Don Sanderson dies after fight

[Tikkanen 1]

Why not develop visors that pop off for fighting? Taking off your helmet may look cool but when your head hits the ice it's like getting in a car crash. With the Berard injury I think players that don't wear at least a visor are stupid, especially in rec league play but fighting is a part of the sport. You need a helmet on in case you get knocked out or hit your head, why not make the visor quickly detachable for players that may fight? Then have normal visors that stay on for players that do not plan on fighting and if they do hand them the extra minor like it says in the rule book. Seems stupid to put in a rule that forces players to remove their most important piece of equipment.

[roller to ice 0]

At least he died doing what he loved. My deepest sympathies to his family/friends/team. This was a freak accident. Although i dont like a players only role being fighting, fighting is a part of hockey and should stay that way. Everyday we see less and less goons and more players who can shoot pass and fight like it should be. R.I.P

[LkptTiger 1]

If you read the link, it says his helmet came off during the fight, not before it. It is common for a helmet to come off during a fight. Nobody in major junior takes off their helmet first, they have visors and fight with them. One of your goals in the fight is to KEEP your helmet on, while you knock the other guy's off. I am sure in this league the same deal applied--helmets with visors.

I don't know if I would say NO ONE in the CHL ever takes their helmets off when they square-up. It does happen...though not nearly as often as is done in other Junior and minor-pro leagues.

It's something that has to be done - if you're gonna go, you gotta put yourself out there; otherwise, what are you proving? Anyone can step-up when he's hiding under plastic. I don't necessarily fight to win, per se...I fight when I feel someone has taken liberties with myself or my teammates and want them to know that I/we aren't intimidated and that I/we won't be pushed-around. If I'm wearing a visor, that message is muted. I don't have to fight very often...but when I do, my helmet hits the ice right after my gloves. The vast majority of the rest of the guys in the league operate the same way.

*steps off of the "wannabe" soapbox* Sorry.

[DarkStar50 679]

"If fighting in the NHL was staged, I would have been in a lot more of them."

Rod Gilbert, New York Rangers

Sad story but we all take the risks involved with hockey without thinking twice. We love the game too much.

[oggy_3 0]

RIP Don

I had worked with his father during the summer at a hockey school, and had the chance to meet and work with Don for a week. He was a very kind gentlemen, no one deserves this.

[Larry54 243]

Why not develop visors that pop off for fighting?

Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Something like the Itech X100 has a shield that you can easily pop off the frame without using any tools. If I'm not mistaken, you can remove it easily enough without removing your helmet. The trick would be to be able to remove it fast enough, before the officials have the time to intervene.

[Chadd 916]

Why not develop visors that pop off for fighting?

Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Something like the Itech X100 has a shield that you can easily pop off the frame without using any tools. If I'm not mistaken, you can remove it easily enough without removing your helmet. The trick would be to be able to remove it fast enough, before the officials have the time to intervene.

Anything that you can remove too easily can come off in the course of play and that's dangerous.

[Tikkanen 1]

Why not develop visors that pop off for fighting?

Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Something like the Itech X100 has a shield that you can easily pop off the frame without using any tools. If I'm not mistaken, you can remove it easily enough without removing your helmet. The trick would be to be able to remove it fast enough, before the officials have the time to intervene.

Anything that you can remove too easily can come off in the course of play and that's dangerous.

You mean like gloves, elbow pads, shoulder pads, jersey and exploding sticks?

[biff44 0]

I don't know if I would say NO ONE in the CHL ever takes their helmets off when they square-up. It does happen...though not nearly as often as is done in other Junior and minor-pro leagues.

I have seen around 140 CHL games, and I have never seen a player take his own helmet off before a fight. Have you? I believe it might even be a penalty to do so, similar to not having your jersey tied down.

[RadioGaGa 162]

I don't know if I would say NO ONE in the CHL ever takes their helmets off when they square-up. It does happen...though not nearly as often as is done in other Junior and minor-pro leagues.

