Hockey Canada is doing it again. They announced earlier this week their intention to bring together a number of influential hockey voices for a second Open Ice Summit, likely to take place in August, to discuss a number of issues related to the ice game, most of which revolve around player safety. The shocking number of major on-ice injuries in minor hockey games, including head shots that have ended players’ careers, are on the agenda to evaluate just how much vicious plays are a part of the game, and if not, how to eliminate them from it.

The first Open Ice Summit took place in 1999, where player development issues were the hot topic. Recently, Hockey Canada President Bob Nicholson has noticed a growing trend of concussions being suffered by players at all levels of hockey. This time around, the players themselves are the focus. Safety, skills, movement are just some of the things that will be discussed in an attempt to improve the game. The official agenda will hopefully be released during the first Sunday of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, as the stakeholders involved in the Summit will all be present.

Some have suggested that things like head shots don’t deserve such high attention; that of the hundreds of hits in an NHL season, maybe a dozen are of the variety that offend, and that too much emphasis is placed on these hits. Tell that to the victims of the hits; to the ones whose careers are ended because of an elbow to the head. While it may only be a dozen hits that are bad in a season, who is to say that next season it’s not two dozen? Or more? Or even one? Frankly, just one is too many, and any and all steps that can be taken to get this kind of play out of hockey should be.

The interesting – and even disturbing – point is that while the International Ice Hockey Federation has already accepted the invitation to the Summit, the National Hockey League has yet to confirm their participation. The NHL is the leader among professional hockey leagues, yet it lags far behind most other levels of hockey, and just because the most severe head shots have taken place at the junior level does not mean the NHL should turn the other cheek.  It is said that change has to be implemented from the top down, and this is certainly one of the situations where that should be the case.