Many hockey players play with their health in a strange way, writes journalist Jussi Paasi.
Sorry for the harsh title. I could not resist the temptation. The title is really tasteless, but every word of it is true.
In this humble way, even accompanied by two exclamation points, I wanted to draw as much attention as possible to something that should not be ignored.
No, there is no boy’s calendar made by scumbags.
But let’s face it, you can find that in the hockey SM league! And it’s terrifying to watch.
My eyes were opened once and for all when the former hockey player, current expert Top Nättinen emptied his verbal coffin at Puhe’s Ice Hockey tour.
The broadcast’s theme, hockey players’ equipment, was sparked by two recent gruesome injuries that could have been prevented with the right equipment.
Tapparan Walter Merelä received a skate cut on his wrist in the Leijonien EHT match. In the NHL, the same happened to the Edmonton Oilers To Evander Kane.
Nättinen revealed that he himself jumped into the rink in his career with equipment that was inadequate from a player’s safety point of view. He knew that a skate cut could come in the exact spot he left unprotected for style and comfort reasons.
Many puck players modify their shields. For example, a certain part of the playing gloves can be cut off so that the hands are freer to handle the racket. Many other guards are also tuned, if necessary, so that playing feels as light as possible.
Ice hockey is a mercilessly heavy and demanding sport, where you try to eliminate even the smallest distractions. For someone unfamiliar with the sport, this can be impossible to understand.
Style is – like Nättinen – important to many hockey fans. I understand that well, as I am an incurable hockey romantic. I love all the aesthetic elements of the sport, including the aspects related to the equipment and the certain way of carrying it.
Still, a jersey wrapped under the elbow pads and a long piece of bare surface at the wrist makes my back hurt. When a skate hits it in some unfortunate situation, then…
A few players (fortunately, only a few!) venture to the rink in the SM league even without underpads, i.e. egg guards. They say they extort money. I don’t even want to imagine what it would feel like to get hit hard right there.
Changes to the rules immediately
How on earth can the desire for comfort override health? Anyone who takes a conscious risk by tampering with their gear or refusing certain protections should ask themselves that.
Fortunately, due to the latest bloody injuries, at least some of the hockey players have finally started using wrist guards. The Lion King Even Jukka Jalon already had time to crash (you switch to another service) for them. Since then, the trade in cut guards has been brisk.
Equipment has developed at a breakneck speed in recent years. They are lighter and better in every way than ever before. Of course, even the right equipment does not prevent everything.
Serious injuries can happen in ice hockey, even if the playing equipment is perfect. The evolution of the sport pushes the players faster all the time. The speeds in the rink increase, the collisions get harder, surprising situations come up even faster.
I don’t want to point fingers at individual players who are still playing with their health. The purpose of this comment is not to start any witch hunts against them. As Nättinen underlined at the Ice Hockey Tour, everyone knows the risks of playing. And then answer them yourself.
What I wish for – I demand! – is that cut guards and all possible guards that help prevent serious injuries are recorded in the hockey rules as mandatory equipment without which there is no point in the rink. This must be done immediately.
And when all players will learn to use equipment that now seems awkward from the junior age, no one will even know what it feels like to play without wrist guards.
The bare surface does not belong to the trough.
PS Sorry again about that title!
What thoughts did the writing evoke? You can discuss the topic until Friday 25 November. until 11 p.m. Commenting requires a ID.