As hockey playoffs get underway, a Penticton business owner believes he has a winning idea to improve safety in the league.
Mike Sproule, owner of Capital Glass, was watching the game the night Montreal Canadien’s Max Pacioretty suffered a broken vertebrae and serious concussion after being slammed into a glass partition by Boston’s Zdeno Chara.
Sproule sketched a re-design of the glass sections at the player’s benches where there is currently a 90 degree corner held there by a solid post.
His design would make those sections curved and would include shock absorbers that allow it to move when a player hits it.
Sproule says the curved glass would automatically deflect the player back into the playing surface.
His idea is currently being looked at by the safety engineers at the NHL.
If they like his idea, Sproule will fly to New York to meet with officials and start working on a prototype.
He has also applied for a patent on his arena glass design.
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