Month: April 2022

To be honest with you guys, I am kind of devastated that this is my last blog post. I am also super upset that I am going to stop writing these before the Stanley Cup Playoffs even start! The Stanley Cup Playoffs are so fun and enjoyable to me, and in my opinion, they are the best playoffs out of all the major league sports. Nothing beats the bad blood and rivalry that brews out of an ice hockey seven game series. Sadly, however, the Philadelphia Flyers did not make the playoffs this year. They had a very rocky season riddled with injury. You guys are honestly lucky we didn’t have to do more passion blog posts, because I would definitely just be bitching about the Flyers in every single entry.

So, if you guys didn’t pick up on it yet, I’m very passionate about hockey. I have been for as long as I can remember. However, sadly again, hockey culture isn’t the most welcoming towards female fans. Female fans are often called “puck bunnies” and get made fun of by men for only watching the sport “because the players are good-looking”. Not only is this disrespectful to women, but it is also disrespectful towards the players. Women are perfectly capable of enjoying the sport out of a genuine love of the game. It is inherently sexist to assume that they only watch to catch glimpses of attractive players. This way of thinking also diminishes the skills and hard work of many hockey players, as it reduces them down to just their physical appearance. While I’m sure you can all tell right away that this type of prejudice towards female fans is wrong, I’ve dealt with it my whole life.

Reading the disgusting comments on hockey podcasts or Tweets about female fans often greatly upsets me. Talking with other male fans in real life can often upset me as well. While I recognize that not all male hockey fans are like this, there is definitely enough of them for the problem to need to be addressed. They often immediately assume I don’t actually know what I’m talking about and talk down to me. This even happened to me at Penn State just last semester. I approached the table for the ice hockey student section club, the Roar Zone, at the Involvement Fair, eagerly excited to get involved with Penn State ice hockey. However, I was quickly discouraged when the man at the table talked to me in a very condescending manner and began questioning my hockey intelligence. It was like the classic comments females receive when wearing band shirts. (“Oh, you like Led Zeppelin? Name three songs.”)

While I was initially disheartened about not being able to nurture my love of hockey at Penn State, I was presented with the amazing opportunity to write about it for my RCL passion blog. Through this blog, I was able to express and share my love and knowledge of the sport in a way that made me feel safe and respected. So, I would like to thank all of my readers and commenters for always seeming so interested and never talking down to me. I fear if not for this blog I would have let myself be silenced, but you guys encouraged me to continue to talk about the sport I love, and I am eternally grateful for that.

So, with all that said, thank you and farewell.

Dryden McKay, a goaltender for Minnesota State, was this year’s Hobey Baker Award recipient. The Hobey Baker Award is awarded each year to the top NCAA men’s ice hockey player. It is basically the Heisman Trophy for hockey. The Hobey Baker was first awarded in 1981, and since then, only two goaltenders have won the award before Dryden McKay this season. For this reason, Dryden being named the Hobey Baker Award winner this season was a huge deal in the hockey community. Being named the third goaltender recipient ever clearly showed that this kid was the real deal. Everyone, myself included, was so excited to see the bright future he would have in the National Hockey League. However, things quickly took a confusing turn when the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced he was under investigation.

After a private investigation, the USADA announced on Monday that McKay has accepted a six-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation. McKay was announced as an alternate goalie for the United States men’s ice hockey Olympic team for this year’s winter Olympics, so as per International Olympic Committee rule, he was tested for performance enhancing drugs. The USADA performed this test and notified McKay in February that his urine samples contained Ostarine, a doping substance that is on the list of USADA’s banned substances. The hockey world was shocked, yet McKay insisted his innocence and said he never used Ostarine or any form of steroid, for that matter.

