132 replies to this topic

[haroldsnepsts]

Agreed.

They touch on the role of enforcers briefly, but do not explore the roots of it's existence, and IMO the fella near the end of video #2 (not sure if he's an MD since his credentials weren't listed) comes across as a jerk when describing the crowds reaction to a fight that took place during a game in Boston.

It'll be interesting to see what parts 2 and 3 hold. Mainly I just think it was interesting to hear about Boogaard's path to the NHL. I don't have a problem with fighting in the NHL or enforcers, but honestly I had forgotten about where it all starts. 16 year olds beating the snot out of each other week after week is a little harder to swallow than grown men doing it for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

[F.Michael]

It'll be interesting to see what parts 2 and 3 hold. Mainly I just think it was interesting to hear about Boogaard's path to the NHL. I don't have a problem with fighting in the NHL or enforcers, but honestly I had forgotten about where it all starts. 16 year olds beating the snot out of each other week after week is a little harder to swallow than grown men doing it for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That's 1 aspect of the game many are quite unfamiliar with...I've read numerous articles in the past regarding how some teens begin their path down the road known as "Enforcer Ave"...If I remember correctly it was Craig Berube who at the age of 16 was told by his junior coach that if he wanted to "make it" he'd have to make better use of his physical play, and drop the mitts from time to time...A few days later his coach tested the young lad, and his willingness to get his nose dirty; during a scrimmage he goaded Berube enough to make him drop the gloves - only then to spear the kid in the gut...As Berube laid on the ice his coach told him never to drop his gloves, and stick until the opponent does so...Lesson learned.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros]

20+ games into the regular season, fighting has definitely dropped, continuing the trend we saw in the preseason. I wonder if the low numbers in fighting are a result of guys being more cautious about fighting now, or because a lot of scrappers are currently out, or a combination of both? George Parros has been out for a while. Mike Rupp has been injured for a while. B.J. Crombeen hasn't played a regular season game this season. Matt Carkner has been out all year. Additionally, guys like Steve MacIntyre, Eric Godard, Trevor Gillies, and D.J. King are all in the AHL right now, and the only guy I can see realistically being called for a lengthy stay with their NHL team is MacIntyre.

[F.Michael]

20+ games into the regular season, fighting has definitely dropped, continuing the trend we saw in the preseason. I wonder if the low numbers in fighting are a result of guys being more cautious about fighting now, or because a lot of scrappers are currently out, or a combination of both? George Parros has been out for a while. Mike Rupp has been injured for a while. B.J. Crombeen hasn't played a regular season game this season. Matt Carkner has been out all year. Additionally, guys like Steve MacIntyre, Eric Godard, Trevor Gillies, and D.J. King are all in the AHL right now, and the only guy I can see realistically being called for a lengthy stay with their NHL team is MacIntyre.

Not wanting to sound like an old-crotchedy type, but here it goes.....Back when I started watching hockey in the late 70's (and Red Wings in 1984) - many players on any given roster would drop the gloves (some of course more so than others)...Since the "Euro Invasion" of the early 90's we've seen a much greater influence, and emphasis on the finer skills of the game, and this mindset permeated down to youth levels thus resulting in a different set of values regarding the sport of ice hockey at all levels.

Today the game at the NHL level is faster than ever, and players possessing a much higher level of skill; this IMHO has brought about a reduction in the need for fisticuffs, and those that do engage are a handful when compared to what we had seen 20 plus years ago...These guys are "under the gun" so to speak, and are probably pressured to place themselves in harms way in order to justify their spot on the roster...In other words - these guys beat the snot outta each other, and suffer whatever consequences to earn the big $$$, and accept the fact that they are indeed a "dying breed".

[haroldsnepsts]

Sad, but not really a surprise at all.

NEW YORK -- Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain ailment related to Alzheimer's disease that is caused by repeated blows to the head, the New York Times reported.

The disease was more advanced in Boogaard than it was in famed enforcer Bob Probert, who died of heart failure in 2010 at 45.

http://www.freep.com/article/20111206/SPORTS05/112060417/1053/sports05

Part 2 and 3 of the NYT story on Boogaard is up.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/04/sports/hockey/boogaard-video.html#chapter/2

Edited by haroldsnepsts, 06 December 2011 - 11:42 AM.

[cusimano_brothers]

New York Times.

[haroldsnepsts]

New York Times.

