Debate about fighting in hockey looms after Kessy injury

Hershey Bears head coach Spencer Carbery did some self-reflecting after the scary events of Tuesday night’s game between Hershey and the Charlotte Checkers.

Following Tuesday’s game in which Kale Kessy was knocked out in a fight with Derek Sheppard, Carbery visited Kessy in the hospital at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

“Hearing not only the medical prognosis but hearing him speak and talk,” said Carbery after practice on Thursday, “And he assured us and said he was okay and felt fine – hearing that was a relief.”

Carbery also praised the medical staff for how well they were able to handle the circumstance. “That was incredible,” Carbery remarked. “Their response to that situation and how quickly and prepared everybody was for that in the unlikely event that happens, probably rarely happens in a season, but you’re ready for it. I was so so impressed and so proud of our medical staff.”

Kessy was released from the hospital on Wednesday morning and Carbery mentioned that the 27-year-old forward came to the rink. Many people around the rink on Thursday said that Kessy was in good spirits.

Since videos of the fight have spread across the internet, the debate about fighting in hockey has been a hot topic.

Carbery knows just as well as anybody the dangers of fighting. In three professional seasons, Carbery had 56 fights, including 22 bouts in 29 games during the 2008-09 season.

“I did a lot of soul searching on Tuesday night, Wednesday morning,” Carbery commented. “I played the role. So I know what it’s like to not be able to sleep before a game. I know what it’s like to want to engage physically because you want to stay in the lineup. You want to help your teammates and maybe change momentum in a game; do anything you can to have a positive impact in the game.

“Then you reflect on that and go – gosh, us as coaches, us as hockey society – are we enabling that? Then you don’t want to take away someone’s livelihood because I wanted to do that job, I choose to do that. Kess is a physical player and chooses to do that. But at the same time – I’ve had some serious self-reflection. Am I enabling, are we enabling by letting it go on? I don’t expect Kale or anybody every to fight. It’s a really good question, but I don’t think there’s an easy answer to that.”

Fighting is dying in hockey. During the 2008-09 season, the Hershey Bears as a team had 95 fights in 80 games. Since then, fighting has decreased by almost 80%, with the Bears only recording 15 fights in 57 games during the 2019-20 season, a rate of 0.26 fights per game versus 1.19 fights per game a decade ago.

Kessy and Sheppard also removed their helmets before the fight, a two-minute minor penalty under AHL rules. The rule was implemented prior to the 2013-14 season.

“To be honest, I guess I’m kinda old school where it doesn’t really phase me when I see [helmets being taken off,]” said Bears VP of Hockey Operations Bryan Helmer. “You don’t want to hurt the other guy’s hands. That’s just respect. When I played that’s the way guys did it.”

Players also remarked that the visors on helmets cut hands up during fights. Some players wore their visors at a higher angle before leagues began cracking down on visor angles in 2017. This lead to more players taking off their helmets before fights. Four of Kessy’s six fights this season began with helmets being removed.

“Maybe something will change,” said Helmer. “I know when the incident happened in warm-ups in Springfield, they made it a policy that everyone had to wear helmets. They do have a rule in there to try to deter that. But those two guys are old school tough guys. It’s just unfortunate.”