Life threatening OHL hit

**DrJones** · 11-05-2009, 01:28 AM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Originally posted by BlueNGold

Surprised there isn't a thread on this.

This happened on Friday night during an OHL game. Scary, scary hit. Ben Fanelli (the guy that got hit) has a fractured skull, face lacerations and fractured orbital bone and is still in the hospital.

Mike Liambas (the one that made the hit) got suspended for the entire season plus playoffs and his major junior career is over.

Fanelli is a 16 year old and Liambas is 20.

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http://tsn.ca/chl/story/?id=297187

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Pretty ordinary hit (perhaps a boarding minor) with a horribly unlucky result. If that's worthy of a season-long suspension, so are 80% of all body checks.

**Scottdau** · 11-05-2009, 01:31 AM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

I blame it to the fact he is 16 years old. The body is still growing and he is noway as strong as the guys he is going up against.

**BlueNGold** · 11-05-2009, 03:06 AM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Originally posted by DrJones

Pretty ordinary hit (perhaps a boarding minor) with a horribly unlucky result. If that's worthy of a season-long suspension, so are 80% of all body checks.

I agree. The outcome of the hit was obviously a horrible thing. To me it looked like Liambas had him lined up perfectly behind the net but the guy turned his back at the last second which is why the end result of the hit was what it was. Liambas was only doing what every hockey player is taught and that's to finish your check.

I think the reason it was a season long suspension was to send a message though. Whether that was the right thing to do, I don't know but that is what it seems like to me. I think it'll also put more pressure on the NHL to do something when it comes to this kind of thing.

**DrJones** · 11-05-2009, 06:12 AM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Originally posted by BlueNGold

I agree. The outcome of the hit was obviously a horrible thing. To me it looked like Liambas had him lined up perfectly behind the net but the guy turned his back at the last second which is why the end result of the hit was what it was. Liambas was only doing what every hockey player is taught and that's to finish your check.

I think the reason it was a season long suspension was to send a message though. Whether that was the right thing to do, I don't know but that is what it seems like to me. I think it'll also put more pressure on the NHL to do something when it comes to this kind of thing.

But what's the message? Don't body check anymore? Unlike a lot of the NHL big hits this year (Richards, etc.), there was no intent to injure, no head shot, no elbow used. The kid did nothing wrong, so what are other players going to learn from this? What injuries are going to be prevented by this suspension? There's no way a junior player is going to look at that play and think, "Yup, I'm never going to finish my check on a defenceman holding the puck near the boards ever again. Too risky." It's a PR move by the OHL, nothing more.

**Cusefan** · 11-05-2009, 10:14 AM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Originally posted by Scottdau

I blame it to the fact he is 16 years old. The body is still growing and he is noway as strong as the guys he is going up against.

Totally agree, for all intents and purposes they are playing Professional Hockey and that is something a 16 year old should not be doing. You do not see 16 year olds going up against 20 year olds in football for a reason...

**tyler289** · 11-05-2009, 12:46 PM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

This is one of those cases where they considered the injury that resulted and not the hit itself.

Also, I believe the guy that hit his is known as a goon, which may have factored in..

**SPTO** · 11-05-2009, 01:04 PM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Did any of my Canadian friends here catch the TSN NHL panel talking about this? What a bunch of jokers! Bob Clarke called the suspension ridiculous and that Jones guy (I forget his first name) defended the hit and more or less called it unfortunate because all the guy was trying to do was change the momentum of the game. He then has the balls to say it was a terrible suspension. The only guy who made any sense was Bob Mckenzie who applauded David Branch's ruling calling it a brave ruling on his part.

These idiots don't realize that it was a 16 year old that got pulverized out there. I know 16 year olds are a lot better equipped then they were 10 years ago but it's distasteful that some 20 year old would go and bash in a kid in a vulnerable position like that. We're dealing with a minor here, not some veteran NHL player who would most likely not be in the position to get hit like that.

Branch has a duty to look after his players and when it comes to minors he has to be a bit more harsh because he isn't only working under the demands of his owners and such but also to the parents that entrust him and the league to make sure their kids don't get turned to mush.

OTOH Nick Kypreos of all people from Sportsnet had the right take on this and made the same point i'm making here. This was one of the few times where a Sportsnet guy made more sense then a TSN guy on hockey matters.

**WazzuRC** · 11-05-2009, 01:47 PM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Originally posted by SPTO

Did any of
These idiots don't realize that it was a 16 year old that got pulverized out there. I know 16 year olds are a lot better equipped then they were 10 years ago but it's distasteful that some 20 year old would go and bash in a kid in a vulnerable position like that. We're dealing with a minor here, not some veteran NHL player who would most likely not be in the position to get hit like that.

What was the guy supposed to do? Lightly tap him on the shoulder? If the guy that got hit was 19, would you have the same opinion? I think it speaks more against the league that you have 20 year olds going against 16 years olds than the two players. Blame the league, not the player.

The kid wasn't vulnerable. He turned his body at the last minute. If he's not against the boards, it's a big hit, but nothing out of the ordinary. The fact that the hit was so bad was because the guy was against the boards, turned his body at the last minute, and his face went to the boards.

**sb24** · 11-05-2009, 01:50 PM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Originally posted by SPTO

Did any of my Canadian friends here catch the TSN NHL panel talking about this? What a bunch of jokers! Bob Clarke called the suspension ridiculous and that Jones guy (I forget his first name) defended the hit and more or less called it unfortunate because all the guy was trying to do was change the momentum of the game. He then has the balls to say it was a terrible suspension. The only guy who made any sense was Bob Mckenzie who applauded David Branch's ruling calling it a brave ruling on his part.

