Concern about how Z has been handled

[SpikeDDS]

OK, I'm a healthcare provider, so maybe I'm a bit more concerned than the average guy might be, but frankly, how the Red Wings and Zetterberg have handled his recent "upper body injury" is a little disturbing to me.

 

Why are they not calling it what it is? Z got concussed. It's like they are afraid to say the word, when everybody KNOWS what he has. He is dealing with post-concussion symptoms.

 

I have appreciated the NHL's leadership amongst major sports in conceding and to some degree championing concussion management. And then the DRWs do this.

 

It's important that our young kids playing hockey be educated on concussions. Z could be a really good example for what to do and how to handle yourself, andyet he is not doing that. He and the Red Wings are pretending that he didn't have a concussion, which is BS!

 

Be honest, for the sake of the kids and parents watching. We'd better darn well be careful bringing him back. I want Z back in the game as soon as we can get him in, but more importantly I want him in the SCPs 100%, not like Franzen is, or anywhere close to where Franzen is. But we should be demonstrating the right way to bring him back, being honest about his condition, rather than this covert "don't say the C word" crap.

 

Lead by example!

 

Am I alone in my thoughts here?

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS

 

Teams try to hide the injury out of fear that a player on another team will attempt to re-injure the player when he returns in the same spot. That is why the absurd LBI or UBI have passed into the language of the game.

  I posted elsewhere once as to the absurdity of this, how someday some unfortunate player is going to be decapitated in a car accident and the team in their presser is going to announce that the player is going to be out for an indeterminate amount of time with an UBI. That is where it has come to. Absurd.

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

But one would THINK that because the league is going after head shots that teams wouldn't NEED to hide those.

Let me give you a for instance with Z here. I agree that Jamie Benn's actions on Z should have been looked at but not supplementally disciplined this time. However, if Z's injury had been identified as a concussion, that could be weighed into the matrix if Benn--or even anyone else--decides to go after Z's head again. But since he simply has an UBI, no. By NOT calling it what it is, it opens up the possibility for other players going after Z, rather than a potential deterrent. And here's the thing: EVERY PLAYER KNOWS that Z's head is injured, so if someone wants to try and damage him, does not saying it's a concussion protect him or make him more vulnerable?

I love this game. I love that it is a physical game, and I do like scrums, and do NOT want to see the game neutered. But there HAVE to be limits, and head injury is a big threat to players' careers, and to the game itself. I have been proud that the NHL, more than ANY other major sport, has openly decided to take steps to minimize head injuries in our sport, even despite the fundamental call to "let the boys play." I want that to be more than words. I want to see dedicated action and commitment for the protection of the game I love. I'm watching what is happening to the NFL right now, and I'm telling ya that a reckoning is coming. I don't want to see it hit hockey, because financially we will be unable to withstand the onslaught. The NFL has WAY more resources, and THEY might not be able to withstand the legal onslaught! Being proactive on this issue is the league's best option for long-term survival of both the league and its players.

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the leading franchises in this league, an original six, and respected for its continued high level of play. I call on the organization to get more serious about this issue for the sake of their players, the fans, and ultimately what could be their own necks.

[yave1964]

Agreed wholeheartedly and not just as a Wings fan but as a fan of the game. Very poignant and on point there Spike as usual.

[jammer2]

  If they release the fact he is concussed, teams will throw the puck into his location ie at his feet and smoke him into next week. It's just better for this type of thing to not be discussed in the media/public.

[WingNut722]

As little as is known about the dynamics of a concussion, I still think Z would certainly have undergone the whole battery of tests, and perhaps he's passed them all.  I don't see Ken Holland and the Red Wings organization hiding behind semantics on this one.  Holland has always been a proponent for player safety, so this would go against his very nature.  I would say that Z did not get hit hard enough to have a Concussion, per se, but that he merely, as they say in high school football, "just got his bell rung."  Nothing shows up in the tests, but he still has some after effects that need to wear off.

[SpikeDDS]

  If they release the fact he is concussed, teams will throw the puck into his location ie at his feet and smoke him into next week. It's just better for this type of thing to not be discussed in the media/public.

And you think they aren't going to do that now? I want what you're smoking. ;-P

 

See, I don't think it changes what teams will DO...yet. It will change what the league is ABLE to do, and once that is enforced, THAT will change what teams do for the betterment of the game.

[SpikeDDS]

@WingNut722

 

Then, with all due respect, you don't understand concussion. It doesn't have to be a hard hit. It can be a softer hit in the wrong vector that is just as potent.

 

Z's comments are EXACTLY what a concussion victim says: that he didn't feel 100%. That those first few days, he had a recurrence of feeling that way when he was on the bike. When a player like Z takes himself out of a game and says that, that is VERY significant, because he has shown his ability to play through stuff in the past, but either he was smart enough to pull himself out, or Van Zant was smart enough to keep him in the dressing room once the symptoms were known. And, to the Wings' credit, it appears they took him through the EXACT steps for how you bring back a player from concussion prior to letting him play again. Everything fits the concussion model here...EXCEPT for calling it what it is. And he's got a fellow player on the team to remind him about the consequences of coming back to hard or too soon can do. Franzen  continues to sit. The Wings can afford Franzen out. They cannot afford Z out.

