Luke Richards
Luke Richards
Luke Richardson (born 26 March, 1969 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a retired Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played for 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators.
Luke Richardson was selected 7th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft after two successful seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL. Midway through his rookie NHL season, on January 6, 1988, Richardson was the victim of an infamous attack from Dino Ciccarelli of the Minnesota North Stars, who clubbed him over the head several times with his stick. Ciccarelli was later convicted of assault, serving one day in jail and paying a fine of $1000 (Canadian). However, the assault had no discernible effects on the play of Richardson, who lasted four years in Toronto, until 1991 when he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers along with Vincent Damphousse, Scott Thornton, Peter Ing, future considerations, and cash for Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube.
Ice Hockey
Ice hockey (hockey in countries where it is the most popular form of hockey) is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced physical sport. Ice hockey is most popular in areas that are sufficiently cold for natural reliable seasonal ice cover, such as Canada, the Czech Republic, Latvia, the Nordic countries (especially Sweden and Finland), the northern United States, Russia, Slovakia, and Switzerland. With the advent of indoor artificial ice rinks it has become a year-round pastime in these areas. Ice hockey is one of the four major North American professional sports. Worldwide the National Hockey League (NHL) is the highest level for men and both the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) and the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) are the highest levels for women. It is the official national winter sport of Canada, where the game enjoys immense popularity.
While there are 68 total members of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), 162 of 177 medals at the IIHF World Championships have been taken by seven nations: Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden and the United States. Of the 64 medals awarded in men's competition at the Olympic level from 1920 on, only six did not go to the one of those countries. All twelve Olympic and 36 IIHF World Women Championships medals have gone to one of those seven countries, and every gold medal in both competitions has been won by either Canada or the United States.
Injury
Ice hockey is a full contact sport and carries a high risk of injury. Not only are the players moving at around 20-30 miles an hour (32 - 48 kilometers per hour), quite a bit of the game revolves around the physical contact between the players. Skate blades, hockey sticks, shoulders, hips, and hockey pucks all contribute. The number of injuries is quite high and includes lacerations, concussions, contusions, ligament tears, broken bones, hyperextensions and muscle strains.
According to the Hughston Health Alert, "Lacerations to the head, scalp, and face are the most frequent types of injury [in hockey]." Even a shallow cut to the head results in a loss of a large amount of blood. Most concussions occur during player to player contact rather than when a player is checked into the boards. Not only are lacerations common, "it is estimated that direct trauma accounts for 80% of all injuries. Most of these injuries are caused by player contact, falls and contact with a puck, high stick and occasionally, a skate blade."