OHL ruling on Rangers’ Swick a double standard
Trent Swick deserved a suspension.
The 19-year-old Kitchener Rangers winger clearly went after Guelph Storm forward Max Namestnikov in the first period of Tuesday’s game at the Aud and punched the 20-year-old — who didn’t fight back — several times.
Swick was standing up for teammate Cameron Reid, who was levelled into the dasher boards seconds earlier by Namestnikov.
Reid, a 16-year-old rookie defenceman, left the game with an injury and did not return. His status remains uncertain. Namestnikov didn’t miss a shift. Rangers coach Jussi Ahokas called the Namestnikov hit “dirty,” while Guelph coach Chad Wiseman didn’t like Swick’s retaliation, but admitted that “it happens.”
Referees Darcy Burchell and Chad Ingalls did not call a penalty on the hit, but rightly gave Swick a five-minute major for fighting and a game misconduct.
On Wednesday, the Ontario Hockey League reviewed Swick’s actions and slapped him with a five-game suspension. He’ll miss Kitchener’s final two games of the regular season and the first three of the playoffs.
This is where it gets confusing. Earlier this month, the OHL also suspended Sudbury Wolves forwards Nathan Villeneuve for 15 games and Evan Konyen for 10 games. An investigation revealed they “violated the OHL social media policy in a manner detrimental to the welfare of the league, one that would greatly compromise player safety and the overall integrity of the game.”
The investigation stemmed from allegations that, as reported by Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek, a bounty was placed on a Barrie Colts player after the teams met in mid-January. The Wolves appealed the decision and Konyen’s suspension was reduced to six games. Villeneuve’s 15game suspension was upheld but altered so he would miss the Wolves’ final nine regular-season tilts while serving the remaining six games at the start of next season.
The decision means he won’t miss any playoff games.
Talk about a glaring double standard, not to mention the hypocritical message being sent to players across the league.
Suddenly, suspensions are not created equally.
Break the rules one way and you’ll sit for the playoffs. Break the rules another way and you can suit up for the post-season and serve your punishment at a later date, when the games have less meaning.
Conspiracy theorists are whispering that this is the OHL’s way of favouring the suddenly contending Wolves after a decade of mediocrity.
You can hardly blame the people engaged in those conversations but, in the end, this isn’t about wild theories.
It’s not about whether Namestnikov’s hit was clean or dirty. Or whether Swick’s retaliation was justified. Or even about the alleged bounty-gate in the Nickel City. It’s about the OHL’s integrity. It’s about enforcing the rules, holding those who break them accountable and being consistent in the process.
The OHL set the standard for suspensions when it allowed Villeneuve a second chance to participate in the post-season. In hindsight, that was a gaffe. But now it has to apply the same courtesy to Swick and any other player assessed a suspension from now until the playoffs begin.
It’s the only fair thing to do.
Suddenly, suspensions are not created equally. Break the rules one way and you’ll sit for the playoffs. Break the rules another way and you can suit up for the post-season