Hockey is not immune

Sporting News, The, Dec 22, 2003 by Kara Yorio

We want to believe. But we can't. Not these days. Not with the facts staring us in the face in so many other sports. We want to believe hockey is different, that drugs don't enter the competition on the ice as they have in other sports. We want to believe. But we can't. Not until the NHL proves it.

The NHL needs to start testing its players for drugs. Now. Why now? Because it's much too late already. And then there is this: Last week, a report in Montreal's La Presse said up to 60 percent of the players in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League have a drug problem, particularly with ephedrine, amphetamines, tranquilizers and sleeping pills.

Want to dismiss a newspaper account? Go ahead, but you can't dismiss the chairman of the league's committee of doctors, Jean-Luc Betit, who says every doctor in the 16-team league has dealt with ephedrine intoxication.

According to NHL vice president Bill Daly, reports such as this "obviously cause concern at the (NHL) level and cause us to want to look very closely at the allegations that are being made."

However, Daly says, many times these reports are exaggerated, and he wouldn't be surprised if that were the case here as well. But even if exaggerated, isn't it a problem? And don't we need to look beyond juniors? Are we supposed to believe that players who take these substances in developmental leagues quit cold when they reach the NHL? That would be a ridiculous assumption, says Dr. Gary Wadler, an international expert on drugs and sports, professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

"What's their deterrent?" Wadler says. "If (a player) thinks it's helping now and there are no consequences, sure, they're going to take it with them.

"The steroid statistics bear that out. In the NCAA, 50 percent of players who acknowledge steroid use say it started in high school."

But we search for hope that hockey is different. The Quebec juniors story isn't about steroids. But Wadler says there is evidence ephedrine does enhance performance. The players take it as a stimulant, particularly after long bus rides, and get an advantage over players who don't take it.

Even if these allegations hadn't been made, it's past time for the NHL to address the problem. "It's unconscionable that an elite and professional sport in this day and age does not have not only a drug program but a quality drug program," Wadler says.

Daly says the NHL does have a program. "Our comprehensive program for substance abuse and behavioral health deals with all types of substances and could be applied to the use and abuse of steroids as well," says Daly, who points out that any kind of testing would have to he negotiated with the NHL Players' Association.

"More importantly, however, our players are regularly educated on matters such as the dangers associated with steroid use, and we have reason to believe that such education has been proven very effective."

But to be tested, a player has to have entered into the NHL program. Plus, steroids aren't the big issue. This is about stimulants. Whatever the drug of choice, hockey no longer can hide from the performance-enhancing drug problems that have invaded all sports.

"What is intrinsic in hockey that would make it different from every other sport?" Wadler says. "The speed, aggressive behavior, enormous physical demands ... for it to be immune? If hockey feels they have no problem, fine. Put your urine where your mouth is. If it turns out you're right, good for you. If not, you owe it to the public, sport, fans, sponsors and players--particularly the clean players--to find out.

SPEED READ

* Great move by the Penguins to let goalie Marc-Andre Fleury play for Team Canada in the World Junior Championships. For Fleury, it's a reward for keeping his head up and his game at a high level despite the bombardment of shots he faces. For the Pens, it's a chance to give their young franchise goalie a boost of confidence and a chance for success.

(S) Follow your favorite teams and players with Game Trax, up-to-the-minute scores, statistics, analysis, Kara Yorio's weekly Power Poll and more. Go to www.foxsports.com, keyword: NHL.

INSIDE DISH

Negotiation tactics hit a low point last week when Oilers G.M. Kevin Lowe told restricted free agent Mike Comrie he would have to pay the team a seven-figure sum before it would complete a trade Comrie's agent, Rich Winter, had arranged with the Mighty Ducks. Shockingly, neither the NHL nor the Players' Association publicly entered the fray. "Want to know why the PA hasn't jumped all over this? Want to know why the NHL hasn't jumped all over this?" one agent says. "Two words: Rich Winter" Winter doesn't have many fans on either side, but that shouldn't delay reaction. Both sides need to come out solidly against such an incredible request before a dangerous precedent is set.... Now that Bruce Cassidy has joined Mike Keenan as a coach fired this season, the question is, who's next? More often, the answer seems to he the Stars' Dave Tippett, if his underachieving team doesn't get going ... The Senators' defensive depth, supposedly one of their strengths entering the season, will be tested because D Anton Volchenkov (shoulder) is out up to four months. Curtis Leschyshyn and Shane Hnidy needed to step up, and Karel Rachunek, who recently was scratched because of inconsistent play, must improve. He plays a lot and must deliver, performing with what coach Jacques Martin calls "a bit of an edge." ... It's beginning to appear that overall depth, not goaltending or the amount of top-notch talent, might end up as the deciding factor in the Western Conference race. The Red Wings, especially, and the Avalanche have had to deal with injuries to key players. The Canucks have the healthiest roster of the three and need to make a move before the others get healthy.--K.Y.