Couture has brain research on his mind
LONDON, ONT. So you’re sitting at a blackjack table, you look to your left and there’s Logan Couture parked in the third-base position.
Hey, it could happen — especially if you’re at the San Jose Sharks centre’s star-studded All-In for Brain Research charity casino Wednesday night. What’s your conversation starter?
Hopefully you’ve got something better than, “Hey, I saw that puck smash you in the mouth this year against Nashville. Did it hurt?”
You could talk about cards, of course.
These days, you probably imagine NHL charters are full of players wearing headphones and staring at their iPads.
But that’s only about 50 per cent of each team. The other half still busts out the deck of cards on a regular basis.
“It’s pretty common and you look at the Sharks, we have long trips everywhere,” Couture said. “Everyone’s competitive, right? And pro athletes are super competitive, so it’s just another thing to compete at.”
The brain, and the injuries it can sustain in the athletic forum, is a much more complex subject.
In the past, there was a lot of ignorance. Now, there are quiet rooms, recovery protocols and better-educated players walking away from their game for fear of sustaining more head trauma.
Soon enough, there will be onfield and at-rink blood tests to detect a problem, better prevention and less frustrating treatment.
It’s not a coincidence Couture’s big fundraising initiative pops up on the same day as the annual See the Line concussion conference at Western University. Couture will take part in a panel with hockey hall of famer Eric Lindros and TV host Ron MacLean.
“This is something a lot of athletes are thinking about, the future of their bodies,” Couture said.
“You only have one brain. It’s something that should be important to us athletes and people are starting to realize that now.”