Rich Boersma, a journalism student at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, is working on a story about the rising injury rates in the NHL and he had some really good questions for me and The Messier Project. I asked Rich if I could share a few of my responses with you here on The Captain’s Blog and he was kind enough to agree. Here are two of Rich’s questions and my reply. Thanks to Rich for his questions; I invite all of our readers and visitors to join in the conversation by posting comments here at my blog. I hope to hear from you.
Q: Have you thought about expanding your line to different equipment?
“Cascade Sports have been leaders in head protection for more than 20 years. It was their history of innovation and the company’s revolutionary Seven Technology that brought me to the table. I knew that I could work together with Cascade Sports to bring a player’s perspective to the design and development of the new M11 hockey helmet.
While I have been working to protect all players in our game through changing priorities – so that head protection is number one – and in the development of the M11, my main focus is and always has been on the kids. That’s why I’m very excited that The Messier Project will launch the M11 small size in February.
In regards to creating other equipment within The Messier Project line, I know Cascade Sports remains focused and committed to continuing their efforts to innovate and develop better head protection. Cascade Sports has a long history of innovation on head protection – first in swift water rescue helmets and then in lacrosse. In fact, Seven Technology was first used in Cascade’s Pro7 lacrosse helmet. But as soon as I learned about Seven Tech and understood how it worked, I immediately recognized its importance and relevance to hockey.
For me, I like the fact that every dollar the company invests in research and development goes towards innovating new technologies and creating new products that improve head protection. It is extremely expensive to design and build new products. The opportunity is really to take this expertise and experience and bring it to more sports – because so many are struggling with the same issues as hockey, in terms of head injuries.
Applying the technology and innovation to multiple sports also helps to keep the costs of the products down, because Cascade Sports can leverage their investment across multiple sports. When I first got involved with the company, I was very interested in the company’s ability to bring cutting edge technology and new products to the market at a price most hockey players can afford – that was extremely important to me.. If you check out the M11 compared to the other high performance helmets on the market today (in hockey), you will see how reasonably it is priced.
As the game of hockey continues to evolve, head protection and technology must continue to evolve in order to offer our athletes the best protection possible. For now, The Messier Project will continue to focus on developing new and innovative head protection and on changing priorities in the sport of hockey.”
Q: Do you think head shots and head injuries are the number one concern for hockey players?
“Concussions have crept into the game of hockey and I strongly believe we need to find a way to address the issue, which has become an epidemic. For me, the mission of The Messier Project is very much about changing priorities. The fact that we are still basically using the same technology in our helmets that we have used over the last three decades is horrifying. Every single piece of equipment has evolved except for the helmet.
While I cannot say whether or not concussions are the number one concern for players, I can say that I feel it is an extremely important issue and one that needs to be addressed across all levels of our sport, from the pros down to youth. While most players are aware of the issue, they just don’t go into a game, or practice for that matter, thinking they are going to get hurt. Part of it is the mentality of an athlete (the confidence that is required), and part of it is the heritage of the sport – the expectation that hockey players are courageous and play through injuries.
I do believe that everyone is paying attention right now, and I also believe most players feel it is time to change the mentality – and with that, we have a chance to change priorities. Over the last several months, it has been very rewarding to see the game’s greatest influencers working to find a solution. I am proud of the M11 and the mission of The Messier Project is very personal to me. But I also recognize that this is just one part of a finding a real solution.
We need all the stakeholders – players, coaches, General Managers, trainers, equipment mangers and parents – to come together, evaluate the current environment and all the changes that have led to the current environment (from rule changes to player attitudes and equipment evolution) to determine what really needs to be done. In order to address the issue of concussion in hockey, we have to get everyone pulling in the same direction. We have to gain a unified commitment from the stakeholders to find a solution… and it all starts with the conversation.”
