Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier is at the Hamilton Convention Centre for a hockey trade show, but he took some ‘time out’ to make a donation to a charity that helps kids learn to play hockey, regardless of their family income.
Messier and his sister Mary Kay have been working with a company called Cascade for about three years, developing helmets they say reduce the risk of concussion. That’s why they’re at the trade show.
Today they donated 100 M11 helmets, to the Hamilton Bulldogs‘ Skate the Dream program. Source for Sports donated the rest of the equipment to make 100 full sets; all to be used for kids in Hamilton’s north end in a new learn-to-play program.
Messier says he wants every kid to be able to play; he also says he wants to protect those young developing brains from taking the kind of abuse he took in 26 years in the NHL. He said they didn’t know the long-term effects of concussions back in the 80s and early 90s. He said it was a bravado thing; you got back on the ice.
The foam padding in most helmets gets compressed over time when your head gets knocked around, it doesn’t absorb the shock as well. You’re also supposed to replace helmets every few years.
The other thing about the M11 helmet is it has a dial at the back that will tighten the helmet all the way around your head, so if you take a hit your head doesn’t bounce around as much.
But Messier says helmets can’t eliminate concussions. However he’s encouraged that we’re talking about head injury more, players are trying to avoid them, they’re not trying to play through the symptoms; and even big, bulky non-camera-friendly buckets are considered an option – although you won’t find many in the NHL yet.
Video: Lisa Hepfner reports:
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