by:  Keegan Barrett

A few weeks ago NHL Buffalo Sabers forward John Scott made an illegal check against Bruins forward Louie Eriksson. Eriksson suffered a concussion from the hit and missed five games due to the injury.  Scott, 6’8, was put on the Sabers team for two reasons: to fight and to injure the players on the opposing team other team. And he did just that.

Scott is what many call a “goon” ; he has little to no hockey skills and has no place on the team with only 5 points in his over 180 game career. With Buffalo record at 3-13, they really should be more concerned with players who can contribute to wins instead of fights. Another point to note is that Buffalo was down by 3 goals in the third period, and anyone can tell you that is not the time to send out someone who can’t score.

This goes to show Scott was only put on the ice at that time to inflict harm and take a head shot on a star player. There is no place anymore in hockey for head shots and players like John Scott. Scott should have been suspended for more than 7 games for such a dirty hit. Not only should Scott  have been suspended, so should Coach Ron Rolston who decided to put Scott out on the ice. The league and the department of player safety should do a better job in the future about cracking down on illegal hits and goons like Scott.