WJC: Kassian hit on Senkerik (UPD: Suspended 2 Games against NOR/SWE)

[mooseOAK*]

Players can enter the offensive zone with their head up, can't they?

And that wasn't a high hit by any stretch of your imagination.

Their hip areas barely even touched one another and the guy went flying. If the hit wasn't high where did you see the contact?

 

[gojacketsgo61]

IIHF is a joke. maybe 1 game because of the stupid head hitting rule but it was unintentional. Good thing Canada will make it through though without Kassian.

When or if these players play pro, they have to be used to hitting. IIHF is like house league with only chest shots, guy has be looking straight at the other one or else it's a "dirty" hit. If a guy has his head down, it's 100% his fault, the player isn't going to let him go by.

 

[Amputechture]

Fact of the matter, if Senkerik isn't taken out on a stetcher, if he doesn't admire his pass, if he doesn't try to avoid the hit but brace for it instead, we are all talking about an amazing open ice hit that would have been a highlight check. This is a suspension based on injury and nothing else. It's an utter joke in my opinion. People can argue this all they want, but I do not agree with the penalty handed out on the ice let alone a BS 2 game suspension. So what's the deal now, a player that is taller than his opponent can no longer hit him? Kassian's knees were bent, he lowered himself into the hit. This is ridiculous.

 

[missinthejets]

It is always amazing how opinions can vary so greatly. Not quite the OJ trial but still puzzling how people are questioning a two game suspension here. I am Canadian and a fan of a physical game but hits to the head have to be dealt with harshly and swiftly. Frk's move although dirty and potentially painful is not the same level so those asking for 4 games need to re evaluate.

The hit on Leblanc after he scored was dirty and also deserved punishment - he was in a vulnerable position.

I couldn't disagree more strongly with that statement.... to me it's hits from behind and the dirty stickwork and other crap that really needs to be cracked down on because those are the kinds of things that a player has no defense from. Hits to the head would be a non issue if more players simply had a better awareness of what the situation on the ice is. Keep your head up and know who's on you and where you are and if there's someone who is looking to flatten you and you won't see guys getting nailed like that. It sounds harsh because concussions can be a troublesome injury, but it's simply the way it is. Protect yourself and you won't get hit in the head unless it's something truly dirty like an elbow or someone leaving the feet.

 

[NHLHammerbound*]

Guess we all know what happens nxt eh ?

When Kassian comes back in the semis, Our Euro opponents will be throwing themselves on the ice, and laying prostrate , every time he so much as touches them. And there's a good chance the refs will fall for it. The only saving grace is that these games are being played in North America where the audience is a tad more savvy, so there's less chance of the crowd being taken in too / unduly influencing things

 

[Davebo*]

Their hip areas barely even touched one another and the guy went flying. If the hit wasn't high where did you see the contact?

Look up the definition of 'high hit' first, then come back and talk.

This hit wasn't an example of a classic high hit. The hit was shoulder to shoulder, and if the czech had his head up he'd be fine. There wouldn't have even been the graze of the chin that has everyone wound up.

 

[Erathian]

I think that 2 matches is too strict decision.

 

[SabresSharks]

The hit was late, and should have been an interference penalty, but was not dirty nor worthy of a suspension.

Anyone who knows Kassian knows he can play dirty, and that hit was certainly not an example.

Shame on the IIHF.

 

[mooseOAK*]

Look up the definition of 'high hit' first, then come back and talk.

This hit wasn't an example of a classic high hit. The hit was shoulder to shoulder, and if the czech had his head up he'd be fine. There wouldn't have even been the graze of the chin that has everyone wound up.

Unless a hit to the forehead is the only high hit I can't think of any way else to describe it.

Kids need to be protected.

 

[ThundaLion]

I think they made the right decision. In my opinion it was a bad hit by Kassian and he should miss a few games for it. Thankfully it shouldn't have much of an impact for Canada.

 

[Davebo*]

Unless a hit to the forehead is the only high hit I can't think of any way else to describe it.

