Minneapolis Hockey's response to Jack Jablonski injury

[YouthHockeyHub]

This note was forwarded to me...most likely because we are covering Jack's progress. After reading this, a ton of emotions run through my mind. I'm still stewing on how this might work and if it's the right approach. Note: Steve Jecha is the President of Minneapolis Hockey.

Your thoughts?
--------

BSM Parents,
 
Over the past four or five years I have witnessed spinal chord conscussions, severe concussions, and broken bones from dangerous/reckless play at the rinks. Players today are bigger, stronger, and faster and the hitting seems to be getting more and more vicious. Don't get me wrong, a well delivered hip check or shoulder check is part of the game (and quite frankly a lost art), but, the "checking from behind" penalties, head checks, and "finishing your check" late hits are the ones that tend to draw the serious injuries. This year alone, one of our bantam teams has suffered a severe concussion and a broken leg from hits that were illegal infractions.
 
USA Hockey did the right thing in ending checking at peewees. The concussion data was there and it was the right move. Some hockey "purists" think they should have left checking at peewees - they were probably the same ones complaining five or six years ago when they instituted the new slashing/hooking/holding rules that have cleaned the game up. Still, US Hockey can only do so much - it's political and it takes time. For things to change, it has to come from the association level - the mom's and dad's desiring a safe environment for their kids to play. Accidents and injuries will still happen, but cleaning up the game will lessen these.
 
After meeting and discussing with the Jablonski's, the Minneapolis Hockey Association is launching "Jack's Pledge" for cleaning up much of the play at the youth level. If we make changes there, it will work its way up to the high school level. The Pledge is currently being drafted, but it is simple - our Association will double any penalties that we have categorized under the 'dangerous play' category - checking from behind, head checks, and "finishing your check"/roughing. Repeat offenders must go up in front of the Association Hockey Committee to explain themselves and receive additional discipline. Mandatory doubling of penalties - while we realize refs sometimes will make a mistake, we will back them in calling games tighter and the resulting few errors they will make - will be required of all of our teams. In addition, we will be working with our coaches to further teach the kind of checking that we will allow,
 
Our Association has ordered and should have a first shipment of 5,000 "#13 Jack Jablonski - In our hearts" helmet stickers by the middle of next week.
 
We will be giving free helmet stickers to any teams or Associations that commit to "Jack's Pledge" and have their players and coaches sign the pledge.
 
More information can be found here (but we will be rolling details out over the next 3-5 days): http://minneapolispark.pucksystems2.com ... rer_id=281
 
This is grass roots, parents pushing more safety, rather than expecting USA Hockey or Minnesota Hockey to make changes. When we fully roll out "Jack's Pledge" in the next week, I hope I can count on you to get the word out to your local associations. Minneapolis wants to play hockey against teams/associations with like minded parents that place player safety first and provide immediate and automatic discipline to players that are reckless and we hope "Jack's Pledge" will get us there.
 
Steve Jecha
Minneapolis Hockey

[nofinish]

I think this is a good proactive proposal to attempt to remove bad hits.
How will the penalties be doubled? Will that require some sort of rule change or does player get benched after regular penalty time is up?

I don't agree with the second paragraph, I believe we should allow and teach proper checking at earlier ages when bodies aren't so big. And no, I am not a hockey purist, just my opinion from my experience as a coach.

[elliott70]

I am not sure I agree with all of his thought process, but do agree that coaches, parents, players and asociations need to take action to 'clean' things up.

I hope it works in their association and spreads across the State of Hockey.

I hope it is not just a 'do something' reaction to a tragedy that disappears next year or sometime in the future.

[SWPrez]

Thanks for posting YouthHockeyHub. The main push for this is that kids at the Bantam and high school levels are hitting for the sake of hitting - not for the purpose of a check which is to separate a player from the puck while playing safely. The game was never intended to be football players on skates running around looking for something to hit.

