INJURIES AND DEATH
The Honest Critic
Brutal Hits cause injuries and death. Here are just three stories from the
past week, two Junior (one OHL) and one Bantam.
Death.
An autopsy has determined junior hockey player Tim Jardine suffered a
rupured spleen when he became ill on the bench during the first period of a
Sunday night game.
Jardine, 19, became ill after playing only two shifts for the Grandview
Steelers of the Pacific International Hockey League.
He died of cardiac arrest while being transfered by ambulance to hospital
from an east end arena.
Jardine had told a trainer he had been hit in the stomach with a stick
(spearing) during a collision with a player from the opposition Richmond
Sockeyes.
A Grandview official said Jardine missed practice last week because he
was ill. Both teams were told of his death following the game.
Ruptured Spleen
Frankie Wedd, 14 year old defenceman for a AAA Bantam team from
Nanaimo, BC nearly bled to death following a vicious butt end jab of a
hockey stick during a league game against Comox.
Wedd was about to go around an opponent when he felt the spear in his
side. "I took about two strides and then it felt like something in my
stomach
just blew up."
Initially believing he was just winded Wedd sat on the bench for a while,
then went to the dressing room to wait out the pain. By the end of the
second period with worse pain and light headedness the boys father drove
him to the hospital.
An ultrasound test revealed that half the boys blood had drained into his
abdominal cavity. In a few more hours he'd have bled to death. Doctors
who performed surgery to save the boy said it was the most vicious hockey
injury they'd ever seen.
(This is what the kids are learning from the likes of Brett Lindros. Try to
kill
the opposition.)
OHL Player on indefinite suspension.
North Bay Centennials defenseman Steve McLaren awaits news of his fate
after being suspended for a brutal hit from behind that left Ottawa player
Jure Kovacevic in hospital with fractured spinal vertabrae and broken ribs.
McLaren, an overager has likely finished his OHL career with that hit.
Kovacevic is not expected to play hockey again.
McLaren, the North Bay tough guy, had established a reputation for being a
very dirty player, even by OHL standards. Now that he has ruined another
players career and life the league may take action to see that he doesn't
have that opportunity again.
A reasonable trade by OHL standards, McLaren rocks, then walks,
Kovacevic rolls (in a wheelchair).
posted anonymously to protect the innocent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
To find out more about the anon service, send mail to he...@anon.penet.fi.
Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized,
and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned.
Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to ad...@anon.penet.fi.
Craig Brown
:
: Brutal Hits cause injuries and death. Here are just three stories from the
: past week, two Junior (one OHL) and one Bantam.
:
: Death.
: An autopsy has determined junior hockey player Tim Jardine suffered a
: rupured spleen when he became ill on the bench during the first period of a
: Sunday night game.
: Jardine, 19, became ill after playing only two shifts for the Grandview
: Steelers of the Pacific International Hockey League.
: He died of cardiac arrest while being transfered by ambulance to hospital
: from an east end arena.
: Jardine had told a trainer he had been hit in the stomach with a stick
: (spearing) during a collision with a player from the opposition Richmond
: Sockeyes.
: A Grandview official said Jardine missed practice last week because he
: was ill. Both teams were told of his death following the game.
The death of Tim Jardine was indeed tragic.
However, the description above differs from what was reported in Vancouver
newspapers. According to the December 6, 1994 issue of the Vancouver
Province, Tim said to a trainer "I'm winded. I got hit with a stick."
There is no mention of a "spear" anywhere in the article. His father,
Greg Jardine, who was in the stands watching the game was quoted to have
said: "At this point they don't know exactly what it was that took his
life. I have no problem with any of the actions of any of the players.
Tim threw a nice check. It was one of the nicest checks I've seen him
throw. He went down on one knee in the corner. And then he got up and
skated away on his own steam and went back to the bench." Tim died enroute
to the hospital.
It was later revealed that he died of a ruptured spleen. The previous
post made this incident sound like a deliberate, malicious action. I am
merely passing along the facts as they were reported here in Vancouver,
where the incident occurred.
There is always a risk of injury when playing sports. This incident is
a sobering reminder of just how grave these injuries can be.
Craig.
Hockey player who is aware of the risks of playing sports.
ST3...@vm.cc.latech.edu
LA. It was mentioned that the atlete who died was ill at the time of the conte
st (Tim). It is well known that an athlete competeing with mononucleosis (mono)
can be severely injured due to an enlarged spleen. I do not know if this was th
e case but it is a possibility based on what I have read.