MacKenzie Smith and Dalia Feldberg, both 10, jostle for the puck at McNabb Arena during practice for a minor hockey playoff game.
It is a sight that disturbs everyone involved in hockey: a player lying motionless on the ice, eyes staring blankly after suffering a hit to the head.
Marc Charpentier has seen it happen all too often.
“One kid smacked his head hard on the ice and kept telling me ‘I’m fine, I can keep playing,’ but couldn’t remember where he was when I asked him. When he got up, he couldn’t even stand on his own."
As the facility manager at McNabb Arena, Charpentier is responsible for ensuring proper safety measures are in place to minimize the risk of serious injury.
Unfortunately, players, coaches and fans have seen plenty of these ugly incidents recently.
And with each new injury, parents fear more for their player's safety.
From Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby to Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty, highlight reels are dominated by images of players sustaining head injuries.
“It’s really scary. There’s not anything that you can really compare it to,” Crosby said while speaking to reporters about his recent concussion.
During a Jan. 5 game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Crosby, the NHL’s most marketable player, had his head slammed into the glass by 6’6" defenceman Victor Hedman.
Crosby has not taken part in competitive action since then.
This came after a similar incident only four days earlier, during the 2011 Winter Classic. As Crosby turned his head to follow the puck, he took a blindside hit from then-Washington Capitals center David Steckel.
Steckel’s shoulder caught Crosby in the head, and he crumbled to the ice.
With the biggest star in the game watching from the stands, the hockey world has voiced its concern over concussions.
And the issue is now spreading to minor hockey as well.
A recent study at the University of Alberta revealed unsettling results in two Edmonton based minor hockey associations.
Assistant professor Martin Mrazik examined the leagues during the 2009-2010 season, and found that one in 10 players suffered a concussion at some point.
ThinkFirst Canada is trying to raise awareness about these statistics. The non-profit organization promotes education as the main tool to prevent brain and spinal cord injuries.
“The brains of children and youth are our most precious resource here in Canada,” says Rebecca Nesdale-Tucker, ThinkFirst executive director.
“So it’s imperative that people understand the severity of this issue and learn proper safety measures to keep kids safe on the ice.”
To do this people must recognize the signs of a concussion, she says, which is often difficult, as symptoms such as dizziness and trouble concentrating cannot be measured using a CT scan.
Charpentier is quick to point out one precaution that the arena has adopted in recent years.
“Either you put a helmet on and tighten it properly, or you get off the ice,” he says.
It seems simple enough, but according to Ottawa Central Minor Hockey Association president Eric Lay, some people are not getting the message.
“Most parents think nothing of dropping $100 on a brand new composite stick every year, but when it’s time to buy a new helmet, many of them will just grab any old helmet they can find.”
Brent Dick, vice-president of Risk, Safety and Conduct at the Ottawa District Hockey Association, says the league takes the issue “very seriously,” even if some parents do not.
Many hockey organizations take a no-nonsense approach on contact to the head.
Since the Ontario Hockey League introduced a mandatory penalty for both intentional and accidental headshots in 2006, other organizations such as the NCAA began to follow suit.
But this list does not include the NHL.
Despite the highly publicized concussions this season, the league voted against a total ban on headshots at the annual general managers’s meetings on March 14. Instead, they proposed tighter enforcement of the current rules to curb the problem.