JYP’s star defender Sami Niku’s condition for a possible concussion was never properly examined, even though Tappara’s Ben Thomas, who was sent off, hit him on the head.
Sami Niku has a history of concussions. Vesa Pöppönen / AOP
From the beginning of the week in the SM league, the situation that happened in the match between HIFK and Pelicans, in which the young striker of the Lahti team Aatu Jämsen continued to play after hitting him in the head by Johan Motin despite the tackle.
However, Jämsen left that match in the end, and has not been in the Pelicans’ lineup in the week’s other matches.
A similar situation was seen in the Tappara-JYP match played on Saturday, where Tapparan by Ben Thomas The tackle hit JYP’s star defender Sami Nikua to the head at the start of the second period.
The collision was not as hard as in the case of Motini and Jämsen, but the Canadian defender still got sent off for a tackle on the head.
Niku was on the JYP bench for a few minutes, but soon resumed playing. Niku was able to play until the end of the match.
The situations of Jämsen and Niku inevitably raise the question, why in the SM league is a player allowed to return to the rink so quickly after a tackle that clearly hit him in the head?
For example, in the NHL, a player who has been hit in the head has to undergo concussion protocol observation outside the field before returning to the rink.
The story continues after the picture.
Illegal tackle by Ben Thomas. PDO
JYP did not have its own doctor present at the match. After the match, the defender’s playing condition was checked by the team’s physiotherapist.
– If the away team needs a doctor, then they ask the home team’s doctor to be there. I was not asked at any point, Tappara’s doctor Tomi Kianta told Iltalehte after the match.
So JYP should have been active in the situation in the direction of Tappara, if Niku’s condition had been wanted to be investigated in more detail?
– This is how this system works, yes.
– Usually we don’t automatically go to see it. However, the doctor is usually asked to take a careful look if there are indications of a concussion, explained Kianta.
The condition of Niku from the JYP team after the tackle was commented on in Iltalehte in such a way that he seemed to be “on his feet”.
In Niku’s case, the fact that he has a history of concussions within a relatively short period of time raises concerns. Niku suffered a concussion in an NHL practice game a little over a year ago, when he was representing the Montreal Canadiens.