These idiots don't realize that it was a 16 year old that got pulverized out there. I know 16 year olds are a lot better equipped then they were 10 years ago but it's distasteful that some 20 year old would go and bash in a kid in a vulnerable position like that. We're dealing with a minor here, not some veteran NHL player who would most likely not be in the position to get hit like that.

Branch has a duty to look after his players and when it comes to minors he has to be a bit more harsh because he isn't only working under the demands of his owners and such but also to the parents that entrust him and the league to make sure their kids don't get turned to mush.

OTOH Nick Kypreos of all people from Sportsnet had the right take on this and made the same point i'm making here. This was one of the few times where a Sportsnet guy made more sense then a TSN guy on hockey matters.

So what did the guy do wrong to deserve the suspension? I agree the 16 yr old shouldnt have been out there. I dont want to act like i know hockey well but that seemed like a clean hit that didnt go well.

**SPTO** · 11-05-2009, 02:20 PM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Originally posted by WazzuRC

What was the guy supposed to do? Lightly tap him on the shoulder? If the guy that got hit was 19, would you have the same opinion? I think it speaks more against the league that you have 20 year olds going against 16 years olds than the two players. Blame the league, not the player.

The kid wasn't vulnerable. He turned his body at the last minute. If he's not against the boards, it's a big hit, but nothing out of the ordinary. The fact that the hit was so bad was because the guy was against the boards, turned his body at the last minute, and his face went to the boards.

I think it's more due to the intention rather then the severity of the hit. Let's face it the kid was gonna get his bell rung even if he was properly positioned. There's very little respect for players out there on the ice and that was an unfortunate example of it.

**yankeesgiants** · 11-05-2009, 02:33 PM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

First off, why is a 175 pound child out there with a man? There is 4 years and a 25 pound weight difference between the players, it's a disaster waiting to happen. This is a sophmore in high school playing against a junior in college. why would any league allow this? All the commish is trying to do is CYA at the expense of a player which is not right. 20 year olds dont belong on the ice with 16 year olds period! This is a case of a commish penalizing result over intent.

**SPTO** · 11-05-2009, 02:35 PM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Originally posted by yankeesgiants

First off, why is a 175 pound child out there with a man? There is 4 years and a 25 pound weight difference between the players, it's a disaster waiting to happen. This is a sophmore in high school playing against a junior in college. why would any league allow this? All the commish is trying to do is CYA at the expense of a player which is not right. 20 year olds dont belong on the ice with 16 year olds period! This is a case of a commish penalizing result over intent.

Well it's an issue whereby you have an over age (the 20 yr old) and an underage player (16) on the ice at the same time. The OHL has a cap on 16 year olds at 3 per team. I have a feeling that there's going to be some careful scrutiny of the age rules in junior hockey or at least there should be.

**DrJones** · 11-06-2009, 03:26 AM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Originally posted by SPTO

I think it's more due to the intention rather then the severity of the hit. Let's face it the kid was gonna get his bell rung even if he was properly positioned. There's very little respect for players out there on the ice and that was an unfortunate example of it.

I call BS. The suspension had EVERYTHING to do with the result and nothing to do with the intention. The kid had the puck and turned his back at the last second. It was a clean, shoulder-to-shoulder hit.

**Money99** · 11-06-2009, 11:53 AM

Re: Life threatening OHL hit

Originally posted by SPTO

Did any of my Canadian friends here catch the TSN NHL panel talking about this? What a bunch of jokers! Bob Clarke called the suspension ridiculous and that Jones guy (I forget his first name) defended the hit and more or less called it unfortunate because all the guy was trying to do was change the momentum of the game. He then has the balls to say it was a terrible suspension. The only guy who made any sense was Bob Mckenzie who applauded David Branch's ruling calling it a brave ruling on his part.

These idiots don't realize that it was a 16 year old that got pulverized out there. I know 16 year olds are a lot better equipped then they were 10 years ago but it's distasteful that some 20 year old would go and bash in a kid in a vulnerable position like that. We're dealing with a minor here, not some veteran NHL player who would most likely not be in the position to get hit like that.

Branch has a duty to look after his players and when it comes to minors he has to be a bit more harsh because he isn't only working under the demands of his owners and such but also to the parents that entrust him and the league to make sure their kids don't get turned to mush.

OTOH Nick Kypreos of all people from Sportsnet had the right take on this and made the same point i'm making here. This was one of the few times where a Sportsnet guy made more sense then a TSN guy on hockey matters.

Looks like we're in the minority here SPTO, but I agree whole-heartedly with you.
The point Branch is making is that players have to be accountable to one-another out there.
Just because it's in your right to cream someone and the opportunity is there, doesn't always mean you should do it - at least not 100%.
As the equipment gets bigger and harder, players think they're invincible.

I also agree that Major Junior is no place for anyone under 18.
These kids should be allowed to finish high-school at home and then move on to major junior.
For some of these kids, the difference between 16 and 20 is 4" and 30 pounds. Not to mention experience in how to avoid dangerous plays.

We forget sometimes that the CHL is a league for KIDS. Protection is needed because most teenagers don't have a clue what restraint is or how to employ it.

Life threatening OHL hit

Life threatening OHL hit

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