Photo credit: James Lang-Imagn Images
It’s a situation that’s raising a lot of questions about player safety this morning in Milan.
NHL concussion spotters are indeed present on site in Italy.
According to the information reported by Marc-Antoine Godin, the protocol in place at the Olympic Games is exactly the same as in the NHL.
That’s where the confusion lies for fans.
Slafkovsky went headfirst into the boards and clearly grabbed his head after the impact.
In a regular-season game at the Bell Centre, he would clearly have been pulled from the game immediately by the “spotters.”
Yet against Germany, no one intervened to force the young forward to undergo an immediate medical evaluation.
We can agree that it’s very strange, even concerning, to see the protocol seemingly ignored like this at an event of such magnitude.
A decision that’s generating buzz regarding Juraj Slafkovsky and the concussion protocol
Journalist Karine Hains raises a major point: what’s the purpose of the observers if they don’t intervene on a sequence that obvious?
“NHL Spotters for concussion are in Milan, and the same concussion protocol applies, reports Marc-Antoine Godin. It’s weird that they didn’t pull Slafkovsky from the game to check that he didn’t suffer a concussion when he fell headfirst in the boards and held his head.”
– Karine Hains
The risk of allowing an athlete to keep playing after grabbing his head following a hit is far from negligible.
The Montreal Canadiens are holding their breath, hoping there won’t be delayed symptoms for their first overall pick, especially when it comes to a potential concussion.
It will be worth monitoring whether the league issues a statement to justify the silence from the independent observers.
Maybe Juraj Slafkovsky suffered a concussion this morning, maybe he’s perfectly fine as well, but it would have been wise (at the very least) to check.
It’s about the young player’s long-term health, too.
Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics
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Juraj Slafkovsky headfirst incident vs Germany raises Olympic concussion protocol concerns
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