Twenty-four-year old Trevor Milner is hanging up his hockey skates for good.
Milner, a three-season forward on the Simon Fraser University men’s hockey team, announced on Oct. 10 he is retiring from his sport due to concussion-like symptoms.
“I’m sad to leave a sport I love and have played for so long. Most of all I miss the camaraderie amongst the guys on the team and going out every game competing together,” said Milner, in a press release. “It’s frustrating to stop playing due to concussions because they are somewhat invisible injuries. However, I understand that the implications of further concussions could be drastic to my personal health ….”
Concussions cause symptoms such as headaches, weakness, sensitivity to light and nausea.
If a person with concussion symptoms receives a further hit to the head then second impact syndrome can occur, which can cause Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, according to the Brain Injury Association of Canada website.
“Dealing with concussion issues for a couple of years is a tough thing to go through. As an athlete at a high level, players are competitive by nature, and coming to grips with retiring from playing is difficult and emotional for Trevor,” said SFU men’s hockey head coach Mark Coletta, in the release.
Concussions are nothing new to hockey – at all levels. And while Milner’s decision to step away from the game was undoubtedly difficult, clearer understanding of what repeated concussions can cause supports his decision.
The National Hockey League’s golden boy Sidney Crosby famously took two back-to-back hits that caused a concussion that took him two years to recover from. For other NHL players the impact of repeated concussions has been even more catastrophic.
Boston University research recently showed that when former Canadian NHL player Derek Boogaard died in 2011, (of an accidental drug overdose ) he was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head injuries.
Previous research at Boston showed NHLers Rick Martin, Bob Probert and Reggie Fleming all suffered from CTE when they died.
The Hockey Canada website says concussions are preventable by not checking to the head and not hitting from behind.
Milner played 55 games over three seasons (2011-14) playing for the Clan in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL). He boasts 25 goals and 20 assists (45 points) over his SFU career.
“I learned a lot about myself while playing and going through the ups and downs a player at this level does. I feel that all of those experiences will help me in my future endeavours,” Milner said.
He plans to carry on with his schooling at SFU and with his charity work for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
According to an SFU media spokesperson, Milner is the only Clan hockey player in at least the last seven or eight years to retire due to concussion-symptoms.
Meanwhile back on the ice, the SFU men’s hockey team was in action in the team’s home opener, Friday night (Oct. 10) when they faced two-time reigning champions, Selkirk College at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre. The Clan won 6-2 over the Saints. SFU is tied with the University of Victoria at the top of the BCIHL standings.
SFU next takes on Trinity Western University at the Langley Events Centre on Oct. 17. The puck drops at 7 p.m. The next day (Oct. 18) SFU is back at Bill Copeland to face Trinity Western at home. For more information go to www.sfuhockey.com.