Go look it up. This is not an example of a high hit. Not by any stretch.

Kids need to be protected.

Finally, something we can agree upon.

 

[joshjull]

Unless a hit to the forehead is the only high hit I can't think of any way else to describe it.

Kids need to be protected.

On that we are in agreement. When there are such size differences between kids ages 16-19 (kids hit growth spurts at different ages) they need to be tougher with suspensions and protecting the kids. I understand the suspension but I do feel bad for Kassian.


I don't think he was headhunting in the slightest. I think it was simply a case of a much bigger man hitting a smaller kid. The gap in size between them is enormous. Kassian weighs almost 50lbs more than the Czech kid and is 4 inches taller.

I mentioned it earlier but I'm amazed at the damage done with that hit. Kassian wasn't skating fast at all. In fact he was pretty much floating/gliding in the neutral zone when he hit him. As Sabres fan I'm used to Kaleta flying like a heat seeking missle to nail someone. But this hit wasn't that at all.

But this hit is the very reason why they are tougher and look out for the kids when handing out suspensions.

 

[bruinsfan46]

Kassian is a 6'3", 225 pound man (just look at his face, he looks like he's 30) playing against teenage boys. Inevitably he was gonna hurt somebody and the IIHF is somehow even worse than Dave Branch for the p***yfying of hockey so he gets two games for a hit that could have been two for interference if anything. It was a split second late but not late enough to warrant a suspension and he in no way targeted the head. Kassian's just a really, really big guy, what's he supposed to do? Drop to a knee to hit a guy?

 

[OilerTyler]

Fact of the matter, if Senkerik isn't taken out on a stetcher, if he doesn't admire his pass, if he doesn't try to avoid the hit but brace for it instead, we are all talking about an amazing open ice hit that would have been a highlight check. This is a suspension based on injury and nothing else. It's an utter joke in my opinion. People can argue this all they want, but I do not agree with the penalty handed out on the ice let alone a BS 2 game suspension. So what's the deal now, a player that is taller than his opponent can no longer hit him? Kassian's knees were bent, he lowered himself into the hit. This is ridiculous.

I agree that it was a suspension based on injury. Hell, the refs didn't even think it was a penalty until the stretcher came out. That is when they first announced that there was a penalty on the play.

 

[wickedwitch]

Two things:
This seems an awful like the Thornton hit.
IIHF rules are not the same as NHL rules.

 

[joshjull]

Kassian is a 6'3", 225 pound man (just look at his face, he looks like he's 30) playing against teenage boys. Inevitably he was gonna hurt somebody and the IIHF is somehow even worse than Dave Branch for the p***yfying of hockey so he gets two games for a hit that could have been two for interference if anything. It was a split second late but not late enough to warrant a suspension and he in no way targeted the head. Kassian's just a really, really big guy, what's he supposed to do? Drop to a knee to hit a guy?

Kassian on more than a few occassions avoided hitting Russians in that game and some Czechs in this game for the very things we are poiting out. He is a huge man playing against much smaller kids in many cases.


He is a much less physically violent player than he he used to be.

 

[OilerFanatic88]

Haha what a joke of a picture to use as "evidence". Worst possible angle... I can't believe you are claiming that this picture serves alone as evidence.

I think there was contact to the jaw... that's what I see when I watch the replay. Whether or not it was intentional is debatable...

Still, I understand the suspension, they are cracking down specifically on hits to the head, and even the possibility of a head hit is gonna be called

 

[SanderSen]

With kids, better to err on the side of caution. You can't apply an NHL standard to this tournament. The hit was late, and it looked like Kassian was out to make the hit regardless of where the puck was. It was also high enough to catch part of his neck and head and give a concussion.

It was more of a borderline call than other hits, but I don't think the ruling deserves the outrage some people are pouring out. The call on the ice or 1 game was likely more appropriate. Perhaps the IIHF was looking at the fact that this was a hit where the player had been tracked and lined up to get nailed, then the hit was late.

