Hockey player killed on ice in middle of game. Was it a freak accident or manslaughter? (video)

This happened in England so I am not sure what their manslaughter laws look like. Doesn't look good though. I can't imagine that leg lifted on its own.

I won’t watch video so I cannot comment on whether it looked intentional or accidental. However, a person died and another was involved in his death, so at a minimum there should be a full investigation of the incident and the individuals mental state and background.

Only in sports can you assault someone and not be arrested(basketball and baseball fights). But punch a guy at grand central station and it's off to rikers.

If myles garret swung a helmet at a guys head at a bar he'd be in prison. On a football field?.....fair game.

Just lol at how we protect athletes.

Hockey is a dumb-a$$ sport

Crazy bad luck! Did deno pick him to win or something?

There are "neck guards" available for Hockey---Google them. The ones I've seen are Kevlar reinforced. The skate blades don't cut through them.

Honestly, it looked like a clear side kick to the throat. Most people aren't flexible enough to side kick someone in the throat though.

Former youth hockey player. Neckguards where always required growing up but the rule was not enfored. After Zednik's injury in 2008 it became a much bigger deal and they wouldn't let players on the ice without one.

The pros are another story and they rarely wear them for the same reason they don't wear cages on their helmets. It doesn't look cool. But this was a freak accident and skate-to-neck contact is incredibly rare even with players skating at top speed and hitting each other. That's why I don't think this was intentional. Cutting someone elses neck is not something anyone thinks about. The oppoing players fell and slipped and his leg flew up. Accidents happen and that looked like an accident.

I'm not a hockey fan, but the kick to the victim's throat looked completely intentional. No doubt in my mind. Let's face it: Ice hockey is about violence. The violence is an essential part of the game. Take out the violence and danger and it'd be as exciting as flag football. This is an instance when the climate of violence was allowed to go too far. Charge the perpetrator with manslaughter.

Hahaha - only a British newspaper or a person who have never touched a hockey puck would say this. Of course it was a skate.

And I agree with you that the contact was intentional. Manslaughter in most states.

Yes. Neckguards are required in some leagues, in fact. The thing is that the injuries they prevent are rare (but severe) and players/leagues/hockey very slow to take on new protection. Look how long visors took ffs.

Actually, you're wrong.

Multiple NHL players have had criminal charges and civil suits due to on-ice actions (not even fights, but in-play incidents).

You state up front that you know nothing about the sport, then proceed to make sweeping generalizations about the sport and "essential parts" of it. You must be a millennial. (LOL, I am too, but I know better.)

Have you ever watched NCAA? Women's hockey. Obviously no. Not a lot of violence, very entertaining and interesting.

Oh, and you might not have heard but hockey without much violence is sort of a thing in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Poland and a dozen other European countries.

is it not true that this guy has the most penalties of any player in his team's history? Of course he probably didn't wake up wanting to murder someone that day. But like the dirty player he is, as proven by his record in the ring, in the moment his first instinct was to harm the guy. Only this time he killed him. He should be punished, and if he doesn't end up officially punished I hope he suffers. Shouldn't get away with it.

so many threads over the years have been closed or heavily deleted because of people being insensitive or uneducated. I would say with confidence that I'm probably one of the more passionate hockey fans on this board that this tragedy was 100% accidental and there is nothing you can do to tell me otherwise. Teammates of the player that died who were sitting on the bench said they know it was unintentional. A goalie got his throat slashed in the 90s. Evander Kane had his wrist skated over last year. Hockey is a fast fast paced gamed.

If you dont know that and dont understand that dangerous accidents like this can occur then come, pay your respects, but these accusations that this guy is a "dirty player" making a "dirty play" is ridiculous. Obviously he didn't mean to kill the guy, but to even consider that he intentionally used his skate to harm another player is insane. You no lifers need to get a life before you start throwing around intentional on topics you no nothing about.

The only thing we can do now is wish that the NHL (and all leagues) require neck guards going forward.

As a stay at home mother of two I also agree with the above post