I have seen around 140 CHL games, and I have never seen a player take his own helmet off before a fight. Have you? I believe it might even be a penalty to do so, similar to not having your jersey tied down.

They were talking about it the other day on TSN...I was only half listening, but I think they said the OHL fines players who take their own helmets off and the QMJHL adds a penalty (2min unsportsmanlike?). I don't think they mentioned the WHL.

[#44wannabe 4]

In the league i play in, if you square off to fight (IE, not a spur of moment thing during play) and you DONT remove your helmet you get a 2+10misc.

[LkptTiger 1]

I don't get out to many CHL games (it's not often I have a free night...but I do like to go every once in a while to "check-in" on guys that I know). That being said, there have been a handful of tilts where I've seen the guys take their helmets off. One of my older buddies who played in Sarnia and Sudbury went in bare almost every time he dropped the gloves...which happened far more often when he was in The O than happens with my buddies who are in the league now - who would probably rather play with shards of glass in their gloves than get into a fight.

More often, though, I see guys in The O unsnap their chinstraps before a fight...which I have come to believe is more self-preservation than anything else: guys get cut by their own visors semi-regularly. When my visor got me (and got me pretty good), it was when my helmet shifted during a big scrum after the whistle - my visor caught my nose and cheek and my chinstrap got "stuck" on my neck/jawline, so my helmet couldn't come off. Every time someone punched/whacked/grabbed at my head, my visor hurt me. I was eventually able to get my helmet away...but not early enough. I would imagine this happens in fights quite a bit - unsnapping the chinstrap probably makes it much less likely.

Why not develop visors that pop off for fighting?

Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Something like the Itech X100 has a shield that you can easily pop off the frame without using any tools. If I'm not mistaken, you can remove it easily enough without removing your helmet. The trick would be to be able to remove it fast enough, before the officials have the time to intervene.

Anything that you can remove too easily can come off in the course of play and that's dangerous.

You mean like gloves, elbow pads, shoulder pads, jersey and exploding sticks?

Gloves, elbow pads, shoulders pads and jerseys usually come-off during "extra curriculars" - not anything I would necessarily call "course of play."

I don't know if I would say NO ONE in the CHL ever takes their helmets off when they square-up. It does happen...though not nearly as often as is done in other Junior and minor-pro leagues.

I have seen around 140 CHL games, and I have never seen a player take his own helmet off before a fight. Have you? I believe it might even be a penalty to do so, similar to not having your jersey tied down.

They were talking about it the other day on TSN...I was only half listening, but I think they said the OHL fines players who take their own helmets off and the QMJHL adds a penalty (2min unsportsmanlike?). I don't think they mentioned the WHL.

They fine the players themselves or the team they play for? The league I play in just throws a fine in our general direction - I don't think they care who pays for it, as long as they can say that they're disciplining what might be considered reckless or dangerous behavior. The teams usually take care of it.

[RadioGaGa 162]

They fine the players themselves or the team they play for? The league I play in just throws a fine in our general direction - I don't think they care who pays for it, as long as they can say that they're disciplining what might be considered reckless or dangerous behavior. The teams usually take care of it.

Not sure... I think it was they fine the player, but the team often pays it for them. $100.00.

[Larry54 243]

Why not develop visors that pop off for fighting?

Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Something like the Itech X100 has a shield that you can easily pop off the frame without using any tools. If I'm not mistaken, you can remove it easily enough without removing your helmet. The trick would be to be able to remove it fast enough, before the officials have the time to intervene.

Anything that you can remove too easily can come off in the course of play and that's dangerous.

Well unless I'm mistaken, the Itech X100 that most of our juniors are wearing are pretty easy to pop off just by pressing the buttons on the sides of the visor and pulling it off. So you're saying they're in danger?

[RadioGaGa 162]

Why not develop visors that pop off for fighting?

Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Something like the Itech X100 has a shield that you can easily pop off the frame without using any tools. If I'm not mistaken, you can remove it easily enough without removing your helmet. The trick would be to be able to remove it fast enough, before the officials have the time to intervene.

Anything that you can remove too easily can come off in the course of play and that's dangerous.

Well unless I'm mistaken, the Itech X100 that most of our juniors are wearing are pretty easy to pop off just by pressing the buttons on the sides of the visor and pulling it off. So you're saying they're in danger?

Those visors are very secure...no real chance of those every coming off during a game...but the frame left when you do take the visor off would be WAY more dangerous that hitting a visor.

[LkptTiger 1]

No way could the visor ever pop-out of a DLX 100 (or the other Itech certified halfers) during gameplay. Hell, I've occasionally had slight difficulties getting them in/out when trying to replace them.

[Larry54 243]

Why not develop visors that pop off for fighting?

Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Something like the Itech X100 has a shield that you can easily pop off the frame without using any tools. If I'm not mistaken, you can remove it easily enough without removing your helmet. The trick would be to be able to remove it fast enough, before the officials have the time to intervene.

Anything that you can remove too easily can come off in the course of play and that's dangerous.

Well unless I'm mistaken, the Itech X100 that most of our juniors are wearing are pretty easy to pop off just by pressing the buttons on the sides of the visor and pulling it off. So you're saying they're in danger?

Those visors are very secure...no real chance of those every coming off during a game...but the frame left when you do take the visor off would be WAY more dangerous that hitting a visor.

So are you saying that even though they can easily be removed, it doesn't mean that they can easily pop off by themselves during play? As far as the remaining frame being dangerous, I'll take your word for it.

[LkptTiger 1]

That's exactly what he's saying. The possibility of the visor being removed from my helmet during play has never once entered my mind.

[M.W. 0]

Why not develop visors that pop off for fighting?

Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Something like the Itech X100 has a shield that you can easily pop off the frame without using any tools. If I'm not mistaken, you can remove it easily enough without removing your helmet. The trick would be to be able to remove it fast enough, before the officials have the time to intervene.

Anything that you can remove too easily can come off in the course of play and that's dangerous.

Well unless I'm mistaken, the Itech X100 that most of our juniors are wearing are pretty easy to pop off just by pressing the buttons on the sides of the visor and pulling it off. So you're saying they're in danger?

Those visors are very secure...no real chance of those every coming off during a game...but the frame left when you do take the visor off would be WAY more dangerous that hitting a visor.

So are you saying that even though they can easily be removed, it doesn't mean that they can easily pop off by themselves during play? As far as the remaining frame being dangerous, I'll take your word for it.

There is a tremendous difference between "easily removed" for replacement of a scratched visor at home, and "easily removed" for taking something off of your helmet while it's on your head, in the howevermany seconds before you fight.

I don't know if I would say NO ONE in the CHL ever takes their helmets off when they square-up. It does happen...though not nearly as often as is done in other Junior and minor-pro leagues.

I have seen around 140 CHL games, and I have never seen a player take his own helmet off before a fight. Have you? I believe it might even be a penalty to do so, similar to not having your jersey tied down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf33VLUPzt4

One from each league.

[Larry54 243]

Why not develop visors that pop off for fighting?

Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Something like the Itech X100 has a shield that you can easily pop off the frame without using any tools. If I'm not mistaken, you can remove it easily enough without removing your helmet. The trick would be to be able to remove it fast enough, before the officials have the time to intervene.

Anything that you can remove too easily can come off in the course of play and that's dangerous.

You mean like gloves, elbow pads, shoulder pads, jersey and exploding sticks?

You forgot the more obvious one like: "You mean like helmets".

[mrusse01 0]

Saying that fighting caused his death is like saying a spoon caused Michael Moore to be fat. With that logic, you might as well say that hockey caused his death. It has just as much to do with his death as fighting.

