Ballard KOd with M. Martin hit. Very scary

[nwaZ*]

I don't get what's so special about the Islanders bench reacting alarmed to a guy lying on the ice convulsing. What else would they've done? Cheer?

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

Taking a run at a stationary player who was perfectly perpendicular to the boards, while less than a body length away could have produced an ugly result in and of itself. That's shoulder/neck/back problem territory if Ballard takes the check without manoeuvering away.

There's a case for rule 41 - boarding, simply based on the geography of the hit.

Now, I acknowledge that Ballard tried to 360 out of the hit, and is therefore partially accountable for the outcome. Given that, I'd have given Martin 5 and a game for boarding resulting in an injury to the head. No further discipline.

Meh. It's not in the rules that, "for safety's sake", you have to allow opponents to gain the red line so they can safely dump the puck in and avoid icing. Wherever someone decides to go with the puck, they're eligible for a legal hit, and opposing players are allowed to hold the red/blue lines. What someone does last second to avoid such contact while trying to gain the line takes a LOT out of the hands/responsibility of the hitter. Ballard had to turn 270 degrees the wrong way in order to make those facial/concussion injuries possible, and there's very little Martin could or SHOULD have done differently to avoid that - regardless of where it was on the ice.

 

[bluechipbonzo]

Does Martin launch himself into Ballard? He seems to travel quite a ways from the point of initial contact thru to the boards. Almost like he's launching into Ballard (or where Ballards center of mass would have been had he not ducked). Martin's right skate is off the ice for the entirety of the hit. And it seems his left skate does come off too.

Also, Ballard is 2-3 feet off of the boards. If he doesn't spin out he gets hit into the boards while being far from it and it could be even worse of an injury.

Likewise, how long was the puck off Ballard's stick? I'd wager just as long as the puck was off Horton's stick (Aaron Rome / Nathan Horton). The justification for that suspension was not the hit itself but the time between the puck leaving and contact starting. In that case, I think Martin could be suspended... if a suspension does come from this.

Every body check is a "launch"...what's happening here with Martin leaning to the left is he's reacting to Ballard who is trying to side-step the hit. Martin is reaching to get a piece of Ballard, who then also ducks, and that's what caused the injury. Sure, Ballard was going to get wiped out either way, but to suggest that Martin is seizing the opportunity to hit a prone player is bunk, and just not his style.

Stupid move by Ballard, sad result. Here's hoping he's okay and other players learn from this.

 

[nwaZ*]

Every body check is a "launch"...what's happening here with Martin leaning to the left is he's reacting to Ballard who is trying to side-step the hit. Martin is reaching to get a piece of Ballard, who then also ducks, and that's what caused the injury. Sure, Ballard was going to get wiped out either way, but to suggest that Martin is seizing the opportunity to hit a prone player is bunk, and just not his style.

Stupid move by Ballard, sad result. Here's hoping he's okay and other players learn from this.

:

Yeah, blame the victim.

 

[Bones45]

He convulsed, not a seizure. Convulsions may happen after sudden head impacts which result in a concussion. The fact he had one demonstrates just how severe that hit really was:




http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11229957

Thanks for this --

 

[Bones45]

:

Yeah, blame the victim.

There are about 11 pages here of most people agreeing that the hit was clean and wouldn't have had the same result had he not turned.

I don't think BLAME is the correct word.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

:

Yeah, blame the victim.

Sometimes victims ARE partially responsible for putting themselves in vulnerable positions. Doesn't absolve anyone of responsibility as much as it shares it around. Like running across a busy street nowhere near a crosswalk and getting smoked by a car. Stupid move, pedestrian, even if motor vehicles are supposed to constantly be on alert for such stupidity.

Sorry, but "white knight" posts like this really bug me.

 

[jw2]

STOP TURNING!!!! Take the hit.

So many players are getting hurt from turning to "avoid" hits. You put yourself in a vulnerable spot. You learn this when you are 8 years old!

 

[Islanderfan17]

I think this was the scariest thing I watched live since Prongers last moments on the ice.

 

[LuckyPierre]

Meh. It's not in the rules that, "for safety's sake", you have to allow opponents to gain the red line so they can safely dump the puck in and avoid icing. Wherever someone decides to go with the puck, they're eligible for a legal hit, and opposing players are allowed to hold the red/blue lines. What someone does last second to avoid such contact while trying to gain the line takes a LOT out of the hands/responsibility of the hitter. Ballard had to turn 270 degrees the wrong way in order to make those facial/concussion injuries possible, and there's very little Martin could or SHOULD have done differently to avoid that - regardless of where it was on the ice.

My 'geography' remark was directed at the distance from the boards, not at what color of line Ballard was trying to gain. The manner in which Martin approached Ballard was going to produce a violent impact with the boards regardless of whether Ballard spun or not, given that the boards were an unsafe distance away.

 

[On Edge]

I don't get what's so special about the Islanders bench reacting alarmed to a guy lying on the ice convulsing. What else would they've done? Cheer?

I was noting a human reaction - particularly a competitor's one.

 

[startainfection*]

My 'geography' remark was directed at the distance from the boards, not at what color of line Ballard was trying to gain. The manner in which Martin approached Ballard was going to produce a violent impact with the boards regardless of whether Ballard spun or not, given that the boards were an unsafe distance away.

watch one of the 2000 or so hits martin has had in the last like 4 seasons and you will know that he never hits dirty and always approaches players like this

 

[TaLoN]

I don't know if its that I just can't recognize a seizure or not, but I don't see one there...to me it looked like Ballard half-swallowed his mouth guard from the hit (which has happened to players in the past) and the trainer was trying to take it out, then Ballard started panicking when he regained consciousness. Unless the team staff confirmed he had a seizure, I don't think he did.

That was also a poor choice on Ballard's part to put himself in that situation.

The team staff has confirmed that several times since it happened...

They never used the term seizure though, they said he was "Convulsing".

 

[Kevin27NYI]

I don't get what's so special about the Islanders bench reacting alarmed to a guy lying on the ice convulsing. What else would they've done? Cheer?

There's what the Isles did versus the reaction Backes got vs the Hawks when he got a concussion.

 

[TaLoN]

Watching the game and after that hit I had to change the channel for a minute as I was a little bit more than worried about Ballard. I hate seeing any player getting hurt like that. Forget about teams you root for or anything else along those lines. This could have been not only career altering - this could be a life altering play. I am glad it was not.

Martin is a tough however a limited player (certainly not one of my favorites on this team) who I really think plays a relatively clean game give his role. For a guy who hits as much as does, the fact that he has not had a history of "dirty" (not meant as an invitation for Talbot debate) play will lend me to give him the benefit of the doubt as far as his intention. Still, just like with your stick, you have to be responsible with your actions (hits AND knowing how to not expose yourself along the boards). There is a fine line of driving guys into boards vs finishing your checks and as guys get bigger and faster that line will get blurrier.

As stated in Russo blog the Islander bench looked a little freaked out - watch a replay and watch Calvin deHaan from the bench watching as soon as Ballard was hit he is waving frantically to medical staff.

With his concussion history, and the long term issues that are being discovered about concussions... we can't say that it's "not life altering" at this point.

Just because he's out of the hospital, doesn't mean he's in the clear. He's likely going to have post-concussion symptoms for a long time. This very well still could be life-altering. I will be surprised if this isn't career-ending.