QUEBEC -- The former captain of Canada's world junior hockey team will face criminal charges in addition to a suspension for a hit to an opposing player in January.

Annie-Claude Bergeron, a spokesman for the Crown prosecutor's office in Rouyn-Noranda, says Patrice Cormier has been charged with assault causing injury.

Cormier, a forward with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, will appear in court July 12. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Cormier was suspended for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs on Jan. 25 for an elbow to the jaw that sent Mikael Tam of the Quebec Remparts into convulsions on the ice.

An appeal was turned down by commissioner Gilles Courteau on Feb. 19, but the Huskies then asked for an independent arbitrator. That also failed, as arbitrator Jacques Sylvestre upheld the suspension.

Tam spent a night in hospital after the hit, but eventually was able to return to the ice and then was suspended himself for two games on March 8 for a hit from behind in a game against the Gatineau Olympiques.

I cannot disagree more.

Predatory headshots like that can and should be followed up with legal action. The use of the stick, or lack thereof, should not factor into anything.

What happens on the ice stays there. You want Cormier to be punished let him finish the game and he'll think twice before doing that again. Call me oldschool but I see no reason for this to be taken to court.

So, guys, if fighting was something that can be taken to the legal system, then you'd be all for it being out of hockey?

I've watched the hit. I don't know how many times, but I've watched it. The only thing that I catch every time is that they guy had his head up the whole time, therefore I can't make the excuse that his head was down, therefore, his own fault.

The way I see it, if you can't take somebody to court for fighting in a hockey game, then taking somebody to court for a vicious hit is kind of dumb.

So, guys, if fighting was something that can be taken to the legal system, then you'd be all for it being out of hockey?

I guess my thing against it is that you should always be expecting a hit, no matter how legal or illegal it is, in the game. Don't these players sign some sort of waiver, knowing that hockey is a dangerous game and anything can happen?

Listen, I get that the hit was illegal in the terms of the rules of the league, but I still don't see why the legal system should be involved. Sure, the guy was injured, but he obviously wasn't expecting a hit to begin with, which he should have been.

That's just my opinion, but by all means, if the law extends to the hockey rink, then I guess it is Cormier's fault.

What happens on the ice stays there. You want Cormier to be punished let him finish the game and he'll think twice before doing that again. Call me oldschool but I see no reason for this to be taken to court.