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Messier introduces helmet to reduce concussions


nfreeman

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Posted

Check it out.

 

I don't have much to add to the title and sub-title of this thread, but the Sabres, who really need TC to stay healthy, are crazy if they don't at least take a long look at this.

 

DeLuca -- any thoughts?

Posted

I have seen this helmet being sold at my local rink. I dont really see many older players wearing them, but a lot of younger kids have them. They may help TC,

Posted

I love how it's all about reducing concussions, but in the picture, he's got the chin strap undone. That and the NHL finally creating contact to the head penalties are the best ways to reduce concussions. If this helmet does indeed work, that's great, but I'd wager a guess that the majority of concussions aren't related to the helmets.

Posted

I love how it's all about reducing concussions, but in the picture, he's got the chin strap undone. That and the NHL finally creating contact to the head penalties are the best ways to reduce concussions. If this helmet does indeed work, that's great, but I'd wager a guess that the majority of concussions aren't related to the helmets.

 

Exactly. They should make a helmet that you can't wear unless the chinstrap is tight.

Posted

I love how it's all about reducing concussions, but in the picture, he's got the chin strap undone. That and the NHL finally creating contact to the head penalties are the best ways to reduce concussions. If this helmet does indeed work, that's great, but I'd wager a guess that the majority of concussions aren't related to the helmets.

 

Chris Drury anyone?

Posted

Exactly. They should make a helmet that you can't wear unless the chinstrap is tight.

 

I've never understood how that is so uncomfortable that they'd rather put their health and lives at risk and wear it loose. I never even notice my chinstrap when I'm playing.

Posted

I'm all for requiring the chin straps to be fastened and for that matter for outlawing head shots. However, I don't think head shots are going to be banned anytime soon. I also think that there are quite a few concussions that aren't chinstrap-related but that could be prevented by a helmet like this -- e.g. TC's concussion against Ottawa and, for that matter, Drury's concussion against Ottawa, if (which we'll never know) it was caused by Neil's hit as opposed to Drury's head hitting the ice.

Posted

Blunt blows to the head. I am no expert, but it seems to me many of the concussions happen when the player is hit with a body check and it jars their head so the brain bounces off the back of the skull. Wasn't that how Connolly got hurt in that palyoff game in Ottawa? And Lindros being hit by Scott Stevens in that game 7 in like 2000[?] was the same way. So I don't think this will solve the problem completely or in a large way. That's my very unexpert opinion and I hope I am totally wrong about that.

Posted

I love how it's all about reducing concussions, but in the picture, he's got the chin strap undone. That and the NHL finally creating contact to the head penalties are the best ways to reduce concussions. If this helmet does indeed work, that's great, but I'd wager a guess that the majority of concussions aren't related to the helmets.

 

It says in the article that the helmet that he is hawking to everyone isn't the one in the picture. Probably an early prototype that they wanted him to model. I highly doubt he was playing while wearing that, but I do agree that players wearing their chinstraps so loose that it simply looks like the gear is going to pop off if any sort of contact to the head is initiated. I don't know why they even used that picture if it wasn't what he is pushing, kind of stupid.

Posted

Check it out.

 

I don't have much to add to the title and sub-title of this thread, but the Sabres, who really need TC to stay healthy, are crazy if they don't at least take a long look at this.

 

DeLuca -- any thoughts?

 

This is just Cascade's ploy to get into the big time of hockey equipment manufacturers. They are a fringe player now, but have dominated the lacrosse helmet market forever

 

Their "seven" technology isn't new, and isn't a noticable improvement over any top of the line helmet currently on the market. One of my sons plays with with a nike bauer 8500. The other wears a cascade. The cascade's technology is a little different, but doesn't seem to provide any real benefit over the nike bauer.

Posted

It says in the article that the helmet that he is hawking to everyone isn't the one in the picture. Probably an early prototype that they wanted him to model. I highly doubt he was playing while wearing that, but I do agree that players wearing their chinstraps so loose that it simply looks like the gear is going to pop off if any sort of contact to the head is initiated. I don't know why they even used that picture if it wasn't what he is pushing, kind of stupid.

 

The science isn't totally clear, but many concussions could be avoided by the use of a well formed mouth guard and having the chin in a locked position. Unfortunately TC skates around the ice with his mouth hanging open like some slack jawed british cigarette. If they wanted to get serious, they would have chin cups like youth helmets rather chin straps which only prevent the helmet from flying off their head after it is already concussed.

 

How that set up would work with out a cage, I have no idea. I'll leave that to the engineers to figure out.

 

All I know is that in football, where the collisions are far more violent and frequent than in hockey, concussions seem to be less of a problem.

Posted

All I know is that in football, where the collisions are far more violent and frequent than in hockey, concussions seem to be less of a problem.

 

Because football actually has rules against shots to the head while hockey doesn't. Strangely enough, football seems to have their head no straight when it comes to prevention while hockey doesn't, but hockey is miles ahead when it comes to treatment post-concussion as opposed to football.

