Ryan Getzlaf recieves one-game IIHF suspenion for kneeing Juraj Mikus
By jer
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced on Friday, July 27th that Ryan Getzlaf has been suspended for one game for a kneeing incident that occurred back in May. This suspension only applies to international play and does not affect any Anaheim Ducks or NHL games.
Below is a video of the incident in May, which occurred during the IIHF World Championships quarterfinals. Getzlaf was representing Team Canada as they took on Team Slovakia.
Getlzaf was given a questionable 5 minute major penalty for the above kee to Slovak forward Juraj Mikus, and Team Slovakia would go on to score the game winning goal during the resulting power play.
Two and a half months later now, the IIHF has decided that a 5 minute major and the embarrassment of being eliminated by Team Slovakia wasn’t enough punishment, and tacked on a one-game suspension. In a statement released on Friday, the IIHF made their case for the supplemental discipline:
"The panel concluded that Getzlaf’s action was not considered deliberate but potentially dangerous. It was taken into consideration that Mikus was lucky to be able to continue to play further on in the tournament. The panel also concluded that Getzlaf extended his knee and could have avoided making contact with his knee. As he did not, he therefore took the risk to injure his opponent."
At the time, many fans felt that the 5 minute major was a bit much and that a 2 minute minor would have been more appropriate. As evidenced by their adding a suspension on top of that major, the IIHF apparently disagrees.
Jer is ready for the NHL season, forget international play. Follow him on Twitter @JerMeansWell.