King on CHL: Playing it safe with Hishon

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — If you ask Dale DeGray, the punishment doesn’t quite fit the crime.

The Owen Sound Attack will play its second-consecutive MasterCard Memorial Cup game without the presence of its star player, Joey Hishon. Brayden McNabb, the Kootenay captain whose elbow shortened Hishon’s tournament, is playing after serving a one-game suspension. Is there something wrong with this picture? The Attack general manager certainly thinks so.

“Joey Hishon is not enjoying this experience,” DeGray said on Wednesday, hours before playing another game without his injured superstar. “Is McNabb? You tell me. Damn right he is. Is that the way it should be? I don’t know.”

McNabb sat out Kootenay’s second game, a 2-1 loss to Mississauga on Sunday, but played in his team’s final round robin game on Tuesday. The Ice defenceman picked up two assists in their 5-4 overtime win and as a result of the win, his team will play in Thursday’s tiebreaker against the loser of Wednesday’s game between Owen Sound and Mississauga.

With the potential of seeing McNabb again on Thursday, DeGray wishes the punishment could have been sentenced differently than the one-game suspension handed down.

“I would have rathered (McNabb) play the other day against Mississauga and help beat Mississauga and not play maybe tomorrow night if we play them,” he said. “Maybe that’s more of a fair penalty.”

Hishon isn’t technically listed as having a concussion, but the symptoms are reportedly the same. DeGray said he believes Hishon’s diagnosis wouldn’t be a concussion, but the care taken before re-inserting him in the lineup is the same.

It’s a slippery slope and a difficult decision for DeGray and his team. While he said the Colorado Avalanche, the team that drafted Hishon in last year’s first round, hasn’t made recommendations, nor are they involved in the decision whether he plays, the risk for the player goes far beyond that of the junior team.

“He’s feeling better,” head coach Mark Reeds said. “It’s about the athlete and as a 19-year-old, 20-year-old kid; we’re not going to put him in a situation that’s going to threaten his livelihood.”

And that of course is the same caveat that surrounded a star-studded, missing in action player in last year’s MasterCard Memorial Cup. Nicolas Deschamps didn’t play in last year’s tournament as a member of the Moncton Wildcats after suffering a lower-body injury in the semifinal series against the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

Despite practicing twice with the Wildcats, Deschamps made mention that he wasn’t willing to sacrifice his future — his livelihood, for coming back too early. Well, after meeting with the team and his agent, the decision was made not to play him in the tournament. Deschamps began his professional career this season and played in 80 games with the American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch.

The main difference is obviously that Deschamps wasn’t injured in the tournament, as Hishon was, but the decision whether he plays will revolve around the same caution that he could jeopardize his professional career.

“It’s definitely a tough situation when you’re not playing and you want to be playing and you feel like your body’s fine, but really you have to watch it because it’s in his head,” Attack captain Garrett Wilson explained. “It’s tough. You can’t risk it like that. He’s going to have a great, long career and you don’t want to risk anything now.”

Although Hishon will not play Wednesday, DeGray wasn’t ready to write him off completely.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, but do I think he’s going to play?” DeGray asked, “Yeah, at some point I do.”

Assuming the injury isn’t long-term, which all indications would indicate it is not, Hishon should be on the verge of beginning a long career. It’s a shame he will miss at the minimum two games in such a big showcase.

“This is a pretty big stage with everyone watching in the country and he’d love to be a part of it to show his skill,” Reeds said. “He could be a difference-maker in the game (Monday) against the Sea Dogs. He’s one of those guys — he may have scored the big goal if he was in the lineup.”

At the end of the day, McNabb is playing and Hishon is not. Whether the hit was clean or not, and we know which side of the fence both sides are leaning on, Hishon’s absence leaves a big hole in Owen Sound’s lineup.

“Joey Hishon is probably one of the top skilled guys in the CHL and he can’t play,” DeGray said. “That’s wrong and it’s too bad. It’s too bad for him and it’s too bad for our organization. We’re trying to put our best foot forward and we don’t have one of our top players in the lineup.”

It is too bad, but for Hishon, there’s more at stake than a national championship.