Former Oiler Smyth felt ‘blindsided’ by huge hit
Ryan Smyth, who was knocked out on a ripping, unsuspecting hit during an Alberta senior hockey league playoff game almost two weeks ago, is back on the ice, but whether No. 94 plays again this spring is very much in doubt.
“I’ve only been hit that hard once before by Jack Johnson,” said Smyth, the former Edmonton Oilers mainstay who was playing for the Colorado Avalanche when Johnson, then with Los Angeles Kings, levelled him with a clean wallop.
Smyth suffered a concussion and separated his shoulder as a result when he smashed into a partition by the Avalanche bench on the Johnson hit. He was also knocked out.
But at least he saw Johnson coming in 2008 as he raced down the left wing.
The current Stony Plain Eagles captain didn’t see the hit by Lacombe Generals forward Kyle Sheen coming in Game 1 of the Chinook Hockey League final on March 11.
“This one I was blindsided — no way to protect myself, which was unfortunate,” Smyth said.
Smyth had just scored against the Generals at Lacombe’s Sportsplex when Sheen levelled him. Sheen was later suspended for 16 games.
“I get the understanding of the competitiveness and the excitement of this game. It’s good, fast hockey, but I did not expect cheap shots,” said Smyth, who wouldn’t say if he felt he was targeted because he was an NHLer.
“I don’t know what was going on inside him. It’s very frustrating that I couldn’t at least protect myself,” said Smyth, who heard from Sheen after the incident.
“He texted me and left a voice message, but he sort of elaborated on the play, whether it was a right or wrong decision,” said Smyth. Did he say he was sorry? “No,” said Smyth.
Sheen, who played wing for the Kootenay Ice when they won the Memorial Cup in 2002 and now works as an elevator mechanic, said on CBC Radio’s Edmonton AM that it was his shoulder, not his elbow, that hit Smyth in the face, that he didn’t jump, that any thoughts of him targeting Smyth were incorrect.
“My intent was to finish a clean hit with a guy that was cutting across the middle, trying to score a goal,” Sheen, who’s played for the Generals for six years, told the radio show.
“To turn around and see him laying there, you could see the blood from the cut on his face on his visor. It was not a good feeling in my stomach. It made me feel sick.”
Smyth was caught completely off-guard.
“I remember the puck going into the net, but from there to the locker-room, that’s all,” he said.
“I had my teeth pushed back and my lip split into three and a concussion,”
Smyth says Sheen should’ve received a stiffer penalty.
“Looking at it, it probably could have been more,” he said. “It’s just not right. You go out to try to enjoy the game. There is a Cup involved (the Allan Cup for the Canadian senior hockey champion) but you play within the boundaries.
“In the NHL, you’re still susceptible to a concussion with a hit, but you can protect yourself. The respect level (for other players) is significant in the NHL.”
So, is this incident a signal to Smyth to stop playing entirely? He’s not making millions any longer. He’s not even making hundreds of dollars now.
“Obviously in the NHL, you’re making money for your family and playing a game you love. People ask why I’m still playing. I have a deep passion for the game. That’s who I’ve been.
“For sure, this incident puts it into perspective. You don’t want to overlook what family ’s all about. There’s more to life than playing … I’m not making a buck doing this now.”
Not to get his head rattled. “I skated yesterday, and it’s trial and error … we’ll see where it goes,” said Smyth, whose Eagles are tied 2-2 in the best-of-seven playoff with Lacombe.
“I had headaches early on but I’ve gotten better with that. I’ve talked to doctors. I’ve been assessed all along.”