Carcillo speaks out against hazing from when he was 17-year-old with Sarnia

Daniel Carcillo has had enough. Enough of keeping his mouth shut, enough of protecting the people who hurt him.

In two lengthy Twitter threads over the weekend, the two-time Stanley Cup winner outlined some of the alleged bullying and hazing he suffered through as a 17-year-old rookie on the Sarnia Sting over the course of the 2002-03 Ontario Hockey League season.

“That was the worst year of my life. And I got drafted to the NHL and achieved my dreams,” Carcillo, a thirdround pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 draft, said in a phone interview with The Canadian Press on Monday. “So think about that statement.

“That was, by far, the hardest year of my life. No doubt about it.”

Carcillo, 33, was inspired to open up about his experience after news broke about an alleged sexual assault involving athletes at St. Michael’s College School, an all-boys private school in Toronto, that was captured on camera. The native of King City, Ont., also thought it would be helpful to share his story as part of Twitter’s Bullying Awareness Week.

From his verified Twitter account, Carcillo spoke of being beaten with the sawed off paddle of a goaltender’s hockey stick on a daily basis. He also described a “shower train” where rookies were forced to sit on the floor in the shower as veterans urinated or spit chewing tobacco on or near them, sometimes throwing shaving cream at them as well.

“I just want to make sure that people understand these uncomfortable truths. That parents understand what really goes on and that it happens way more often than just me talking about it.”

During that season, Carcillo contacted David Branch, commissioner of the OHL, telling him of the ongoing issues in the Sting's locker-room. Branch was not available for comment on Monday, but a spokesperson from the league said that Branch brought the issue to the attention of Sarnia's ownership and management groups and began initiating harsh fines and penalties for teams that were caught hazing players.

Jeff Perry, Sarnia’s head coach in 2002-03, says he was concerned for Carcillo and disappointed in his veteran players when he read Carcillo’s allegations this past weekend.

“Certainly it’s something that, at the time, we were unaware of. It’s nothing that the Sarnia Sting or the management group or the coaching staff would support or condone if those allegations were true,” said Perry.

Carcillo, however, insists that Perry was aware of the treatment that he and other rookies were subjected to.

“To be honest, I like Jeff, I really do. I don’t blame him. I don’t blame him, I don’t blame (assistant coach Greg Walters),” said Carcillo. “I blame the guys who did it to me. Straight up. And I always will.”