Our association policy is in its final stages and we will release it to all other associations that want to join "Jack's Pledge". It does include:

- mandatory preseason checking clinics that include proper checking technique, improper checking, and respect for the safety of opponents. Clinics will include a written test component that players will be required to pass to play that further emphasize safety for opponents, and proper checking technique.

- in season doubling of penalties that we have deemed dangerous - check from behind, head checks, roughing due to the "finishing your check"/late hit/cheap shot concept that some coaches actually encourage and you see all the time at the high school level. These will not be subject to coach determining if it was a bad call, or any 'grey areas'. If the ref calls it, we are supporting the refs even if it is a bad call. No minimizing of checks from behind with "He turned at the last second" - an argument used on virtually all hits from behind. A 2/10 will now be an extra 12 minutes on our bench before you can play. A 5 and game will now be extended to two games. Repeat offenders will have to meet with hockey committee officials for additional discipline.

- parental instruction to not chirp officials even when there is a bad call. We want them to call the 'ugly checking' penalties more and we realize they will make some mistakes. If they make a bad call in the process, we have to accept that as part of our push for safety first.

- A signed pledge by players and coaches to adhere to safe play and the understood consequences.

After the tragic injury to Jack Jablonski, hockey mom's and dad's are asking "why should I have my kid play?" They're right. Maybe 20% of an association's membership will play high school, maybe 3-4% will play college (D1, D2, or D3). Why send a kid out there for fun only to be injured by a reckless kid, when they would be much safer playing winter soccer, lacrosse, or hoops?

As mentioned in the email that I sent to fellow BSM parents, our association leaders have met with the Jablonski's and Jack himself. They are fully behind this initiative. Jack is a clean, skill player and that is the kind of player that we want to develop.

We have ordered a first order of 5,000 "#13 In Our Hearts" helmet stickers and will be receiving mid next week. We should have our final draft of our association policy out in the next few days. We will provide free stickers to all associations that wish to join us and adopt a similar process and have their players take the Pledge for cleaner play.

In the end....we cannot control the players or coaches of other associations. Some choose to play a dirty style of hockey. We can control our players and we can assure parents from other associations that our kids will play the game in a clean fashion (or face serious consequences in addition to penalties handed out by officials). We want other associations to step up to the plate and join us.

[elliott70]

This memorandum has been sent on to all District 16 associations.

[SWPrez]

This memorandum has been sent on to all District 16 associations.

Thank you Elliott for forwarding. We are looking to manage this from within and will control our players.

Controversial, and maybe fodder for another thread is rule change. This is something MN Hockey and USA Hockey can do. Someone suggested this the other day, and it makes some sense (but definitely will upset hockey "purists":

No checking behind the goal line.

Rule keeps checking in the game. Rule prevents both forwards and defensemen from injury. While there aren't statistics on the most serious injuries out there, I am willing to bet that posters on here all can replay an illegal or dangerous hit behind the goal line that result in: broken clavicles, spinal chord concussions, spinal chord injuries, broken legs, broken arms. Curtis Foster comes to mind....

That zone - behind the goal line - is where dangerous play tends to occur and forwards (like Jack Jablonski chasing a puck) and defensemen (facing a dump in with a "three man forecheck" that care nothing about the puck) both will be saved of serious injury.

[loveitorleaveit]

This memorandum has been sent on to all District 16 associations.

Thank you Elliott for forwarding. We are looking to manage this from within and will control our players.

Controversial, and maybe fodder for another thread is rule change. This is something MN Hockey and USA Hockey can do. Someone suggested this the other day, and it makes some sense (but definitely will upset hockey "purists":

No checking behind the goal line.

Rule keeps checking in the game. Rule prevents both forwards and defensemen from injury. While there aren't statistics on the most serious injuries out there, I am willing to bet that posters on here all can replay an illegal or dangerous hit behind the goal line that result in: broken clavicles, spinal chord concussions, spinal chord injuries, broken legs, broken arms. Curtis Foster comes to mind....

That zone - behind the goal line - is where dangerous play tends to occur and forwards (like Jack Jablonski chasing a puck) and defensemen (facing a dump in with a "three man forecheck" that care nothing about the puck) both will be saved of serious injury.

