Two NHL veterans speak out against the abuse they suffered in junior hockey.

Two long time veterans of the National Hockey League have broken their long silence regarding the abuse they suffered during their time in junior hockey and that likely has quite a few people very concerned about the information that is about to come out. 

It all started when former NHL former Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Phoenix Coyotes forward Daniel Carcillo took to social media and made a series of very revealing statements detailing the terrible things he had experienced as a child coming up in junior hockey. Carcillo made the comments as part of Bully Awareness Week in the effort of preventing other young men in his position from experiencing the same things that he did. 

For the sake of preserving context here are Carcillo's comments unedited:

Moving away from everyone you’ve ever known is hard. Living with strangers is, well, strange. Going to a new high school isn’t easy. Daily practices, workouts, long travel times for games are grueling. Playing against 21 yr olds when you are 17 is intimidating. Having your teammates beat you on a daily basis with the sawed off paddle of a goaltender’s hockey stick, takes both a physical & mental toll on a teenager. 

I remember being so confused at the beginning of the year,I remember thinking to myself, “If this is part of the process, just shut your mouth & bide your time.”

Another thought that often came to mind is why. Why are my teammates demeaning the youngest players on the team? Do they think this will create team unity? What did we do?

Carcillo went out to detail how his teammates would spit on him and the other rookies, including with chewing tobacco, and how no one from the coachign staff to management ever stepped in to stop things. The saddest part of the story however came when Carcillo revealed that there was never any escape from his tormentors: 

I am speaking honestly about this story because I want people to know that you do not have to accept what bullies tell you. The guys beating me on a daily basis & degrading me, were also the ones I hung out with at night at the movies.

The abuse didn’t stop. It was constant.

Carcillo did not give out any of the names of the people involved in the incidents that he listed but did add that he would be outing them in an upcoming book, something that probably does not sit well with those who were involved. Interestingly enough Carcillo's confession sparked a revelation from another player who played in the Ontario Hockey League at the same time as Caricillo, albeit on a different team.

"I was an angry confused young man from what happened in my 1st year of junior," wrote Shawn Mathias. Paul Maurice and the Jets organization helped me last season deal with these issues and I’m forever grateful to the Jets organization. It was disgusting what went on in Belleville."

The fact that hazing goes on in sports teams, especially those filled with young men, is a very poorly kept secret in the sports world. That being said when the descriptions of some of these events are made public they cause the public to recoil in horror at what is being done to their children and it will be interesting to see where this goes when Carcillo reveals those names.

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