Hundreds of people converged on Centennial Hall Wednesday night for the opportunity to rub elbows with local sports celebrities and lose a bit of cash for a good cause.
Logan Couture’s “All-in for Brain Research” charity casino fundraiser held its inaugural event last night at Centennial Hall featuring many of the celebrities in attendance at See the Line Wednesday.
The annual symposium, dedicated to raising awareness surrounding concussions and brain trauma, featured celebrities like Eric Lindros and Hayley Wickenheiser this year.
Couture suffered extensive injuries when he was struck in the face with a slapshot in March but was fortunate that it didn’t result in a concussion. The San Jose Shark’s player admits that injuries are unavoidable but it’s imperative for players to exercise good judgment.
“If you’re thinking about getting hurt playing hockey then you’re going to get hurt so you just gotta go out there and play the game and have fun and whatever happens, I guess, happens but you definitely need to look after yourself.”
The amount of money raised at the event has yet to be announced and all of the funds will be split evenly between the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic and concussion research at Western University.
Couture is personally invested in the cause after suffering multiple concussions as an OHL player with the Ottawa 67’s.
“You know in this day and age it’s something that’s obviously talked about through social media and players talk about it amongst themselves so it’s something that they understand, it’s big in contact sports and we want to look after each other.”
According to Couture, one of the most serious aspects of brain trauma in sports is how it affects kids who go undiagnosed or return too quickly after suffering brain trauma.