Good to see the minneapolis park program start to clean up. My son was sent to the ER from a cheap Storm hit from behind.

[irish skater]

That was a great post and I'm sure most parents have had something like this on their minds ever since this happened and maybe even before this horrible accident. I do have a question. It's not meant to stir up controversy. I'm not looking to upset the old guard or anything of the sort. I heard this discussion actually took place on the radio. I, unfortunately, didn't hear it. So if I have some of the facts wrong, forgive me, but I think people will get the gist of what I'm saying. I would truly be interested in knowing what people would think about about a line on the inside of the boards maybe six feet in or so. There would be no checking within that line at all. There would be some contact allowed kind of like at the peewee level now, but just no all out checking. An idea like this would prevent some of the kids from going head first into the boards.

I know change is hard and it certainly can't happen overnight. You can't redefine a game totally in one off season. Football has made changes in protecting the quarterback, no head to head contact, etc. It didn't all happen in one season. I could almost hear Dick Butkus suggesting football has turned into soccer in tutus if change came too drastically and too quickly.

What would people's general thoughts be about a line around the inside perimeter of the boards? Call it the Jablonski line. Having had a spinal cord injury myself, it's no picnic. Maybe that's influenced my thoughts. I feel for this kid and frankly it does scare me when I think of my own kid playing. Love it or hate it, that's fine, but I would be interested in people's thoughts.

Sorry, TS, I hope I didn't take away from your thread. And, no, this line wasn't my brainchild.

[mnhockey2019]

This memorandum has been sent on to all District 16 associations.

Thank you Elliott for forwarding. We are looking to manage this from within and will control our players.

Controversial, and maybe fodder for another thread is rule change. This is something MN Hockey and USA Hockey can do. Someone suggested this the other day, and it makes some sense (but definitely will upset hockey "purists":

No checking behind the goal line.

Rule keeps checking in the game. Rule prevents both forwards and defensemen from injury. While there aren't statistics on the most serious injuries out there, I am willing to bet that posters on here all can replay an illegal or dangerous hit behind the goal line that result in: broken clavicles, spinal chord concussions, spinal chord injuries, broken legs, broken arms. Curtis Foster comes to mind....

That zone - behind the goal line - is where dangerous play tends to occur and forwards (like Jack Jablonski chasing a puck) and defensemen (facing a dump in with a "three man forecheck" that care nothing about the puck) both will be saved of serious injury.

Good to see the minneapolis park program start to clean up. My son was sent to the ER from a cheap Storm hit from behind.

Classy post. Glad to see that you lumped all kids from a particular program together -- even though Minneapolis and SLP are two separate programs. I am sure that every program has had a kid commit a cheap shot, including whatever program your son plays in. Using your logic, all youth players from Toronto are cheap since my son took a cheap shot from a Toronto youth player. Not the case.

I believe what Minneapolis is attempting to do is to get our kids to think before they do something (difficult with teen and preteen boys) -- does the hit have a place in the flow of the game? If not, don't do it. Under what Minneapolis is proposing that player who committed the cheap shot against your son won't see the ice for long time, assuming the play against your son resulted in a penalty.

[SWPrez]

This memorandum has been sent on to all District 16 associations.

Thank you Elliott for forwarding. We are looking to manage this from within and will control our players.

Controversial, and maybe fodder for another thread is rule change. This is something MN Hockey and USA Hockey can do. Someone suggested this the other day, and it makes some sense (but definitely will upset hockey "purists":

No checking behind the goal line.

Rule keeps checking in the game. Rule prevents both forwards and defensemen from injury. While there aren't statistics on the most serious injuries out there, I am willing to bet that posters on here all can replay an illegal or dangerous hit behind the goal line that result in: broken clavicles, spinal chord concussions, spinal chord injuries, broken legs, broken arms. Curtis Foster comes to mind....

That zone - behind the goal line - is where dangerous play tends to occur and forwards (like Jack Jablonski chasing a puck) and defensemen (facing a dump in with a "three man forecheck" that care nothing about the puck) both will be saved of serious injury.

