Isles’ GM calls Vance’s suspension ‘ excessive and unwarranted’
The Charlottetown Islanders will be without 20year- old defenceman Troy Vance for the next six games.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has suspended the blue- liner for an open- ice hit on Moncton Wildcats forward Chris Caissy in Sunday’s game in Moncton.
Islanders general manager Grant Sonier wished Caissy well in his recovery.
While the team will not appeal the decision, Sonier called the suspension “excessive and unwarranted.”
“Troy Vance doesn’t play the game to hurt players,” he told The Guardian on Thursday. “We wouldn’t allow that in our locker room. This is purely an open- ice hit that went bad for the Moncton player.”
In handing down the suspension, the league called it a “dangerous play.”
The video can be viewed at www.theqmjhl.ca.
“Fans can go on the website and make their own deduction,” Sonier said. “I’ve looked at this from every angle possible that’s provided from a video standpoint and I’ve yet to see a knee.”
No penalty was called on the play.
Caissy, a former Summerside Western Capital from Campbellton, N. B., is expected to be out for four weeks.
This is the first time Vance, a six- foot- five, 220pound defenceman who has signed with the Dallas Stars, has been before the league’s disciplinary board. He will be eligible to return to the ice on Nov. 22 in Chicoutimi.
Coach Gordie Dwyer said the Islanders would miss Vance’s presence in the lineup.
“Troy is a big piece of our lineup on the backend,” he said. “He brings some stability and some veteran leadership back there.”
The team will deal with the loss of one of its top minute- playing defencemen by committee. Dwyer added it is an opportunity for other players to step up.