Just throwing in a quote from the article:

A trove of documents, compiled by Boogaard’s father, offer a rare prescription-by-prescription history of the care given to a prominent, physically ailing athlete who struggled with addiction to some of the very drugs the team doctors were providing. The scores of prescriptions came before and after Boogaard’s entry into the league’s substance-abuse program in September 2009 for an addiction to painkillers and sleeping pills.

Among the findings:

¶ In a six-month stretch from October 2008 to April 2009, while playing 51 games, Boogaard received at least 25 prescriptions for the painkillers hydrocodone or oxycodone, a total of 622 pills, from 10 doctors — eight team doctors of the Wild, an oral surgeon in Minneapolis and a doctor for another N.H.L. team.

¶ In the fall of 2010, an official for the Rangers, Boogaard’s new team, was notified of Boogaard’s recurring abuse of narcotic pain pills. Nonetheless, a Rangers team dentist soon wrote the first of five prescriptions for hydrocodone for Boogaard after he sustained an injury.

¶ Another Rangers doctor, although aware that Boogaard also had been addicted to sleeping pills in the past, wrote nearly 10 prescriptions for Ambien during Boogaard’s lone season with the team.

The records reveal the ease with which Boogaard received prescription drugs — often shortly after sending a text message to a team doctor’s cellphone and without a notation made in team medical files. They also show the breadth of the drugs being prescribed, from flu medications and decongestants to antidepressants and anti-anxiety pills.

Most striking, though, are the narcotic painkillers and sleeping pills, which Boogaard had a history of abusing.

He had so access to so many doctors that it certainly would be difficult to keep track of all the meds he was on. Still, all these doctors should recognize a drug-seeking patient when they see one.

RIP Boogaard

[cusimano_brothers]

Another Rangers doctor

I wish it read "another ex-Rangers doctor".

[wingslogo19]

Just throwing in a quote from the article:


He had so access to so many doctors that it certainly would be difficult to keep track of all the meds he was on. Still, all these doctors should recognize a drug-seeking patient when they see one.

RIP Boogaard

It is quite sad to read that

[Konnan511]

1338854710[/url]' post='2305244']
I wish it read "another ex-Rangers doctor".

The sad part is you have to imagine that some sort of this conversation happened, "give our players whatever they want, or I'll find a medical team coach that will". "if they hurt, make them feel better." it's really the culture of sports.
Just like when Colt McCoy was clearly knocked retarded, the coaching staff STILL put him out there. All they had to say was "our bad", and it more or less went away.

[Shoreline]

Just throwing in a quote from the article:


He had so access to so many doctors that it certainly would be difficult to keep track of all the meds he was on. Still, all these doctors should recognize a drug-seeking patient when they see one.

RIP Boogaard

Doctors can't really be expected to police every individual's life for them.

Sorry Boogaard had to pay such a high price, but was a big boy, he made stupid choices, hopefully as a positive lesson others can learn from that before they make conscious choices to abuse drugs of any kind, including prescription meds.

Edited by Shoreline, 05 June 2012 - 11:43 AM.

[haroldsnepsts]

Doctors can't really be expected to police every individual's life for them.

Sorry Boogaard had to pay such a high price, but was a big boy, he made stupid choices, hopefully as a positive lesson others can learn from that before they make conscious choices to abuse drugs of any kind, including prescription meds.

I'm not expecting them to police every aspect of a players life, nor am I saying it's their fault and not Boogaard's, but they also have a responsibility to do no harm. If they're writing that many prescriptions when they don't even really see him as a patient, they're basically just drug suppliers not doctors.

[55fan]

Each doctor treats independently from each other, but pharmacies are supposed to keep track of sales of highly abused drugs. If someone is getting multiple prescriptions from multiple doctors and getting them filled at multiple pharmacies, that is a huge sign of abuse.

I don't know about other states, but in ND when someone gets a prescription filled, they go on a list and if there are multiples, they get red flagged. I have no idea what happens after that. I don't know if the doctors are notified, or what happens, but someone knows about it.

On the other hand, this is normal people I'm talking about. Hockey players have so many different maladies that the rest of us don't have, or at least don't have in rapid succession.

They probably need pain killers way more frequently, and for more things than the rest of us. They have chronic pains and a variety of temporary issues, all of which could require pain killers individually.

I'm still upset over Boo dying, but I don't fault anyone in it. It was what it was. Could someone have done something? I don't know. He went through the rehab. After that, it's up to him. You can only help someone so far.