With today being Boxing Day, the annual IIHF World Juniors tournament has officially begun. The tournament has become incredibly popular as countries cheer for their teams, and NHL fans also cheer for their team's prospects.
In today's game between Sweden and Latvia, a Winnipeg Jets prospect threw a dirty hit from behind against a Latvian forward. It looked truly brutal on the ice, but the Latvian player was able to get off the ice on his own feet.
The Swedish defenceman, Elias Salomonsson, clearly hit the Latvian with a cross-check to the back while he was in a vulnerable position, and then finished the check by driving him into the boards. After the play, Salomonsson was assessed a major penalty and an ejection for the hit, just 25 seconds into the game.
It's good to see the IIHF take such a strict approach to dirty hits that have the potential to cause traumatic brain injuries, like this one. Such a harsh penalty, assessed immediately, usually makes these games safer. Hopefully, the rest of the players take note, and avoid any sort of contact like this for the rest of the tournament.
