UPDATE: Beaver Valley forward Brandon Butlin back home resting after night in hospital
By Bruce Fuhr
It appears Beaver Valley forward Brandon Butlin suffered a severe concussion after being checked near the boards during Saturday night’s Kootenay International Junior Hockey League at the NDCC Arena between the Leafs and Nitehawks.
The hit, happening with 2:45 remaining in the third period, silenced the more than 300 people in attendance.
“When (Beaver Valley head coach) Terry (Jones) got to the hospital last night (Brandon) was talking,” said assistant coach Jeremy Cominotto told The Nelson Daily Sunday.
“He couldn’t remember the hit but he remembers scoring his goal . . . and that was pretty much it.”
Cominotto said Butlin wanted to go home from the hospital Saturday, but doctors kept the Trail native overnight for observation.
“(Hospital staff) kept him for observation just to make sure . . .. They were a little worried about his neck but apparently he’s okay,” Cominotto.
At the time of the injury, Nelson was holding a 5-2 lead.
Butlin had the puck near the Nelson blueline when Leaf winger Dustin Reimer hit the Hawks’ forward with a clean check.
Butlin collided with the boards and immediately went into convulsions with his legs flailing.
Training staff from both teams rushed to the injured player and without hesitation called for an ambulance.
Rink staff quickly ran to fetch the AED (automated external defibrillator) for training staff as a precaution in case the Hawks’ player went into cardiac arrest.
At no time did Butlin stop breathing.
Cominotto said there was an uneasy feeling on the Hawks as everyone in the arena watched medical staff deal with the Beaver Valley player.
But the coaching staff kept the players informed from the moment the BC Ambulance left the NDCC Arena with updates on Butlin’s condition.
“We have a lot of guys on the team that have known Brandon for a lone time so it was definitely a quiet bus ride (back to Fruitvale),” Cominotto explained.
“Guys were a little worried and really upset. So we just put hockey aside and dealt with what was important which was Brandon’s heath and making sure everyone was able to deal with it in a proper manner.”
Now that Butlin is resting comfortably at home, the Hawks players can now move on to get ready for the next game, Friday at home against the Chase Heat.
To make the transition easier the coaching staff held a meeting with the players Sunday morning.
Team practice resumes Monday.
“Right now we’re trying to deal with Brandon and the way we’re playing hockey right now,” said Cominotto.
“Obviously guys are worried about their teammate and now that we know Brandon is going to be fine we can move on with the hockey and try to move forward and get better.”
As for Butlin, Cominotto said there would be no rush to get the 17-year-old forward back into the lineup.
“It’s a little too soon say what happened to Brandon . . . he’s definitely concussed,” said Cominotto.
“So he’ll probably be out for a while. But we’re going to take every precautionary measure to make sure he’s okay. We’re not going to rush him back and do what’s best for Brandon.”
Hockey is a violent game with players moving at lightning quick speeds.
Injuries are bound to happen.
However, anytime a player leaves the ice on a stretcher there’s cause for concern.
“It’s the game of hockey,” Cominotto said.
“Injuries happen unfortunately but at any time players get hurt. It was just unfortunate for Brandon (Saturday) night.”
OVERTIME: Beaver Valley assistant coach Jeremy Cominotto believes there would be no efforts made to play out the final 2:45 of the game. The remaining time was left on the clock as both coaches felt it would be in the best interest not to play out the game, instead sending both teams to the dressing room.
See previous story: http://thenelsondaily.com/news/nelsonbeaver-valley-game-stopped-245-remaining-after-hawks-player-taken-hospital-21180#.UGiNChiaGHk
