OHL suspends Brampton’s Luke Dragusica for vicious slash to head
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) announced Saturday they have suspended defenseman Luke Dragusica of the Brampton Steelheads pending further review of his slash to the head of Oshawa Generals defenseman Brady Blaseg.
#OHL Disciplinary Action:
Brampton’s Luke Dragusica has been suspended pending review as a result of actions (Match, Slashing) on Nov. 14th vs. Oshawa.
The incident occured during Brampton’s 3-1 win over Oshawa on Friday. Late in the third period, Dragusica was checked behind the Steelheads’ net by a combination of Blaseg and Oshawa’s Franssen Harrison. After Dragusica fell into the boards, he spotted Blaseg skating away from the play. Dragusica then got up and slashed Blaseg from behind in the side of the head. He then cross-checked Blaseg while he lay prone on the ice. Generals forward Luke Posthumus came to Blaseg’s immediate defense, tangling with Dragusica in the corner.
@OHLHockey @OHLSteelheads
If this player laces up skates in the OHL again this season, you have failed Canadian Jr hockey. Utterly intentional slash to the head, and then follows it up with a cross-check to a prone player.
Ban Luke Dragusicahttps://t.co/vMpu12hu25 pic.twitter.com/Xas91H0zbx
The slash cut Blaseg and drew blood, but fortunately he was able to leave the ice under his own power. He did not return to the game.
Long-time hockey fans will see this slash and be reminded of the infamous incident between Marty McSorley and Donald Brashear from the 1999-2000 season. McSorley, then on the Boston Bruins, swung his stick at the side of Brashear’s head and connected, giving the Vancouver Canucks tough guy a concussion and causing him to have a seizure on the ice.
February 21st-On This Day in BC Sport History: 2000
One of the most violent incidents in hockey history occurs at Vancouver's GM Place as Marty McSorley of the Boston Bruins clubs Vancouver @Canucks enforcer Donald Brashear in the temple with his stick in the dying seconds…/2 pic.twitter.com/yYzMNW1HsE
McSorley was suspended indefinitely by the NHL following the incident, and was later found guilty of assault with a weapon in a British Columbia court. He avoided jail time and instead served 18 months of probation.
The length and severity of Dragusica’s pending suspension remains to be seen. The longest suspension ever handed out by the OHL was to Michael Liambas of the Erie Otters for a check to the head of the Kitchener Rangers’ Ben Fanelli. Liambas,who was already in his final year of OHL eligibility, was suspended for the remainder of 2009-10 season, which amounted to 68 games.