Ryan Smyth's attacker denies accusations.

There's always two sides to a story.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 7 years ago
Ryan Smyth's attacker denies accusations.
CBC.ca

As you probably know, beloved Ryan Smyth was blindsided during a Senior game last week in Alberta. For those who've missed it, here's the sequence: 


Kyle Sheen is now arguing the hit was a routine hockey play that simply turned bad. He says ''My intent was to finish a clean hit with a guy that was cutting across the middle, trying to score a goal."

In all fairness, a hockey game goes fast and judgement call are hard to make on the fly. However, two things leave us wondering how honest Sheen is about this one. 

1. The puck was already in the net and the light was on when Sheen rammed Smyth. The play was over, but just so. 

2. Sheen's skates left the ice when he hit Smyth, clearly aiming at the head. 

Of course, these things are easy to over analyse. Sheen mentioned how bad he felt after the hit. 

"To turn around and see him laying there, you could see the blood from the cut on his face on his visor. It was not a good feeling in my stomach. It made me feel sick. To sit and watch it, it doesn't look good on the fact that he scores on the play. Personally, I don't like the hit. My shoulder makes contact with his head and that was not my intention at all."

By all accounts, Smyth is recovering well and will probably play hockey again, even at 41 years old. However, this kind of story is not fun to cover and we wish the best to Smyth and his family. 


Source: CBC.ca