Greg Gilbert on Helmets & Fighting in Hockey

This was part of my post-game audio from Saturday, January 24th, 2009 after the Toronto Marlies beat the Chicago Wolves 3-1.

The day before this, an AHL player from the Philadelphia Phantoms (Garret Klotz) was knocked out during a fight, and suffered a seizure.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• fighting
• in
• hockey
• fights
• knockout
• seizure
• garret
• klotz
• philadelphia
• phantoms
• ahl
• greg
• gilbert
• helmets
• probert
• marlies

[Matteh1987]

Steve are you using a new camera?

[SteveDangle]

I did for this one. It's a lot nicer, that's for sure. I'll use it every now and then ,but in general, the webcam one is so much easier for me.

[Samsasrenjet]

I think that fighting should be restricted to scuffles with both gloves and helmets on. It's a good compromise between removing fighting, and letting people massacre each other.

[SteveDangle]

While I want to phase fighting out as well, and think helmets should be mandatory in fighting, gloves would make matters worse. They're tough, hard, pieces of equipmet; not oven mits. But that's another debate.

[Steve0016]

Make the ice softer lol

[Zxceelxuz]

All players should be required to actually tighten the chin strap on their helmets, then we don't have incidents where they freakishly fall off on a good, clean check and they hit their head anyways. It would also help prevent Jakob Markstrom from ever pulling his gold medal game stunts again.

[reddragonskatekid]

pusssies ..accidents are always going to happen ...so lets say they take fightin out ..then what so much anger will be built up that players will start hittin from behind and usin their sticks....fightin is there so that they get there anger out and guys fight at there own risk its up to them to take the helmet off so why take it out ...ask any realy fighter they well say they dont even think twice about hittin there head on the ice ..and bro no helmets in hockey??? yeah maybe back in the 60;s

[BenitoDuce70]

The issue(especially as it relates to the AHL where virtually ALL of the players where one)is the Shield...Whats the point of a boxing match where half the face is guarded by a plexiglass Cover???

So in the Case of Klotz, he and his fellow combatant Kevin Westgarth each removed the helmet because of the Shield, the Head gear in and of itself was incidental!

[miasma94]

i think people should stop trying to protect people from themselves these are grown men who decide to fight and ya people will get hurt sometimes thats jsut how it is everywhere people have been getting hurt since the beggining of time and people will continue to get hurt thats what used to make this game so attractive you used to have to be tough to play hockey now we just have too many band-aids playing these soft players and fans gotta go

[Jefflered]

You should look into gettng a FlipMinoHD...they're pretty cool, and you can't go wrong on a $220 HD Camcorder. Plus its small enough you can bring it with you for the marlies interviews.

[RyBranR]

Thats irrelevant, you can still get seriously injured. The issue here is the safety of the players, not the manner they are hurt in. Either way, your no better off. Hockey players police themselves when they are PLAYING HOCKEY, and only in certain ways and situations. If two players agree to fight, then its 5 minutes for each of them, theyre both subjected to the same penalty. Off of the ice, they are subjected to laws just the same as anyone else, just like when they are on the ice.

[theroadrunner188]

i agree they should be kept on... just in case. But, its inaccurate to say that they kept helmets on "in the old days", because "in the old days" there were no helmets, and good old hockey players would still drop the mits and scrap. 

Like i said i think helmet should be kept on, but he didn't make a real valid point.

[troysmith111111111]

Hits with a guy with his head down are different from headshots, checks from behind, jumping hits.

And if hockey players have this right to police themselves, why can't everybody?

[RyBranR]

That's where your completely wrong. It IS a part of hockey, almost all of the players, gm's and coaches say it is. The game was meant to police itself, and thats why fighting is only a 5 minute penalty. Players know well the risks they are taking when they drop their gloves. Just the same as they know that when they're skating down the middle of the ice with their head down, they're eventually gonna get nailed.