I didn't think Boulerice was allowed to play outside the US

[mrusse01 0]

So despite the "crackdown" on head shots, he got exactly the same penalty as a guy who committed a similar act last year. I guess they aren't really serious about it.

I take it you find this surprising? The discipline handed down in the NHL has been and continues to be a joke. They 'crackdown' on something new ever year. This lack of consistency undermines the integrity of the league.

He should have been gone for at least a year, and if they really wanted to send a message, for good.

[mrusse01 0]

this is stupid. i can't believe he only got 25 games... He should face criminal charges. Attacking someone with a weapon (in this case, a stick)is NOT part of the game, nor is it legal. If a group of guys were playing a pick up game and someone did this and seriously hurt someone else, they'd definately end up with some kind of criminal charge, especially if the person gave someone convulsions in the past due to a similar incident.

No he shouldn't.

What he did, while vile in the hockey world, is still a part of that world. It's not like it is something completely crazy that came out of nowhere, it was a crosscheck to the head.

Bringing the law into cases like this is almost always an error in judgement in my opinion.

[DarkStar50 679]

I agree that now they are setting a standard of 20-25 games for a headshot. Let's see if the same guys are dumb enough to do it again. They now know they are looking at 25+ if they try it another time. There goes half the season. There goes half their salary.

[Chadd 916]

So despite the "crackdown" on head shots, he got exactly the same penalty as a guy who committed a similar act last year. I guess they aren't really serious about it.

I take it you find this surprising? The discipline handed down in the NHL has been and continues to be a joke. They 'crackdown' on something new ever year. This lack of consistency undermines the integrity of the league.

He should have been gone for at least a year, and if they really wanted to send a message, for good.

Not surprised at all. I was hoping that they would live up to their words but this was the first time we could make a real apples to apples comparison of suspensions.

So despite the "crackdown" on head shots, he got exactly the same penalty as a guy who committed a similar act last year. I guess they aren't really serious about it.

Really? I would think that giving 3 suspensions of 20,25, and 25 is an indication that they are getting serious. Five years ago those would have been 2 or 3 games.

That goes to show how far behind the NHL was.

this is stupid. i can't believe he only got 25 games... He should face criminal charges. Attacking someone with a weapon (in this case, a stick)is NOT part of the game, nor is it legal. If a group of guys were playing a pick up game and someone did this and seriously hurt someone else, they'd definately end up with some kind of criminal charge, especially if the person gave someone convulsions in the past due to a similar incident.

No he shouldn't.

What he did, while vile in the hockey world, is still a part of that world. It's not like it is something completely crazy that came out of nowhere, it was a crosscheck to the head.

Bringing the law into cases like this is almost always an error in judgement in my opinion.

This happened in Vancouver, the place where they charged McSorely and gave Bertuzzi a slap on the wrist. I'm honestly surprised that they aren't getting involved in this one.

[#96 0]

So despite the "crackdown" on head shots, he got exactly the same penalty as a guy who committed a similar act last year. I guess they aren't really serious about it.

I take it you find this surprising? The discipline handed down in the NHL has been and continues to be a joke. They 'crackdown' on something new ever year. This lack of consistency undermines the integrity of the league.

He should have been gone for at least a year, and if they really wanted to send a message, for good.

Not surprised at all. I was hoping that they would live up to their words but this was the first time we could make a real apples to apples comparison of suspensions.

So despite the "crackdown" on head shots, he got exactly the same penalty as a guy who committed a similar act last year. I guess they aren't really serious about it.

Really? I would think that giving 3 suspensions of 20,25, and 25 is an indication that they are getting serious. Five years ago those would have been 2 or 3 games.

That goes to show how far behind the NHL was.

this is stupid. i can't believe he only got 25 games... He should face criminal charges. Attacking someone with a weapon (in this case, a stick)is NOT part of the game, nor is it legal. If a group of guys were playing a pick up game and someone did this and seriously hurt someone else, they'd definately end up with some kind of criminal charge, especially if the person gave someone convulsions in the past due to a similar incident.