How did fighting not cause his death? He got into a fight, hit his head on the ice, and died because of that. You could say if he didn't get out of bed that day he would still be alive, but people don't say "Don Sanderson woke up Monday morning and later died", they say, "Don Sanderson died after hitting his head on the ice during a fight".

I've been for fighting in the game for a long long time, and yes, this was an accident...but at what point do you stop and start to really examine if maybe fighting should be taken out of the game? Do 5 junior players need to be killed before it's taken out of the game? 10? Does someone need to be killed by a punch to the face in the NHL? If Sidney Crosby got paralyzed the other night, would that do it? We describe events like these as 'freak' accidents...but I'm not so sure how freak they are any longer. I'd like to see someone do a serious study, across all levels of hockey, as to the effects of fighting.

[maxamillion 3]

Saying that fighting caused his death is like saying a spoon caused Michael Moore to be fat. With that logic, you might as well say that hockey caused his death. It has just as much to do with his death as fighting.

How did fighting not cause his death? He got into a fight, hit his head on the ice, and died because of that. You could say if he didn't get out of bed that day he would still be alive, but people don't say "Don Sanderson woke up Monday morning and later died", they say, "Don Sanderson died after hitting his head on the ice during a fight".

I've been for fighting in the game for a long long time, and yes, this was an accident...but at what point do you stop and start to really examine if maybe fighting should be taken out of the game? Do 5 junior players need to be killed before it's taken out of the game? 10? Does someone need to be killed by a punch to the face in the NHL? If Sidney Crosby got paralyzed the other night, would that do it? We describe events like these as 'freak' accidents...but I'm not so sure how freak they are any longer. I'd like to see someone do a serious study, across all levels of hockey, as to the effects of fighting.

How many have died in the 100 years that fighting has been legal? Maurice Richard was one mean f*cker, and he never killed anybody, same goes for gordie howe. Even big Georges hasn't even come close to killing anybody. It is the epitome of a freak accident. Saying fighting should end now is like saying electric microphones should have been outlawed after that priest in waco was electrocuted.

[Jordan 13]

Better than a removable sheild would be if the helmet worked like a two piece pair of pants. So there would be the shell, there would probably still be some padding attached to the shell permanently.

Then, there would be an "under helmet" that went on your head - probably would have its' own chin strap - that would protect the top and back of your head. It could be made out of material like the gel pads in helmets, and have a thin mesh type structure where padding wasn't required.

The two parts could be in patterns that interlock like puzzle pieces when the "over-helmet" was on your head.

[lrm 0]

It wasn't his first fight but it was his last. Maybe they shouldnt take fighting out of the nhl but this is only senior A hockey. Have a look at the dunlops website and look at the players on that team. Most if not all have played in the ohl and other leagues and have been fighting on ice for years. And yet they play teams that have players who have only played junior A or even less. No wonder they are killing players in that league, surprised it doesn't happen more often. I had a chance to play for the cobourg lynx a few years ago and realised it wasn't worth the risk, guys were huge and had zero respect. Now they don't have a team and I don't blame them. This is a shame and I think the coaching staff should have a talk with the convenor of the league. It's just not right.

[Jason Harris 31]

If you have to design a helmet to allow easier fights, you are giving tacit approval to goonery -- not fighting, but goonery.

There's a big difference between two guys settling a score between themselves, versus someone wearing equipment to allow himself to fight more easily. The first instance is spontaneous, while the second is planned. I've heard enough newbie fans say they had no idea hockey was such a great sport, that the only conclusion is that the perception that hockey promotes fighting is detrimental to its growth. I'd imagine that having helmets with breakaway visors, or inner layers to protect the players from concussions, would only continue to lead to hockey's image of thuggery.

In the past, some of you have repeated the company line of "Screw 'em if they can't appreciate hockey," but I'm confident that the NHL, Versus, rink operators, equipment manufacturers, and the ilk would all like to see hockey's appeal grow. This old school thinking -- basically planning to have fights -- holds the sport hostage.