 

I coach youth sports, and am trained on this stuff. I'm not JUST a dentist. You cannot look at the force of a hit only. The symptoms are what drives concussion management. He is at the very center of our franchise. The Wings should be doing everything they can to protect him...and it appears they are except for calling a spade a spade. Truth be told, more times than not, "getting your bell rung" is a mild concussion, and playing though it is often the WORST thing you can do. The NFL will learn this lesson the hard way. the NHL cannot afford to do that.

 

The scary part is that it is even WORSE for young kids than it is for adults. These guys need to lead by example for young players to see so that they don't make stupid mistakes that could end what could be otherwise promising careers. The biggest mistake a coach can make is playing a kid with a mild concussion, even without symptoms. Sometimes the symptoms don't show up for a day or two. Setting a professional example is what we should be doing, and for whatever reason, we are afraid to do it, and it's a shame.

 

THERE SHOULD BE NO SHAME IN ADMITTING Z GOT A CONCUSSION! NONE! There is no reason to not admit it other than denial, and that is more dangerous for Z, and thus for the Red Wings, as well as for the game.

[WingNut722]

@WingNut722

 

Then, with all due respect, you don't understand concussion. 

 

You're probably right, and I'll be the first to admit it.  But if it's all the same, and Z is going through the same concussion protocol as anyone else, then I can't understand what the difference is.  Is it simply in admitting your Captain and star has demonstrated vulnerability?  I guess I'm just really confused about it now....

[SpikeDDS]

@WingNut722

 

I get what you're saying. And the REASON you feel that way is BECAUSE teams aren't committed to how serious this can be and demonstrate it. If they did, you wouldn't be confused at all. You'd KNOW that Z had a concussion, and is being properly prepared to return to the game, and that the league acknowledges that. And if someone is to intentionally go after his head to try and damage him in the future, supplemental discipline would have grounds to come down appropriately hard on that player. Now...it'll be confusing. And you're illustrating that confusion perfectly. Does he have a history of head injury/concussion, or is he just "not a hockey player?" Anyone who knows Z and/or has watched him play knows the answer to that question. It SHOULD be clear, but it's not. It will only be clear once the league has the courage to deal with this issue, pardon the pun, head-on.

[WingNut722]

@SpikeDDS

 

Perhaps, but it's not like there was a previous incident that was handled improperly.  Look at Crosby -- star forward and captain of this team.  Suffered a concussion and was out for the prescribed period of time until he was fully cleared to play.  Now he's back where he was, near the top of league.  I just don't see the benefit in doing what the Wings are doing.  Where is the benefit to NOT calling it a concussion?

[SpikeDDS]

That's exactly my point, @WingNut722. There IS no benefit to what they are doing...and yet they are doing it. I surmise it is due to fear. Fear, that he will be labeled "vulnerable." Truth is, he may BE vulnerable. So why not say it and give the league what it needs to deal with any future accostals if and when they might happen?

 

If, by asking this question, you are insinuating that my assessment about him having a concussion is mistaken, and that his head injury is "other," I would say that this "other" head injury shows the exact same symptoms of concussion, and the EXACT same pattern of post-trauma behavior, and is being treated in the EXACT same manner. Combine that with the fears associated with this condition and its perceptions, you've got a tough case to make for that. If it looks like a fish, and smells like a fish...

[WingNut722]

@SpikeDDS

 

No, you've clearly demonstrated you have more working knowledge about the ins and outs of concussions than I do, so I will certainly defer.  You and I are both arguing the same point in that if all things being equal, Z has a concussion and they should own up to that.  I'm just trying to wrap my head around they why not, and having a devil's advocate approach usually helps me in that regard.  Right or wrong, I'm looking to find the reasoning.

[SpikeDDS]

Well, for you or anyone else who wants very basic "what you need to know" when it comes to what you should know as a parent or coach about the practical recommendations for dealing with concussion, here is a link to the educational module which our soccer league makes all coaches complete:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/HeadsUp/providers/training/index.html

 

Warning: The dramatizations are not exactly Oscar-winning performances, which may tempt you to dismiss the message. Don't.

 

Warning: They err on the side of caution, but remember that concussions are WORSE in kids than they are in adults. They do more damage, it takes less to get a concussion in a kid, and it takes longer to recover from a concussion as a kid, so even though it is designed to err on the side of overkill, it's still correct in spirit and especially in application to kids' sports.

 

I would encourage anyone who wants to understand the principles behind management of traumatic brain injury (TBI) i.e. concussion as well as to understand the signs and symptoms to look for to watch the module. You'll likely learn something.

 

Having said that, I realize that the trauma they illustrate here is nowhere close to the trauma seen in a typical NHL hockey game, so it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. A large grain of salt, perhaps. I don't want "bumping" to become a 2 minute penalty which is what the videos seems to suggest. But remember that kids (and some hockey players will act just like kids about this stuff) don't really understand the consequences of TBI, and will try to play through them even when they shouldn't, and it is pertinent that kids are more prone to getting them with less traumatic events than adults typically are. So don't necessarily swallow the alarmism, but educate yourself on the signs and symptoms and management so you understand.

 

Hope this helps someone, despite the canned presentation.