No he shouldn't.

What he did, while vile in the hockey world, is still a part of that world. It's not like it is something completely crazy that came out of nowhere, it was a crosscheck to the head.

Bringing the law into cases like this is almost always an error in judgement in my opinion.

This happened in Vancouver, the place where they charged McSorely and gave Bertuzzi a slap on the wrist. I'm honestly surprised that they aren't getting involved in this one.

No serious injury resulting from the initial hit. McSorley got knocked out, concussion. Kesler was being interviewed after the game, talking, fully concious. He's fine...and he is lucky.

Not that I'm condoning what Boulerass did, but I happend to watch the game on the package and the score was getting run up and the Canucks guys were beginning to take liberties (borderline charges, late hits) with some of the Philly guys. Just before the incident, you see Kesler and another guy sandwiching a Philly Dman (Maybe Smith, not sure). He was sticking up for his team, setting a tone that the runs wouldn't be acceptable. He just took it too far.

[Chadd 916]

Before the season started the NHL said that they are cracking down on exactly this type of play, yet the suspension is no longer than what they gave Simon last year. The Downie and Boulerice suspensions were the perfect opportunity to send a message using marginal players and the NHL failed miserably. Do you honestly think that Chris Neil or Chris Pronger is going to get 20-25 games when they do something similar? Obviously the Downie suspension had no impact on players around the league. Boulerice is on the same (Flyer) team as Downie so you would think he might have heard about Downie's suspension.

The NHL sent a message and it was received loud and clear, it's (monkey) business as usual.

[Trooper 8]

What he did, while vile in the hockey world, is still a part of that world. It's not like it is something completely crazy that came out of nowhere, it was a crosscheck to the head.

Bringing the law into cases like this is almost always an error in judgement in my opinion.

This is complete and utter nonsense. The law has jurisdiction here and in any sport. The camp that claims sports should police themselves, even when an action is outside the define parameters of how the game is intended to be played, lack any substantive argument as to why. Cross checking is illegal in hockey, therefore it is not a part of hockey. It happens in hockey, but is illegal.

[cause4alarm 7]

You know, this wouldn't be as big of an issue if everybody wore cages or full face shields...

[M-Cohen 0]

I don't think he should be allowed to play in the NHL ever again to be honest. From his prior problems, to the most recent one he is not the kind of person that should be member of this league. I also think, as well as many other people here. That the NHL's handling of this incident is ludacris. 25 games is paltry for this.

[chk hrd 164]

You know, this wouldn't be as big of an issue if everybody wore cages or full face shields...

yeah...it would happen alot more, just what players need.

[camhockey16 5]

You know, this wouldn't be as big of an issue if everybody wore cages or full face shields...

if people wore cages or full shields then there would be less teeth lost or high sticks - but i would imagine concussions would go through the roof.

i play with a cage and people take liberties with me that they probably wouldn't with someone who doesn't wear one

[cause4alarm 7]

You know, this wouldn't be as big of an issue if everybody wore cages or full face shields...

if people wore cages or full shields then there would be less teeth lost or high sticks - but i would imagine concussions would go through the roof.

i play with a cage and people take liberties with me that they probably wouldn't with someone who doesn't wear one

I would head-butt those people if I were you.

[TheBert 0]

Nice follow up on the guy Boulerice nailed in the OHL. He ended his career.

OHL player wanted Boulerice barred nine years ago

Jason Botchford, The Province

Published: Friday, October 12, 2007

If people had listened to Andrew Long, if they had heeded his warnings, if they had granted his one wish, the horrifying cross-check Ryan Kesler took to the face would have never happened.

That's because Long never wanted Jesse Boulerice to play hockey again. Not after Boulerice wielded his stick like a battle axe, two-handing Long flush in the face -- nearly killing him -- nine years ago in an Ontario Hockey League playoff game. It remains one of the most shocking, disturbing, and violent acts in hockey history.

