REGINA - Former NHL defenceman Jamie Heward says he was "bred to be a hockey player."
"I've been playing hockey since I was five years old," says Heward. "It's what I do, it's what I've always I wanted to do and I, at times, did whatever it took to make sure that I was the best and make sure that I made it to whatever level I needed to get to."
That is until a series of concussions left Heward on the sidelines.
The major first concussion that Heward remembers came when he played junior hockey with the Regina Pats in 1988. Heward says he was heading across the blue-line trying to receive a pass and ended up on the receiving end of an elbow from an opposing player. He was knocked out.
"At that time ... the education wasn't nearly as good as it is now," Heward told about 150 people gathered Saturday in Regina for a Hockey Canada concussion seminar.
"Instead of being sidelined for a week to 10 days or going through testing and that kind of thing, I played two days later."
Heward kept playing hockey.
He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1989, eventually going on to play in the NHL with Toronto, Nashville, New York, Columbus, Washington, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay. He won two gold medals with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships.
Along the way there were more concussions.
On New Year's Day, while playing for Tampa, Heward's head smacked the glass awkwardly after a hit by Alex Ovechkin. He was knocked out cold and spent a night in hospital, where he woke up with concerns that he might have suffered some kind of long-term neurological damage.
He told the coaches, physicians and others gathered at the seminar that day is "still a blur," the video replay of the hit still hard to watch.
"That hit pretty much ended my career. It's not the way I thought I would ever go out," says Heward.
Heward estimates he may have had as many as 20 concussions over the years, but he kept going back to the game.
"The pressure to get back on the ice as quick as you possible can is so incredible. I don't mean it's pressure from management and trainers, I mean it's pressure from the players themselves," says Heward.
"When I got hit the first reaction was 'I'm not going to get paid. If I don't get back on the ice, I'm not going to get paid. Somebody's going to take my job and I need to get back on the ice.' So at times, hockey players, we're our worst enemy."
Heward says players will even lie to trainers and doctors because they don't want to come out of the lineup.
But hockey players aren't the only ones feeling the pressure. The NFL is trying to tackle the concussion issue too.
Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward caused a stir recently when he suggested that Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger let the team down by sitting out with a concussion, forcing an inexperienced backup to start what turned out to be an overtime loss to the Ravens. Ward later apologized.
The Associated Press reported earlier this month that nearly 20 per cent of 160 NFL players surveyed said they've hidden or played down the effects of a concussion.
Experts at the Hockey Canada seminar say that's a big part of the problem.
Paul Dennis, a sports psychologist who spent 20 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, says the self-imposed pressure on players and the culture within the sports industry need to change.
"People want to win, they want to be successful, they want power, they want glory, they want money and they are willing to sacrifice health and put themselves at risk in order to achieve those goals," says Dennis. "That's a mistake."
Dennis says the concussion safety message can be tough to get across, especially to teenage players who think they are invincible. "They dismiss it," he says.
But coaches, trainers and parents know better and it's their responsibility to help change the culture, says Dennis.
Dr. Charles Tator, a Toronto neurosurgeon, agrees that there needs to be a culture adjustment within the game. Tator says there's a lack of respect in the game and that hockey icons like Don Cherry who promote fights have a "negative influence."
"There's too much aggression, too much violence, too little concern for their own bodies, their own brains and the brains of their opponents," says Tator.
"I feel there's been too much emphasis on the sock 'em, kill 'em type of hockey type of hockey rather than on skill hockey."
The seminar comes as Canada's top junior hockey players also gather in Regina to try out for a spot on the national team that will play in the 2010 World Junior Championships.
Heward says it's an important time to look at protocols and guidelines that will help future generations.
"This is a serious problem that demands serious attention. This is a problem that could change our game forever and it certainly could change sports forever," said Heward.
