"Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn has been suspended for one game for charging New Jersey Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov in NHL Game No. 30 in New Jersey on Tuesday, January 22, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today."Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Schenn will forfeit $4,702.70. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.
"The incident occurred at 12:37 of the second period. No penalty was assessed on the play."
- NHL.com
A few notes:
First, it is good to see the NHL Department of Player Safety continuing the videos. It is good to hear Brendon Shanahan (though we didn't see him and his jacket / no tie self) in this video.
I have always argued it is good for these videos to exist because it allows the NHL to explain, with evidence, their position regarding a supplimental discipline decision. I certainly hope there are more videos on why they didn't suspend someone after controversal hits, but I don't have hopes that will happen.
Second, this supplimental discipline seems reasonable. No priors, no apparent injury, not a particularly vicious hit, but certainly outside the lines of acceptability. Yeah, one game seems fair.
Last, why in the world wasn't this play called on the ice? Referee Jean Hebert was behind the net, watching the puck go around the ice. Referee Brad Watson was at center ice near the penalty boxes, also watching. Hebert didn't see how far Brayden had travelled, but certainly saw the impact. Watson should have been able to see the distance and the hit. I put the onus of this non-call on Hebert because, although distance is mentioned in the rules, it is not the overriding factor. It's the degree of the hit.
Rule 42:1 Charging
"A minor of major penalty shall be imposed on a player who skates or jumps into, or chages an opponent in any manner."Charging shall mean the actions of a player who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner. A "charge" may be the result of a check into the boards, into the goal frame or in open ice."
It is apparent that the jumping and knocking over of Volchenkov should have been enough to merit a penalty for charging. If it wasn't for the distance traveled (say, if Brayden had been standing there and jumped), Brayden would have been knocked over by Volchenkov's momentum.
If you missed this game, you missed Ilya Kovalchuk scoring on a penalty shot.
