Is CTE a Huge problem in the NHL?

[BritishGuy]

There has been a lot made about CTE in the media in the USA, some of that is now starting to percolate into the NHL. 
 

As a consequence there have been a string of documentaries about CTE in hockey. First is The NHL’s deadly denial by the Atlantic; 

 

 

The documentary implies that Todd Ewen had CTE which was ignored by a corrupt Doctor Lili-Naz Hazrati who was in the NHL’s back pocket. He was diagnosed eventually post mortem by Dr Anne McKee who found CTE in his brain. It is implied in the documentary that the CTE was the cause of his suicide. 
 

Counter video here that addresses important details in the case that were missed out by the Atlantic; 

 

 

Firstly Dr Lili-Naz Hazrati sent to 6 other Neuropathologists who all couldn’t find CTE before it was found by CTE. 
 

Secondly CTE is a subjective diagnosis, it is at the discretion of the Doctor how much of the active ingredient (phosphorylated tau) needs to be seen for it to be deemed clinically significant. 
 

Thirdly Dr Lil-Naz Hazrati has been cautioning against CTE miss self diagnosis before the Ewen case. She had been contacted by an individual who had miss self diagnosed with CTE whilst instead having a treatable case of Vasculitis. They committed suicide believing their condition was only going to get worse. 
 

A third documentary focuses on Derek Boogaard; 

 

 

 

There are others out there. 
 

So do you think CTE is being overhyped by the media? Or do you think fighting should be banned to cut back on the dangers of this brain disease?

[brelic]

I think it's par for the modern course. 

 

Times are changing in every aspect. Hitting is down, abusive coaches are being called out, fighting is on its way out (the stats on the decline are stark), players openly talk about their mental health. 

 

I'm not a big media consumer. I basically read the New York Times, and my local CBC. Anything outside of that, for me, is just noise. So I can't comment on the "overhype" aspect because I haven't noticed it. 

 

All in all, more awareness and action is a good thing.

 

Long gone are the days where a woozy Lindros, who tells the assistant coach that he is feeling dizzy and his vision is yellow, is told to suck it up and just go out and play. 

 

He almost died a few hours later in a tub with a collapsed lung.

 

 

[WordsOfWisdom]

1 hour ago, brelic said:

Times are changing in every aspect. Hitting is down, abusive coaches are being called out, fighting is on its way out (the stats on the decline are stark), players openly talk about their mental health.

 

The fighting has always been a side show in the NHL. Something that had no place in the game. But having hitting in hockey is like having hitting in the NFL: that's the nature of the game.   

 

I feel like society today is so over-coddled that we're producing the most inept generation of humans to have ever existed, but maybe that's just me.   

 

 

 

 

 

[mojo1917]

4 hours ago, BritishGuy said:

So do you think CTE is being overhyped by the media? Or do you think fighting should be banned to cut back on the dangers of this brain disease?

I think it is a new area of research.

Any diagnosis of CTE that isn't from an autopsy is still mostly a guess. 

I have never been a fan of the staged fights, and the way the schedules are made means the NHL no longer has home & home games for players to get sick of one another.

That said I don't mind when a guy sticks up for himself when an opponent is getting careless with his stick or elbows.

I think targeting a guy's head is wrong, I think drilling a guy into the boards when his back is to you is wrong too.

The game is a contact sport played at high speed in a confined area, there will be collisions. 

I think there is inherent risks in playing contact sports.

If there are rules and technology that can limit head trauma they should be applied so the injuries that lead to CTE are lessened. 

[ruxpin]

2 hours ago, WordsOfWisdom said:

The fighting has always been a side show in the NHL.

 

Puss.  

[ruxpin]

4 hours ago, brelic said:

Anything outside of that, for me, is just noise. So I can't comment on the "overhype" aspect because I haven't noticed it. 

 

It's so hyped that I had to Google it to figure out what it was.  And I do actually consume a fair amount of news.

[BritishGuy]

1 hour ago, ruxpin said:

 

It's so hyped that I had to Google it to figure out what it was.  And I do actually consume a fair amount of news.

I think that’s where the region you are from becomes an issue and what your news sources are. 

[ruxpin]

4 hours ago, BritishGuy said:

I think that’s where the region you are from becomes an issue and what your news sources are. 

 

Well, national sources.   Not local.

NYT,  WaPo, HuffPost, etc. I don't think it has anything to do with region.

 

Might have to do with my not paying enough attention to the subject, though.  So, thanks for the topic!

Edited December 21, 2019 by ruxpin