Baseline concussion tests ahead in minors
Canadian hockey players as young as 10 years old will be put through the
same concussion testing as NHL players this season.
With high-profile cases involving Sidney Crosby(notes) and others in the news over
the last year, concern about head injuries has filtered down to the youth ranks.
A growing number of leagues are addressing it.
They include the Minor Oaks Hockey Association, based in the Toronto suburb
of Oakville, which is forcing all 2,600 of its young athletes playing atom level
or higher to go through baseline testing before the season starts next month.
Minor Oaks is the largest hockey association in Canada to mandate the
neuro-cognitive test using the same ImPACT standard used by the NHL, CFL and
virtually every other pro sports league.