, fully fledged arrangement was made in the past.
“This is the first time that I can remember all the GMs and all the coaches being in one place”, said Vancouver Giants GM Scott Bonner.
Firstly discussed was how the situation has become so far wide spread and not having heard of such problems in the past, why now? The reason being is that according to Robison, players are much more physically capable of hitting harder and have become stronger
since the game is a lot more fast paced then it used to be.
During the meeting, The Seven Point Plan was introduced which included aspects of the game which should be dealt in stronger ways along with changes that should be made immediately.
Planning out new playing rules was one of the heavily advocated points during the event, which included strict rule implementation and severe suspensions for players who are constantly penalised. It was also supported that players must be educated on the
situation and be taught how such incidents could and must be avoided through the use of educational videos.
Renewed safety standards with the player gear and ice rink arena surroundings are also in the pipeline, which could have a quite noticeable change with game-play next season.
Taking precautions and safety measures are the best possible ways of ensuring player wellbeing, but seeing if these steps actually produce results will be something these GMs anticipate.
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