Posted

Because football actually has rules against shots to the head while hockey doesn't. Strangely enough, football seems to have their head no straight when it comes to prevention while hockey doesn't, but hockey is miles ahead when it comes to treatment post-concussion as opposed to football.

 

I totally agree with you on post concussion treatment, but the no blow to the head rule only applies to the quarterback, the one position that coincidentally doesn't use a mouth guard. They are starting to remove blows to the head in other situations, generally only where the player is "defenseless". Other than that blows to the head are routine, encouraged, and accepted as part of playing the game hard. Admittedly, football helmets are far more protective than any hockey helmet I have ever seen.

Posted

Because football actually has rules against shots to the head while hockey doesn't. Strangely enough, football seems to have their head no straight when it comes to prevention while hockey doesn't, but hockey is miles ahead when it comes to treatment post-concussion as opposed to football.

 

 

Head to head collisions still do occur in football though. With those cases there sure does appear to be a lot less head injuries coming from those plays.

Posted

Head to head collisions still do occur in football though. With those cases there sure does appear to be a lot less head injuries coming from those plays.

 

Yeah, they just get their neck injuries instead. I think we're missing one important point here in regards to football. It may just seem like there are less concussions since football hasn't moved as far in terms of treating and diagnosing as hockey has. Since there is no 7 day symptom free thing like in hockey, it is very possible that these guys are in fact getting concussions that we never know about... or even worse, they never say a thing about it.

Posted

Yeah, they just get their neck injuries instead. I think we're missing one important point here in regards to football. It may just seem like there are less concussions since football hasn't moved as far in terms of treating and diagnosing as hockey has. Since there is no 7 day symptom free thing like in hockey, it is very possible that these guys are in fact getting concussions that we never know about... or even worse, they never say a thing about it.

 

 

I completely agree with that. Quite often you will see a guy who is out of it from a hit come back into a game a series or a play later and you know they probably have a concussion. But all you'll get out of the annoucncer is "well, he really got his bell rung!"

Posted

I completely agree with that. Quite often you will see a guy who is out of it from a hit come back into a game a series or a play later and you know they probably have a concussion. But all you'll get out of the annoucncer is "well, he really got his bell rung!"

 

It goes back to that whole Ted Johnson thing in New England. The teams just look the other way and force the guys right back out there. Since the money's not guaranteed and the union hasn't put up much of a stink about head injuries, the players can't really fight it at all.

Posted

The science isn't totally clear, but many concussions could be avoided by the use of a well formed mouth guard and having the chin in a locked position. Unfortunately TC skates around the ice with his mouth hanging open like some slack jawed british cigarette. If they wanted to get serious, they would have chin cups like youth helmets rather chin straps which only prevent the helmet from flying off their head after it is already concussed.

 

How that set up would work with out a cage, I have no idea. I'll leave that to the engineers to figure out.

 

All I know is that in football, where the collisions are far more violent and frequent than in hockey, concussions seem to be less of a problem.

I agree with all of this except the football part. As others have noted, I'd bet that there are many more concussions in football (and for that matter in hockey) than are reported.

Posted

 

I think the number is smaller in hockey than in football, but the speed of the hit is much greater on skates than running full speed.

 

The consensus seems to be that concussions are a bigger problem in football than in hockey, and that's just counting the football concussions we actually hear about. I agree with the consensus.

 

Speed is greater in hockey for some hits, for sure, (ie two guys skating at each other at 25 mph) but force = mass x acceleration. Guys in football are moving slower, but are much bigger. What that does to force, I don't know. Hockey also has hard objects like boards, glass and ice. They don't give very much.

 

I think there are two major differences: 1. In football, there are bone crushing hits on every play. The front seven on D, and the running back, tight end and O-line are smashing into someone on every play. Think about how many times a Sabre was involved in a big hit on a per game basis other than Mair and Kaleta. Maybe one? Maybe once every three or four games? 2. In football, the players are much better protected. Football helmets offer far more protection than hockey helmets. Maybe hockey players should just start wearing football helmets.

Posted

Off the helmet technology for a moment. I can't stand Mark Messier. He was in town for the award show in Las Vegas and there was a handful of fans that wanted an autograph from him and he couldn't give them 5 minutes of his time. And then telling people I will meet you outside in alittle while and then sign. He has no intention of signing anything for anyone. What an @ss! Hey the fans were the one's that made your salary what it was and you don't have 5 minutes! Are you kidding me. I have no respect for this guy! Total Jerk and unprofessional

Posted

Check it out.

 

I don't have much to add to the title and sub-title of this thread, but the Sabres, who really need TC to stay healthy, are crazy if they don't at least take a long look at this.

 

DeLuca -- any thoughts?

My initial thought was does it come in a full body armor to protect against general body soreness?

 

My second thought was that the last thing the players need is more armor. If you want to cut down the number of head injuries first try putting someone in charge of supplemental discipline instead of that moron Colin Campbell. Secondly they should be stripping away layers of body armor the players are wearing. There are far too many players in the NHL that wear more protection than NFL players. There is no need for players to be wearing hard plastic shields on the points of their elbows and shoulders. Players would be less likely to go for kill shots if it were muscle and bone and against muscle and bone.

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