Long, 29, now a real estate agent, hasn't played competitive hockey in a couple of years. But he still closely follows the NHL. He was awake with his 18-month-old son Thursday at 6 a.m. in their Guelph, Ont., home when he flipped on SportsCentre.

The first item was the brutal hit on Kesler. All Long had to see was the number. He knew it was Boulerice. Immediately a chilling reality sunk in. He has done it again.

"Out loud, I said, 'Oh my god, are you kidding me?'" says Long. "I don't even know if I felt anger. It was kind of disbelief, the act was so similar. But I wasn't surprised. It was one of those things where you're just left shaking your head, thinking, 'Now what?'"

The delicate "now what?" question is one that was juggled by executives at NHL headquarters all day Thursday.

"I know the suspension is not going to fit the crime," says Long. "I just know it. He shouldn't be allowed to play ever again. He was given another opportunity and look what he did.

"He should be suspended for life. I wanted him suspended for life, that was my only real concern. People said: 'Don't you want him to go to jail? Don't you want to sue?' I said, 'No.'

"It is a hockey incident, but it's the worst kind of hockey incident. So what do you do? You give the worst penalty. And what's the worst penalty? A life suspension."

Kesler said Thursday he was lucky. He was lucky he didn't lose any teeth, and lucky to be back on the ice the next day, showing no lingering effects from the cross-check to his skull. He said he's ready to play.

Long says he was lucky too, back in 1998 -- lucky to be alive.

Long was fresh off his best season ever, scoring 29 goals and 69 points in 62 games with the Guelph Storm. He was in a playoff game against the Plymouth Whalers when Boulerice snapped in a stick-swinging incident that is still difficult to stomach even after you've seen it multiple times.

Long was knocked unconscious. He suffered a seizure. He suffered a grade-three concussion, a brain contusion, multiple facial fractures and two black eyes. He needed 20 stitches, had a crushed nasal cavity and was left with a blood spot on his brain.

"I almost died," says Long. "It was within a couple of inches either way of happening. If I would have seen him, my natural reaction would have been to tip my head back and if I did that and he hit me in the neck, I would have been dead on impact.

"If it was two inches higher and I died, what would he have got then?"

Boulerice was suspended for a year by the OHL. But he played the next year anyway in the AHL after sitting out 15 games.

Boulerice was charged with assault to do great bodily harm less than murder. He later pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of aggravated assault.

Interestingly, Long played with Todd Bertuzzi in Guelph. They remain friends. And when he was growing up, Steve Moore was his best buddy. He still has pictures of the pair playing road hockey.

"People ask me, 'How do you compare what happened to Steve?'" says Long. "I tell them what [boulerice] has done is worse. So much worse, you can't compare them. It's because if you use your stick, you can kill someone. You can truly kill someone. I know Todd had an intention to hurt but what [boulerice] had was an intention to debilitate."

Long tried to play again but it was never the same.

"Where I am now in life is where I always wanted to be if I wasn't playing hockey," says Long. "But did the hit affect my career? Yeah. People never looked at me the same. I never felt the same.

"I was worried. I knew if I suffered another big blow to my head that could be it. It was my well-being at risk -- and that became my biggest concern."

jbotchford@png.canwest.com

And if anyone is watching Sportsnet in Canada, we have Nick Kypreos and Watters teeing off on Kesler stating that Kesler knew what he was getting into by throwing hits at Philly players, while Watters was going on saying that Kesler is a guy who hides behind the instigator rule and is the kind of guy who is going to ruin the game.

Asking why he didn't drop the gloves.

Making comparisons of Wendel Clark to Kesler and how he knew that if he went in and attacked players.

Kypreos: "There are some really stupid guys in this game." (<--- No kidding.)

"Why didn't Kesler drop the gloves? He had the opportunity."