 

[LostMyGlasses*]

Good, the team will take it. Those kinds of hits are the one's you fight extra hard to kill off. Hopefully Canada comes out hitting even harder tonight. That's our game, I don't care how many people the Euro's suspend.

 

[SanderSen]

Good, the team will take it. Those kinds of hits are the one's you fight extra hard to kill off. Hopefully Canada comes out hitting even harder tonight. That's our game, I don't care how many people the Euro's suspend.

Hitting hard is fine, and plenty of the team has done that and that is great, it's hockey. Unnecessary blindside hits to the head are not - and this would fit the NHL blindside definitation. There is a difference.

 

[Yourself]

Bob MacKenzie has changed his mind on the hit as well saying there was contact to the head.
Kassian was definately going for the " big hit " again. the only difference between this one and last years was that he did not leave his feet.
If it was a Canadian player that was the one that got hit, Canadian fans would be asking for a tournament suspension.
This is exactly the kind of hit the NHL is coming down hard on. It will be interesting to see what the decision is by IIHF

********, if it was a Canadian getting hit Canadians would be saying good hit because we want the game to stay physical. The fact that he got two games from this is brutal. Canada should just boycott the tourny in the future if this is a two game suspension.

edit: And too anyone saying this was blindside, it was not unless the guy is actually blind. Seriously, while we are making this game into soccer I think we should force teams to ice players that are only the exact same height and weight to help stop these hits.

 

[CarlWinslow]

Garbage decision. The IIHF is a joke.

Why don't they just get it over with and use the same rules they do for women's hockey already?

 

[In Exisle]

Senkerik shouldn't have been admiring his pass.. that said, Kassian should have been a bit more careful given the context of the tournament (IIHF rules). Additionally, Kassian did seem to make contact with the head by accident.

I think two games is too much.. the automatic one game was enough. Hope Senkerik is alright!

 

[Muston Atthews]

On that we are in agreement. When there are such size differences between kids ages 16-19 (kids hit growth spurts at different ages) they need to be tougher with suspensions and protecting the kids. I understand the suspension but I do feel bad for Kassian.


I don't think he was headhunting in the slightest. I think it was simply a case of a much bigger man hitting a smaller kid. The gap in size between them is enormous. Kassian weighs almost 50lbs more than the Czech kid and is 4 inches taller.

I mentioned it earlier but I'm amazed at the damage done with that hit. Kassian wasn't skating fast at all. In fact he was pretty much floating/gliding in the neutral zone when he hit him. As Sabres fan I'm used to Kaleta flying like a heat seeking missle to nail someone. But this hit wasn't that at all.

But this hit is the very reason why they are tougher and look out for the kids when handing out suspensions.

its stupid, "protect our kids". bs. dont play the game at such a level if you're that small, all these new rules are complete bs. Im 17 by the way, i love laying people out, and seeing someone get KO'd by a hit (not leaving his feet, player has/had the puck) etc, is a thing of beauty. but now its all *********.

Kassian is a 6'3", 225 pound man (just look at his face, he looks like he's 30) playing against teenage boys. Inevitably he was gonna hurt somebody and the IIHF is somehow even worse than Dave Branch for the p***yfying of hockey so he gets two games for a hit that could have been two for interference if anything. It was a split second late but not late enough to warrant a suspension and he in no way targeted the head. Kassian's just a really, really big guy, what's he supposed to do? Drop to a knee to hit a guy?

i agree, kassian is one scary looking mofo

 

[mooseOAK*]

Kassian is a 6'3", 225 pound man (just look at his face, he looks like he's 30) playing against teenage boys. Inevitably he was gonna hurt somebody and the IIHF is somehow even worse than Dave Branch for the p***yfying of hockey so he gets two games for a hit that could have been two for interference if anything. It was a split second late but not late enough to warrant a suspension and he in no way targeted the head. Kassian's just a really, really big guy, what's he supposed to do? Drop to a knee to hit a guy?

People keep writing that for some reason.

Even in the NHL they changed the rule to an interference penalty that results in an injury is a punishable offence.