Olesz: Concussion Problems?

We were talking on the Pens board about drafting someone otherthen Ov (of course, only if we don't get #1). Olesz is one possibility but we are concerned about concussion problems. After the crushing hit by Phaneuf at the WJC's (I believe), his stock may drop. Someone thought he had 2-3 concussions already. Any truth in this or does anyone know how he is doing now?

 

healthy

 

Then how come people are saying he is going to drop because of injuries......?

 

I wouldn't put too much stock in what people say. Most people can't even properly assess talent they see, let alone read GMs and scouts' minds. Teams are still in the undergoing process of evaluating all those tasty prospects and chances are their minds are not even made up yet. Take the "he's going to drop" comments with a grain of salt.

Head injuries are always a concern, however. That's because each concussion is believed to (no matter how fast you can come back) increase the likelihood of future concussions. None of this is an exact science but it still means certain teams may shy away and pick a player they like almost as much if they believe his concussion history is a concern.

 

I've never read or heard anywhere where he's had other concussions. I do recall reading about a hip injury though.

Regardless, the concussion, in my opinion, may well be enough to drop him out of the top 10. Especially if he doesn't have a strong finish to the season.

Prospects are a risk as it is even without injury concerns.

 

Because certain people seem to think the World Junior Championships, and events that occur therein, are the only important things with regards to evaluating prospects, determining the NHL draft, and predicting the evolution of the universe as a whole.

 

You're right, but a concussion is a concussion. It was a nasty incident and it will almost assuredly take Olesz a while before he really regains the comfort to go into traffic, if he ever does.

Not to mention the risk of another concussion.

 

I doubt it has any impact at all if he comes back strong in the last bit of the season here, assuming he doesn't have a prior history of concussions. I don't know too many hockey players that play at a good level that have never gotten nailed and received some form of mild concussion.

 

1 concussion stays with you the rest of your life. And they add on each time you get one. I'm 16 and have had 5 already. Any concussion is a very serious matter, whether mild or major.

 

He had to be carried off on a stretcher and ended up missing a month, is that really mild?

I've gotten my bell rung dozens of times playing hockey, but I've never had any concussiony symptoms, so I really don't know what he was feeling or whether there's a scare factor coming back.

 

As was mentioned before, a concussion is something which will be considered a problem. In my mind his stock has been lowered from being a top 5 pick to maybe even a top 12 pick now. He'll get bumped by the upstart North American players that are playing well as of late. I'm talking about the two in London.

 

It's very difficult to tell with concussions as only the player actually knows how he feels. Most everyone who plays a sport that has even mild contact has experienced a concussion, mostly mild concussions. I suffered a major concussion after falling about 40 feet and landing on my head, knocked me out cold. Felt nauseous that night and all that good stuff. No post concussion syndrome and never had anything worse than my "bell rung" after that. So when it comes to a serious blow to the head (which is likely to give even the most hard headed person a concussion) it may be a one time problem or it may be a Lindros or Todd Harvey problem where the player is prone to concussions and it's bound to happen again. It's very difficult to gauge whether a player is prone to concussions based on one incident.