MONTREAL – Every weekday afternoon, a group of John Rennie High School students practice their skills on the ice at Bob Birnie Arena in Pointe-Claire.
They’re working towards the next level of professional hockey – the Juniors, Europe, even the NHL.
But this week Hockey Quebec, the federation that governs amateur hockey in the province, announced a new rule to forbid body-checking for some players between the ages of 13 and 17 at the Bantam and Midget levels.
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“Our goal, our job, is to prepare these kids for that next level,” said coach Eric Lecompte.
“If you ask me if we should take contact out of the game, I’d say ‘no’ right away. NHL has contact, junior hockey has contact.”
But Hockey Quebec says they’re making these changes for one reason.
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“The number one objective is player safety,” said Paul Menard, Director of Player Development at Hockey Quebec.
Officials say they’re seeing a rise in head injuries – especially concussions.
“Two players will go for the puck and will bump going for the puck, that’s OK as long as they are in pursuit of the puck,” said Menard.
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Debbie Friedman, Trauma Director at the Montreal Children’s Hospital points out head injuries could be one of the reasons why enrollment in amateur hockey is down in Quebec.
“In our emergency department, we see well over 700 hockey related injuries of all ages,” she said.
“Probably about 80 per cent are in the 12 to 18 age group and close to 35 per cent would be concussions.”
The rule changes kick in next season, affecting close to 4,000 players.
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