no i agree completely. i just misused the word. my bad.

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Meh, wouldn't totally call it a misuse. The word is bantered about quite a bit. Not that big a deal.

That picture doesn't prove a thing. That angle makes contact to the head a POSSIBILITY, nothing more. if this were a football review, the call would stand, as the photo is inconclusive. Imo, the guys head snapped from the contact, and not because the head was hit. Whatever, just more bs to mull over. If these guys start protecting themselves like they're supposed to, there would be tons less injuries. Flipping a puck in(or making a pass), and watching it instead of watching for the hit is the players own fault. Maybe the league needs MOAR hitting, which will lead them to admire their work less, and pay attention more(which is the intention of hitting in the 1st place). If I'm not careful crossing the street, and get hit, it's my fault, so why is it Kassian's fault this guy wasn't careful? If you want to claim late hit, then my stance changes, but not much. He still should have had his head on a swivel for a second after he moves the puck. That's just common sense.

That, there, is what's wrong with hockey today.

JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT LOOKING AND JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE YOUR HEAD DOWN DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD GET HIT IN THE HEAD. IF YOU SEE A GUY AND HE DOES NOT SEE YOU THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO RAM HIS HEAD AND MAKE A PLAY THAT CAN POTENTIALLY INJURE SOMEONE AND EVEN END THEIR CAREER.

I shouldn't have to be cautious of someone ramming themselves into my head and taking me out on a stretcher.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

Shouldn't you be able to show that it's a head shot before you assume the hit is a dirty head-shot? I'd never condone any cheap head-hunting shot, but this isn't one. I think everyone has admitted that Kassian MAY have caught a little bit of the kid's chin. I can see a long suspension for anyone who carelessly makes contact with the head, or worse yet, purposely does it. If every hit is going to be interpreted by some shit angle photo which might almost show evidence, then that's ridiculous. Basically, people are hating on Zach for this, and that's unfair to him. If that kid kept his head up, none of this would have happened.

I'm not saying this is a head hunt, but I'm saying if you're blaming the guy who got hit for not looking out for Kassian then you are an ass clown.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

Whether or not that kid's head was up has nothing to do with this, daz. Kassian is bigger and stronger than 99% of the players on the ice and the onus is on him to make sure he hits a guy where he's sure it's gonna be clean. Was he headhunting? No, the contact with his chin was incidental. But Kassian knows better than most in the 2011 WJC that ANY contact above the shoulders is gonna get his ass in hot water in junior hockey.

Also, Kassian shouldn't have even made that hit by virtue of the fact that it was blatant interference, much less contact to the head or neck area.

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mechaphil

I know what you're saying, but it kind of leaves hitting in a big, grey area. IIHF can screw off, but the NHL players can, and will abuse this just like they do obstruction(diving). We already have questions over whether the players are turning their backs, and now we can assume they will be ducking down a little to get the 5 min, and misconduct, too. I've never been a fan of zero tolerance on ANYTHING, because ALL circumstances are different. If they want to call the hit dirty by interference, then fine, I'm on board, but circulating photos to paint Kassian as a head hunter is bs. This kid may be finished before he's even started, and only because he plays the game the old school, hard-nosed way. That's a shame, because all the diving, faking douchebags will still be on the highlight reels.

He wasn't headhunting, and anyone who calls it headhunting needs to STFU. He didn't aim his hit carefully enough and caught the kid's chin. But do you really believe your own words that the kid (who never saw Kassian coming) ducked his head down in order to draw a penalty? You sound like an idiot.

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mechaphil

No, I didn't mean that. I meant you might begin to see that happening in NHL games to draw big penalties. Be great if a team makes the playoffs on one of those calls, won't it? That kid certainly didn't deserve that hit, but he(and all players) has to remember when guys like Kassian are on the ice. Sometimes in the heat of battle, a late hit doesn't seem that late to a hitter. Just be aware, and it may save your ass some day.

btw, he MAY have caught the kids chin. There's no way to be positive. Besides, the damage was done by the head-snapping from the jolt, not the phantom contact to the chin.

I know you follow the media and boards, Phil, so I know you know people are calling it dirty, and that Kassian is garbage.

I understand the importance of keeping players safe and that my opinion on this matter is controversial, but I'll say it anyways:

It's frustrating to see a player get penalized so severely for playing the body because the guy he hit wasn't keeping his head up.

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Wheelhouse

I'm a huge Kassian fan (I came up with the nickname BZK after all) and I'm a huge fan of explosive hits, but call a spade a spade - he hit Senkerik in the jaw. It wasn't intentional at all, but it happened. Kassian could've bent over two more inches and he probably would've blown him up even more, but he wouldn't have hit the head and this discussion wouldn't be happening. This is on Kassian for knowing he was aiming high and hitting anyways.


Playing the body? Dude didn't even have the puck...hell, his teammate was passing it to another when the hit happened! You don't play the body on a guy miles from the puck, period. This is 1,000% on Kassian for hitting a guy blindside without the puck in a grey area. No buts. Also, Senkerik is 5'11 and Kassian is 6'3"...of course his head is gonna be in the region of BZK's shoulders.

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mechaphil

If kassian want to destroy him he would have done what he did to the Kennedy guy in Barrie.


Now that hit was a head hunting hit


Anyways, Canada is in tough against the Swedes especially if they play with the lineup they had against Norway.

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just call me Brad

Twitter @BUrbanowicz13

That reminds me of yet another thing EVERY player can do to protect himself. Tighten your chin strap, it could save your brain, ffs. Why in the fuck doesn't a league that's so worried about the perception of the safety of its players not take the simplest steps to protect them.

Yeah, snug fitting chin-straps need to be a regulation.

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mechaphil

Sorry but you sound just like Pierre Maguire












All kidding aside in the OHL they give out penalties for not wearing your equipment properly, so maybe elsewhere they should do this.

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just call me Brad

Twitter @BUrbanowicz13

He got the extra game because of his rep.

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Both Russia and Norge came out for warm-ups in their white jerseys

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mechaphil

I wonder who's to blame for the mix up in the jersey department with Norway and Russia. Still funny though, haha.

I'm going to my third game tomorrow (the previous being Slovakia/Germany and then the Canada/Norway game yesterday). Finland/Slovakia, and I'm excited for it. Even purchased a viking helmet for the game since I'm a weirdo and going all out for it since I think it'll be the last one I'm attending.

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Usa up 3-0 on Germany.

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