Saskatoon defenseman Dalton Thrower, Montreal’s second-round (51st overall) pick at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, has been suspended for the remainder of the 2013 Memorial Cup for a headshot on Portland’s Taylor Leier.
Leier, a draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, was caught with this fierce hit during a 4-2 win over Saskatoon on Wednesday:
Thrower wasn’t given a penalty on the play but was handed a stiff supplementary punishment by the National Hockey League hockey operations department, which handles disciplinary matters at the Memorial Cup.
As for Leier, he was admitted to hospital but released without requiring an overnight stay.
Portland head coach Travis Green, an ex-NHLer, wasn’t happy with the hit.
“I don’t have to keep watching it again,” Green said. “It’s pretty obvious when a player is out before he hits the ice. It’s basically a blow to the head.”
It sounds as of Leier will be held out of the remainder of the tournament as he’s dealing with “brain injury-like symptoms.”
Thrower’s suspension could last all of one game. Saskatoon plays London on Thursday in a loser-goes-home affair and London already beat the Blades in the tournament opener, 3-2.