He's right, Boulerice had his gloves off here. Why didn't Kesler? Oh that's right, unconsciousness.

I know Kypreos is a blockhead, but this is amazing.

[cxo 0]

You know, this wouldn't be as big of an issue if everybody wore cages or full face shields...

if people wore cages or full shields then there would be less teeth lost or high sticks - but i would imagine concussions would go through the roof.

i play with a cage and people take liberties with me that they probably wouldn't with someone who doesn't wear one

Agreed. If everyone wore cages or face shields, no one would feel anywhere near as guilty about throwing a stick up on you. In my opinion it would only add to the problem.

And as ugly as the Boulerice cross-check was, the injury that resulted to Kesler wasn't -quite- as bad as what happened to Hollweg when he got hit by Simon. Not saying that it justifies it, I'm not saying I like to see it... I'm only saying that I think the injury sustained should have everything to do with the punishment handed out, rather than just how ugly it looked.

Side note: Boulerice has to resort to cheap shots because he clearly can't fight like a real man :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGo3ANHxilI

[QandA 0]

He's right, Boulerice had his gloves off here. Why didn't Kesler? Oh that's right, unconsciousness.

I know Kypreos is a blockhead, but this is amazing.

Excellent read. If Kipper said that, he is obviously talking about earlier in the play, and not after Kesler is hurt.

[cause4alarm 7]

Before the hit, Kesler and Boulerice were going at it and taking chippy shots at each other away from the play. Would a more observant ref have done something about their earlier cheap shots or do they not bother with that at the NHL level?

[Chadd 916]

Before the hit, Kesler and Boulerice were going at it and taking chippy shots at each other away from the play. Would a more observant ref have done something about their earlier cheap shots or do they not bother with that at the NHL level?

Most of the time, they let that go.

[Chadd 916]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=220668&hubname=

The Philadelphia Flyers placed suspended forward Jesse Boulerice on waivers Monday.

Funny how they cut Boulerice, a journeyman fourth line goon, yet they keep their first round draft pick who has a history with more incidents. This is just a PR move on their part. They have other guys who can, and will, fight for a living, allowing them to dump Boulerice.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

yeah, jesse cant score and at times just cant skate. no doubt that theyre cutting him. Pr move and isnt gonna kill the hockey side of stuff.

[booyaagrandma 4]

Side note: Boulerice has to resort to cheap shots because he clearly can't fight like a real man smile.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGo3ANHxilI

I saw that the other day,what a friggin' clown, a dangerous clown at that.When is the NHL going to start permanently barring idiots like Bertuzzi and Boulerice and the like from ever playing pro hockey again ? What are they afraid of ? I wonder how long till somebody of their kind actually kills someone and then gives a tearful press conference saying they had no intention to hurt anyone ? We all know hockey is a contact sport and we all respect that but since when is this type of crap ok ? Boulerice should have been done with pro hockey after the Long incident.Bettman needs to grow some balls and get rid of guys like this. ( this is just MHO )

[camhockey16 5]

i could understand if someone just snapped and did something stupid (everyone has had one of those moments) but alot of these guys that are somehow making it to the nhl show a consistent pattern all through juniors and up to the nhl of doing ridiculous stupid stuff and then they end up being rewarded by making it to the nhl.

are the teams actually looking for loose cannons? i mean i find it hard to believe that the flyers had no idea of downie's or boulerice's past

[jbyun04 7]

The Canadian Press

10/15/2007 4:52:26 PM

VANCOUVER - Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler says he was surprised but appreciated a telephone call from Jesse Boulerice of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Boulerice called to apologize for the vicious cross-check he delivered to Kesler's face during an 8-2 Flyers win over the Canucks last Wednesday.

''It caught me off guard,'' Kesler said Monday. ''I didn't know who it was at first.

''He introduced himself and asked me how I felt. I was taken back.''