McKay immediately shipped all of the allowed supplements and vitamins he was taking to an independent lab to determine how he could have ingested the Ostarine. The lab discovered trace contamination of Ostarine in an all-natural vitamin D3 immune booster Dryden was encouraged to take to protect him from Covid-19 and its symptoms. According to a statement released by Dryden, the USADA told him the amount of Ostarine was measured at trillionths of a gram and equivalent to the size of a grain of sand in a swimming pool. Because the amount was determined to be so small that it had no performance enhancing benefit and was proven to be taken unknowingly, an independent sports arbitrator and the NCAA lifted Dryden’s suspension and allowed him to continue playing for the rest of the collegiate season.

Still, the USADA refused to let Dryden go without punishment. They stated that although Dryden did not knowingly take the Ostarine, he is still responsible for the substances he puts in his body. Personally, I do not agree with this decision. It is clear by the miniscule amount in his body that Dryden was not actively taking this drug to give him an advantage in his performance. I believe it is also unfair to punish him for the carless contamination practices of his vitamin company. According to his agent, McKay cooperated and accepted his six-month penalty to get the situation over with and be able to play for the start of the upcoming season. I understand not wanting to fight the sentence or drag it out, as he could potentially miss next season, but I still do not believe he deserves a suspension at all. It wasn’t his fault he was contaminated, and after thinking about this situation, it is quite scary to think of how many of our foods, vitamins, and protein supplements are contaminated with drugs or other substances that we aren’t even aware of.

On Monday night, another player was subject to yet another brutal Brad Marchand hit. Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Andrew Peeke was hit up high by Marchand and laid still on the ice for a few minutes before finally being able to get back up. Hits are a part of the game of hockey; there’s no denying that. In fact, many fans think that they are the most fun part of the game (behind the fights of course). However, in a world with ever-evolving views on player safety issues and CTE research, I feel it is necessary that the hits must be clean, at the least.

Brad Marchand is a repeat offender within the NHL. He has been suspended a total of eight times by the Department of Player Safety, making him the player with the most suspensions in NHL history. His most recent suspension was on February 24^th, as he was suspended six games for roughing and punching unsuspecting Pittsburgh goaltender, Tristan Jarry. At this point, Marchand’s actions are no longer defendable. He makes gutless, senseless plays that constantly injure other players. It is also concerning that after being suspended and fined so many times for his dangerous play, he continues to act this way. A suspension is supposed to teach players a lesson, but Marchand came back and hit Peeke less than a month after his last suspension.

Most hits in hockey are routine and classified as a “clean hit.” They happen when a player has possession of the puck or is positioned against the boards in a way that a defensive player can hit his body to try and knock him off the puck. However, a hit can quickly be deemed dirty if said player goes out of his way to injure the other player. For example, body on body contact is allowed, however a hit up high to a defenseless player’s head is penalty worthy. A player can also not leave his feet or jump up when making contact. He must skate into him. This measure is also to prevent unnecessary hits to the head. However, despite these rules, Brad Marchand did both of these things during his hit on Peeke, which can be seen in the linked video below.

Here's a look at Brad Marchand's hit on Andrew Peeke: pic.twitter.com/kUBiS4ge0w

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) April 4, 2022

Marchand was not penalized for the hit during the game. I am not sure if the referee wasn’t paying attention or if it was a blatant no-call, but it was definitely penalty worthy. In fact, “Brad Marchand” quickly became trending on Twitter immediately after the hit. Fans were furious that the hit wasn’t called as a penalty, and many were just voicing their general dislike of Marchand as a player. The following Tweet from Twitter user @_rantanen_ effectively summarizes how most NHL fans felt after seeing the hit.

https://twitter.com/_rantanen_/status/1511133878752219141?s=20&t=IThvyaDkeGRvitoXtj1Xmw

After new, recent research highlighting the effects of CTE and the toll that head injuries from hockey take on a player’s body, it is more important than ever for the Department of Player Safety to ensure hits like these do not take place. Some are calling for Marchand’s complete ban from the league. This seems like a drastic measure, and it is definitely a controversial decision. However, I do believe for sure that the DoPS should look into this hit and have a hearing with Brad Marchand. While this will likely only result in another suspension, I do believe it is important for the league to put their foot down and let others know that these types of hits will not be tolerated anymore.