Good to see the minneapolis park program start to clean up. My son was sent to the ER from a cheap Storm hit from behind.

Sorry to hear that. You can rest assured the in the future our program will deal with players that throw bad checks. There are kids in every program hitting for the sake of hitting - including ours. We will kick repeat offenders out of the association if they just aren't getting the message.

[Cdale]

This memorandum has been sent on to all District 16 associations.

Thank you Elliott for forwarding. We are looking to manage this from within and will control our players.

Controversial, and maybe fodder for another thread is rule change. This is something MN Hockey and USA Hockey can do. Someone suggested this the other day, and it makes some sense (but definitely will upset hockey "purists":

No checking behind the goal line.

Rule keeps checking in the game. Rule prevents both forwards and defensemen from injury. While there aren't statistics on the most serious injuries out there, I am willing to bet that posters on here all can replay an illegal or dangerous hit behind the goal line that result in: broken clavicles, spinal chord concussions, spinal chord injuries, broken legs, broken arms. Curtis Foster comes to mind....

That zone - behind the goal line - is where dangerous play tends to occur and forwards (like Jack Jablonski chasing a puck) and defensemen (facing a dump in with a "three man forecheck" that care nothing about the puck) both will be saved of serious injury.

Great idea (no checking behind the goal line). Would definately eliminate a good amount of dangerous hits. Although some form of rubbing out/body contact would have to be allowed, say after a player has established himself in that behind the goal line area. -All we can do is brainstorm ideas and try some. The glass is a huge problem too, that's where the heads hit. Kind of need the glass there, but maybe angle it more?

[elliott70]

Minnesota Hockey president has shared this informatin (Minneapolis Hockey Assn policy) with all MH board members and district directors.

[hockeymannorth]

Maybe they should have classes for parents too.I was at the arena when i heard a Mahomedi dad tell his boy next time we play this team kill that #3 on other team take a penalty who f-ing cares

[O-townClown]

Mad props to Steve Jecha and anyone else that has something to do with this initiative.

Bravo.

[SWPrez]

Mad props to Steve Jecha and anyone else that has something to do with this initiative.

Bravo.

O-town,

I am standing on the shoulders of giants; Jack Jablonski and his parents, Mike and Leslie. They ultimately are the drivers of this and where it goes. We are just getting this movement started and will help in any way. Minneapolis Hockey's Paul Larson, Mike Shogren, Bantam coaches, level coordinators have all been very involved in developing our policy. Jack Blatherwick has also been very helpful as an outside consultant. There are also many parents from BSM stepping up. Mad props to all of them.

It is my understanding that the Jablonski's are very happy with the Jack's Pledge movement and they want to be very involved in this once they have time.

I did receive over 100 email requests from Association Presidents and teams from all over the state today for stickers and the pledge. I still have about 25 voicemails on my phone that I could not get to today. Many High School programs, a couple of college programs, teams from all over the country. Stickers will be received on Wednesday of next week.

We will have documents and PR next week when we launch the player's and coach's pledges next week. The Jablonski's want to participate in the review of these documents and launch of the full Jack's Pledge program and it will be early next week before that can be completed. If you have contacted me, please be patient and understand the timeline.

[elliott70]

Maybe they should have classes for parents too.I was at the arena when i heard a Mahomedi dad tell his boy next time we play this team kill that #3 on other team take a penalty who f-ing cares

Minnesota has the Hockey Education Program.
HEP.
Unfortunately what most people take from this is the Fair Play Point or never hear it to start with.

[elliott70]

I heard an account was being opened for doantions...
any information on where to send funds???

When we know; it should be a sticky....

[PanthersIn2011]

Rochester Century wore their home whites in warmups during last night's "away" game with John Marshall, supporting the white out. I understand other teams were going to do the same?

I applaud the approach of enforcing a "standard of play." No matter what rules changes occur w.r.t. checking, I think this will have to be a key component. College hockey made checking from behind 5 & the game many years ago but youth and high school hockey has not followed suit. It is time for that change.

