Each week we scour the web to find concussions in the National Hockey League. We will keep a running tally on that information as the season progresses. However, it is not easy as the NHL has decided that listing injuries as “upper body” or “undisclosed” is a good indicator of actual injuries occurred. Our list is believed to be as accurate as possible, even including injuries that have vague listings but through reports and video analysis should be classified as concussions. We will also be using “Fink’s Rule” to include concussions in the listing.
It is time for the first concussion report from the National Hockey League. If you remember last year our comprehensive data gathering effort found 98 concussions in the regular season. The League and teams have made a concerted effort to cut down on the unnecessary hits that could cause concussions; only time will tell if this will make an effect on overall numbers.
Here are the numbers to this point (league average of 5 games played);
- 18 Concussions discovered (17 last year at this time)
- 0.12 Concussions per game
- 3.6 Concussions per “game night”
- 2.61% of the NHL active roster already concussed
- Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Colorado lead the league with 2 reported
It is still early and some of the injuries carried over from the pre-season – just like last years numbers – but time will tell whether all the numbers will improve. I would like to thank Brain Clarke (@beezee05) for assisting me with the information.
The Concussion Blog 