As momentum for The Messier Project and the M11 helmet continues to build, Mark Messier shares his thoughts here at the Captain’s Blog on the recent NHL GM meetings and the overwhelmingly positive response to the Project and its mission.
1.) First, congratulations on being named the General Manager of Hockey Canada’s 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championship team!
Thank you! It is an incredible opportunity and challenge to do something special for Hockey Canada. Canadians are passionate about hockey, so as a player, representing my country always held a special significance. I am now looking forward to the challenge on the management side to position our team to compete for gold and represent Canada with pride.
Over the coming weeks and months, I will be looking to name a management staff, a coaching staff and then identify players that will give Canada the best chance at winning gold in May 2010.
2.) Speaking of General Managers, recently you and your sister Mary-Kay had an opportunity to present to the NHL General Managers on behalf of The Messier Project and the M11. Can you tell us a bit about those meetings and the feedback you received?
It was a tremendous honor and opportunity to present The Messier Project and the M11 to the NHL General Managers. They have a lot at stake – first and foremost, protecting their players. However they also have a business to run and millions of dollars are lost over the course of an NHL season as a result of games missed due to injury.
Everybody is paying attention and it is very positive to see all the game’s greatest influencers working to find a solution. I think all the teams were very open-minded and interested in learning about the M11 and Seven Technology.
I am very 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 to come together to really address the issue of concussion in hockey.
Change is not easy and it takes time, but when you consider the consequences and if you truly believe in the mission, then you have to be persistent and stay the course. Overall, we are off to a great start as the response to The Messier Project and the M11 has been overwhelming!
We have a few NHL players wearing the M11 and I know they love it. They have been exceptionally supportive and have really embraced the greater initiative to not only make the choice to protect themselves better, but in doing so, also set a great example for our youth – which at the end of the day is at the very heart of our mission and why I got involved in this issue.
Harvard University came on board right from day one and that has been a tremendous experience – they too have taken a leadership role and I am proud to have them on my team.
Hockey Canada, the NHL and the NHLPA have all been supportive, as well as many of the State divisions of USA Hockey.
We now have dealers across North America who have partnered with us to make the M11 available. We can’t keep up with all the new teams joining The Messier Project! Take a look at “The Evolved” section of our website for a list of the players and teams that are wearing the M11.
And we receive emails every day from parents, players and coaches and associations that are completely on board. When I see these letters and meet parents that thank me for what I am doing, it reminds me just how important The Messier Project is to the sport of hockey.
3.) With your work on behalf of The Messier Project and in sharing your mission with players, leagues, coaches, parents, teams, equipment managers, trainers and associations across North America, you have quickly become a pioneer in making head (brain) protection a priority in the game of hockey. What inspired you to act and to become a leader in this mission to change priorities in the sport?
The concussion issue was what first brought me to the table. The fact that we are still basically using the same technology in our helmets that we have used over the last three decades or more is horrifying. Every single piece of our equipment has evolved except the helmet.
Right now there is a lot of focus on how the helmet looks- that seems to be the determining factor players base their decision on, not only at the pro level, but also with the kids. That is frightening when you consider what’s at stake. But I also think it is understandable – up until now – because players really haven’t had a choice. Basically all helmets have been equal in that they all do a great job preventing against catastrophic injury. If the protection is all equal, players could then make their decision based on design, comfort and look.
That is why, I feel, the mission of The Messier Project is so important. We need to change the priorities within our sport to make head protection a top priority- and it needs to be a concerted effort on the part of all the stake holders: players, NHL, NHLPA, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, and perhaps most importantly, the manufacturers.
Concussions have crept into our game and we need to find a way to address this issue, which has become an epidemic. Cascade Sports has spent years innovating and developing products solely for the purpose of filling this void and providing better head protection. That is why I am so proud to partner with them in this initiative.
The revolutionary Seven Technology, featured in the M11, is a liner system that Cascade Sports designed to manage multiple impacts more effectively. This is key and the first step in moving our sport in the right direction. However, as we continue to educate, and head protection becomes the priority, I believe in the next five years, we will be wearing helmets that won’t even resemble what we have worn for the last three decades or more.
The time has come to change. The players are ready, and I believe they will demand better protection.
Thanks for reading and check in next week- I’ll share my concerns over the current state of youth hockey and discuss other factors that must be addressed to better protect our players.
December 16th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Dear Mr. Messier:
Thanks for the great and important work you are doing. I am not a lifetime hockey jock like so many in the sport, though I am coaching my son’s PeeWee team for the first time. I just bought my son the M11.
At the youth level, there is something way more important that you can do than even promote better helmet technology, but you will get a tremendous amount of resistance.
At the house Peewee and Bantam levels, there is no reason to have full bodychecking and in my view, it should be banned by USA Hockey. I live outside of D.C., and the immense popularity of the Capitals has a lot of kids trying hockey for the first time at 10, 11, and 12 years old instead of at the Atom or Mite level. There is a staggering disparity in both size and skills at these ages. I have 5 kids on my team that are beginning players and they don’t weigh 75 pounds dripping wet. We work constantly on skating with heads up and physical play, but they are still sitting ducks for bigger better kids. The beginners are just trying to skate and figure out the game without having to worry about getting killed. The game should be more about skating and skills at this age.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no full contact until 15–it’s easy to look up.
Let me emphasize that this is NOT for travel hockey or kids playing at higher levels–I understand that this is a very physical game at the better levels.
But it is a lot easier to prevent concussions than treat them afterward as you know.
We are all trying to promote hockey as it is such a great sport in so many ways. It makes no sense to have so many kids get serious injuries at 11 and 12 years old. There is also one other side effect: it opens up Peewees to girls who just want to play rec hockey and not have to join a girls’ travel team to keep playing.
The old line hockey argument is that the earlier kids hit, the better prepared they are later down the road. I think that’s a poor argument— basically, it is saying that it’s ok to take injuries at young ages to possibly prevent them when they get older.
There are many parents that agree with me, but frankly, most of the hockey establishment does not. Your leadership on this issue would go a very long way toward turning the tide.
Best Regards,
Jay M. Weinstein
January 5th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
I see the M11 as a huge step forward in Helmet technology. In order for that technology to work properly, players must follow the guidelines that Dr. Tater outlines at thinkfirst. The helmet must fit properly on the head and the chinstrap must be no longer than 2 finger widths under the chin. Unfortunately the later is the exception and not the rule. Mr. Messier, the M11 will not protect the head UNLESS the chinstrap is tight and you must stress when speaking of the M11. You MUST get that message through to all levels of hockey, especially the NHL. All I every hear about is softer shoulder pads and elbow pads and nothing is ever said about the chinstrap and that needs to change. Helmet technology has changed for the better over the years but the chinstrap is still the ONLY way to keep it secured to the head so it doesn’t fall off.