The NHL gave Boulerice a 25-game suspension for the hit. It matched the longest punishment handed out by the league for an on-ice incident.

Things got worse for Boulerice on Monday when the Flyers placed him on waivers. The 29-year-old native of Plattsburgh, N.Y., has 319 penalty minutes in 167 career NHL games. He's averaged less than five minutes of ice time per game in his NHL career.

The Flyers signed Boulerice as an unrestricted free agent before the season after he won a job in training camp. He played in just two games this season.

Boulerice's hit on Kesler occurred with the Flyers leading 7-2. Kesler laid on the ice for a few minutes and left the game but wasn't severely injured.

He returned to play a pair of matches against Edmonton over the weekend.

Kesler gave Boulerice credit for calling him.

''At least he had enough respect to give me a call and apologize,'' said Kesler. ''That's one good thing that came out of it.''

at least he apologized

[chippa13 1844]

Before the season started the NHL said that they are cracking down on exactly this type of play, yet the suspension is no longer than what they gave Simon last year. The Downie and Boulerice suspensions were the perfect opportunity to send a message using marginal players and the NHL failed miserably. Do you honestly think that Chris Neil or Chris Pronger is going to get 20-25 games when they do something similar? Obviously the Downie suspension had no impact on players around the league. Boulerice is on the same (Flyer) team as Downie so you would think he might have heard about Downie's suspension.

The NHL sent a message and it was received loud and clear, it's (monkey) business as usual.

The Simon incident set the new bar for stick fouls like that. Boulerice's suspension showed some newfound consistency on the part of the league. The Downie suspension is new territory with such a long suspension for that type of play.

As for Boulerice learning from Downie, well, Jesse was never that bright to begin with. There will always be an idiot or two in the league that won't learn.

You know, this wouldn't be as big of an issue if everybody wore cages or full face shields...

if people wore cages or full shields then there would be less teeth lost or high sticks - but i would imagine concussions would go through the roof.

i play with a cage and people take liberties with me that they probably wouldn't with someone who doesn't wear one

Players who wear full shields and cages tend to be the ones who are irresponsible with their sticks. They feel invincible and since a stick will just glance off their shield with no harm done, they don't worry about where their own goes.

It is interesting to note that once the first generation of players who had cages all through minor hockey hit the NHL is when the league started having problems with sticks and shots to the head.

[Chadd 916]

Before the season started the NHL said that they are cracking down on exactly this type of play, yet the suspension is no longer than what they gave Simon last year. The Downie and Boulerice suspensions were the perfect opportunity to send a message using marginal players and the NHL failed miserably. Do you honestly think that Chris Neil or Chris Pronger is going to get 20-25 games when they do something similar? Obviously the Downie suspension had no impact on players around the league. Boulerice is on the same (Flyer) team as Downie so you would think he might have heard about Downie's suspension.

The NHL sent a message and it was received loud and clear, it's (monkey) business as usual.

The Simon incident set the new bar for stick fouls like that. Boulerice's suspension showed some newfound consistency on the part of the league. The Downie suspension is new territory with such a long suspension for that type of play.

As for Boulerice learning from Downie, well, Jesse was never that bright to begin with. There will always be an idiot or two in the league that won't learn.

Yeah, that SImon suspension was way stiffer than the McSorely 23 game suspension back in 2001. The funny thing is, I thought that one was way too severe.

As for Downie, his suspension is still one game less than Hunter got for drilling Turgeon back in '93. The NHL's acceptance of plays like this borders on criminal negligence.

[Wolfpack_1986 154]

at least he apologized

I didnt expect anything less... I hate Jesse's hockey playing ability or lack there of, but he's definitely not a bad guy. He stayed here through the lock out and through mutual friends, i got a pretty decent picture of what kind of guy he is... I think he's genuinely sorry, and not sorry because of the suspension he got...

He just has this temper problem where he snaps. It needs to be under control... as of 9 years ago.