[SWPrez]

I heard an account was being opened for doantions...
any information on where to send funds???

When we know it should be a sticky....

From Jack's Caring Bridge site:

Financial Support (Posted by a Friend of the Jablonski's)
At the urging of many of you, and with Mike and Leslie's support, today we established an account at Wells Fargo Bank, the JACK JABLONSKI FUND. If you wish to donate something towards Jack's future needs, you can send your donations to:

Jack Jablonski Fund
P.O. Box 16387
St. Louis Park, MN 55416-2618

You may also make your donations at any Wells Fargo Bank. Please mention "Jack Jablonski Fund."

[Defensive Zone]

Maybe they should have classes for parents too.I was at the arena when i heard a Mahomedi dad tell his boy next time we play this team kill that #3 on other team take a penalty who f-ing cares

WOW!!!! Crazy

[elliott70]

error

[Goalie Dude]

This memorandum has been sent on to all District 16 associations.

Thank you Elliott for forwarding. We are looking to manage this from within and will control our players.

Controversial, and maybe fodder for another thread is rule change. This is something MN Hockey and USA Hockey can do. Someone suggested this the other day, and it makes some sense (but definitely will upset hockey "purists":

No checking behind the goal line.

Rule keeps checking in the game. Rule prevents both forwards and defensemen from injury. While there aren't statistics on the most serious injuries out there, I am willing to bet that posters on here all can replay an illegal or dangerous hit behind the goal line that result in: broken clavicles, spinal chord concussions, spinal chord injuries, broken legs, broken arms. Curtis Foster comes to mind....

That zone - behind the goal line - is where dangerous play tends to occur and forwards (like Jack Jablonski chasing a puck) and defensemen (facing a dump in with a "three man forecheck" that care nothing about the puck) both will be saved of serious injury.

SWPrez
Love the initiative. One thing that I think needs to be addressed (and maybe it is behind closed doors - or in previous posts) is how the officials will be trained and/or evaluated. I have seen many 'loose' games. Is there going to be any type of in-season evaluation or consulting on how the games are being called? You mention standing behind and supporting your refs, but what if the complaint is that not enough dangerous hits were called? Will officials be suspended if they are not calling the type of hits that need to be eliminated?

Refs take a ton of abuse during games and I hate to see more pressure put on them, but there needs to be consistency for this to work.

[SWPrez]

Count this as rumor only at this time as I have not verified, but I have heard that Minnehaha Academy Girls Hockey Player was checked from behind last night and is hospitalized in serious condition.

Again, I haven't verified, but will pray for her. Let's hope it is rumor only.

[hockey_is_a_choice]

Add her to your payers everyone.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/01/0 ... us-injury/

[Bandy]

...No checking behind the goal line...

I strongly advocate cleaning up the game. I'm not sure that no checking behind the goal line is the way to do it. If the existing rules and standards were strictly enforced, that would go a long way toward solving the problem.

I'm not sure any rule changes are needed. I'm not sure any of USA Hockey's official enforcement standards need changing. I am sure that many infractions currently go uncalled, and that does need to change. I also think coaches and players will push whatever boundaries are in place, and if the standards on the ice are lax, then dangerous play is the result. We (hockey associations, districts, MN Hockey; parents; coaches; players) need to insist that the rulebook is enforced, and support referees if they make a "marginal" call when player safety is at stake.

Search for USA Hockey rules 2011-13, read through the preface and section 4, penalties. Lots of stuff we see in youth and high school hockey is against the rules, and is enough of an issue that USA Hockey has added strongly worded Standard of Play and Rules Emphasis to the preface. Hard checks of any kind into the boards are not permitted. "Finishing a check" is not permitted. Checking anyone who doesn't have the puck is not permitted. Yet I see it every game.

Jack's Pledge is a good step in the right direction. Good to see that Associations are taking some initiative and ownership in this. I think the Associations should band together and demand that their District's officials call the game by the book.