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Former Pitt Penguin player killed on ice in minor league game

Obliviax said:
Adam Johnson was playing in the Canadian Elite League. A skate slit his throat and he bled to death. I was at a game many years ago when a player's throat was slit but it didn't pierce his jugular. Just a horrible accident.

www.cbssports.com

Ex-Penguins player Adam Johnson dies at 29 after 'freak accident' during Elite Ice Hockey League game

Johnson took a skate blade to the neck during Saturday's game in England
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I just sent my brother and sister the Pittsburgh Tribune Review link to today's article about that. My brother and I have been going to Penguins' games since we were kids in the mid-70s, and my nephew played the sport and now is an official, so we love this sport and something like this really hurts.

A few years ago, a Connecticut high school player also had his throat cut by a skate blade and died. Immediately after that happened, the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League immediately required that all of its players were neck protection or be disqualified. I'm just amazed that basically no NHL players wear this neck protection, which is a simple Kevlar strap that goes around the neck. I also believe that there is a protective turtleneck that can be worn. Anyway, it's amazing that this doesn't happen more often because this sport has become so fast now; it really has become too fast for its own good.
 
Obliviax said:
looks like the player hit him on purpose. I won't show the clip but it is pretty bad.
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Holy crap I've never seen a player fly through the air like that (the hitter, not Johnson). I assumed Johnson fell and got slashed, but he could not have standing taller if he tried. The guy is now apparently being investigated by the English police for murder.
 
Now they use titanium skates. Much sharper than the old steel skates. Need to require neck protection.


10-15 years ago a goalie for the Buffalo Sabres had his throat slit in a scrum at the net. Got up with blood pouring down his Jersey and immediately skated to the bench. A trainer met him with a towel to apply pressure. Got him to hospital and saved his life.
 
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The Spin Meister said:
Now they use titanium skates. Much sharper than the old steel skates. Need to require neck protection.


10-15 years ago a goalie for the Buffalo Sabres had his throat slit in a scrum at the net. Got up with blood pouring down his Jersey and immediately skated to the bench. A trainer met him with a towel to apply pressure. Got him to hospital and saved his life.
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Yeah Clint Malarchuk.
RIP Adam Johnson--incredibly sad and scary
 
91Joe95 said:
Holy crap I've never seen a player fly through the air like that (the hitter, not Johnson). I assumed Johnson fell and got slashed, but he could not have standing taller if he tried. The guy is now apparently being investigated by the English police for murder.
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Looks exactly like Shaun Michael’s Sweet Chin Music.

I do find it interesting that the media has immediately accepted that it was a freak accident. While I’m 100% sure Matt Petgrave didn’t intend to kill him, he is a dirty player (led league in penalty minutes the previous season) and I think it’s entirely plausible that he was looking to seriously hurt Adam Johnson.
 
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Obliviax said:
Adam Johnson was playing in the Canadian Elite League. A skate slit his throat and he bled to death. I was at a game many years ago when a player's throat was slit but it didn't pierce his jugular. Just a horrible accident.

www.cbssports.com

Ex-Penguins player Adam Johnson dies at 29 after 'freak accident' during Elite Ice Hockey League game

Johnson took a skate blade to the neck during Saturday's game in England
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
Click to expand...
I just heard on a Pittsburgh sports talk radio show that the Penguins are making neck guards mandatory for all of their players who play on their Wilkes-Barre and Wheeling teams.
 
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bcspsu said:
I just heard on a Pittsburgh sports talk radio show that the Penguins are making mandatory neck guards for all of their players who play on their Wilkes-Barre and Wheeling teams.
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That's good--at first I thought you were going to say at the NHL level and was expecting multiple trade requests
 
LandoComando said:
That's good--at first I thought you were going to say at the NHL level and was expecting multiple trade requests
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With the way they're playing now and how old they are, they probably are going to be making a lot of trades in about another three or four months to start the rebuilding process that should've started several seasons ago. I just hope that the new GM is brave enough to trade Malkin, Letang and, yes, even Crosby if they are hopelessly out of it by February.

Before anybody bashes me about wanting to trade Crosby if they are hopelessly out of it, which I expect they wouldn't do, just remember that the Blackhawks traded Patrick Kane last season, who was one of their three or four greatest players in their history and a sure HOFer.

Regardless, this team is going to go through a very long and painful period without playoffs for several seasons. Hopefully, they become bad enough that they'll be able to draft another generational talent to help turn things around.
 
We all know how difficult, if not impossible, it would be to do that intentionally at that speed, right?
For those that played hockey--could you have done that?
 
The Spin Meister said:
Reports are that police are investigating.

Looks like manslaughter to me. Doubt he intended to kill him but was extremely reckless in a very dangerous way.
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He was definitely out of control but for it to be manslaughter they have to prove it was "an unlawful act with the intent to do harm". Not sure if what happened here is unlawful but I don't know all of their laws so I guess they could make something stick. It's good they're investigating though. Kid died and it was preventable.
 
91Joe95 said:
Anyone who thinks he was merely out of control has never watched or played hockey.
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Cam you clarify what you think he intended to do because maybe that's for disconnect? I played hockey at a very high level and don't know anyone that could have managed at that speed to intentionally target his throat.
 
LandoComando said:
Cam you clarify what you think he intended to do because maybe that's for disconnect? I played hockey at a very high level and don't know anyone that could have managed at that speed to intentionally target his throat.
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I don’t think he intentionally targeted the throat. But he threw his leg up …. probably hoping to knock the guy down or slow him down by hitting him in the chest. But skates are very dangerous, other players have been seriously injured by them, and players know that.

And you don’t need to show intent to harm for manslaughter. Shot a rifle into the sky and if the bullet comes down and kills someone you will be charged with manslaughter.
 
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The Spin Meister said:
I don’t think he intentionally targeted the throat. But he threw his leg up …. probably hoping to knock the guy down or slow him down by hitting him in the chest. But skates are very dangerous, other players have been seriously injured by them, and players know that.

And you don’t need to show intent to harm for manslaughter. Shot a rifle into the sky and if the bullet comes down and kills someone you will be charged with manslaughter.
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In England you need intent to harm "Involuntary manslaughter occurs when a person intends an unlawful act that is likely to do harm to the person, and death results which was neither foreseen nor intended.". You could argue that was his intent--just got prove it.

I do agree it's very possible, if not very likely, he was trying to make contact and it was dangerous.
 
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91Joe95 said:
That's premeditated. That's intent to injure. That resulted in a death.
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I'm not saying you're wrong but it's tough to prove that the intent was to injure. It's not as clear cut as Bertuzzi-Moore.
I just wanted clarification that you didn't think he had the ability to target his throat because no one has that kind of control at that speed. Intent to make contact and being reckless--100%.
 
Erial_Lion said:
What a brutal video…the media is “suppressing the video” (does the media usually like to show videos of people dying?)…the player has a “history of this” because he “leads the league in penalty minutes”. Like, have people that believe this is “intentional” ever played hockey?
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Raising your skate off the ice to injure someone is something I have never seen or heard of. YES!!!! He obviously intended to badly injure him.
 
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