Colton Fretter

Gazza272

Well-Known Member
#41
The whole DOPS system (*****WE ARE TOLD*****) works by the footage going out to a select number of officials/representatives from other leagues that are chosen randomly from a pool. (correct me if i'm wrong.)

.
DOPS is Simon Kirkham. The pool was said to have existed at the start of DOPS. but it's been Kirkham on his own for a while now.
 

ASHIPP

Well-Known Member
#42
When the professionals are speaking out so vehemently about this incident then clearly DOPS have got this decision seriously wrong.

The introduction of an NHL standard of punishments and fines which is consistent and transparent is essential. We are witnessing the potential for career ending injuries in this sport - the DOPS is doing very little to eliminate that. One young player has already had to retire with concussion this season in the EIHL, his career over.

Surely an overhaul of DOPS is now neccessary. The inabilty to levy consistent and appropriate punishments for serious infringements has undermined the integrity of the department.

A league where the top hierachy has actual vested interests in Clubs rather than being run independently, is always going to have it's credibilty questioned. Its reputation will continue to be damaged. Very sad when some clubs in the UK are flogging their guts out trying to showcase this league in Europe.
 
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#43
Until the league management secures & assigns the necessary funding to address the needs of this sport and assist the people in the front line, this kind of incident is likely to go on happening. Surely they can't continue flying in the face of a potentially catastrophic incident or lawsuit.:(
 
#44
The two biggest defences I've seen in support of Fretter mutually exclude each other.

The argument is that
- Fretter was retaliating to the earlier unpunished hit
- Goulakos kicked Fretter when he was on the floor, and thus deserved the larger penalty

Fretter's reaction was pre-meditated. He had time to stop and think, Goulakos was off the puck, and the charge came in as a deliberate attempt to cause harm. Goulakos' "kick", even if you agree it was a kick, was a reaction to an ongoing attack. If you believe that Fretter is justified for retaliating against Goulakos, how can you not believe that Goulakos was justified?

For my part, I don't think it was a kick; it looked to me like he was curling up to get away from the guy who attacked him out of nowhere. I'm also in total agreement with the guys from the Giant's podcast - retaliation is not justification. I do believe Goulakos' earlier actions should have carried more of a punishment, but at least that was a play on the puck. Fretter acted in a way ill-befitting of any sportsman, and the system that is meant to protect players from this sort of thing has instead protected the aggressor.

Tin foil hat time; if the game Fretter's out for wasn't a pointless cup game, I don't think he'd have got anything.
 

august04

Well-Known Member
#45
Until the league management secures & assigns the necessary funding to address the needs of this sport and assist the people in the front line, this kind of incident is likely to go on happening. Surely they can't continue flying in the face of a potentially catastrophic incident or lawsuit.:(
Who in their right mind would sponsor this league with this kind of publicity flying around? I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole if I was a potential sponsor.
 
#46
I believe it to be true that Simon Kirkham is the SOLE arbiter in any DOPS rulings.
However, he is not solely responsible for this mess as he should never be judge, jury and executioner, there should be a panel of experts, in my view at least 5 independent individuals made up of former players and officials and medical professionals (Dr. Silverwood has already offered to do this on a voluntary basis, I believe).
Having just one person in sole charge leaves that person open to influence and coercion from other interested parties (fill name in here) or at the very least the perception of such interference and biased decision making will always be casting a shadow over any such controversial rulings.
Again, I say Kirkham should go now for the credibility and wellbeing of OUR sport!
EIHL should review the ruling and an NHL/KHL (insert league name here) system adopted before irreparable damage is done.
 

pjj365

Well-Known Member
#47
Dr Silverwood is not a medic but a criminologist. She has done a lot of work in the NHL and was a consultant on Ice Guardians

Her doctoral thesis

Five for Fighting': The Culture and Practice of Legitimised Violence in Professional Ice Hockey

makes very interesting reading and it is amazing that DOPS has not taken her up on her offer to with them - voluntarily
 
#48
Dr Silverwood is not a medic but a criminologist. She has done a lot of work in the NHL and was a consultant on Ice Guardians

Her doctoral thesis

Five for Fighting': The Culture and Practice of Legitimised Violence in Professional Ice Hockey

makes very interesting reading and it is amazing that DOPS has not taken her up on her offer to with them - voluntarily
Thanks for the clarification.
I do believe that the league should have a Chief Medical Officer, paid or voluntary and that person should be available to give advice and deliberate on a DOPS panel.
I agree with you that it is astounding that her offer to help free of charge has not been accepted.
 

Pleximan

Active Member
#49
The hockey world is enormous.

These crappy decisions have been going on for years, yet the quality of the league and players coming in is getting better every year.
No Gaz, you're wrong.

Players looking to come to the UK for the first time talk to players who have played here about their experiences and those recommendations/comments heavily influence the decision to sign or not. We see this in practically every interview a new signing gives....."While deciding I talked to my friend ### who said they enjoyed their time here and I've heard good things about the league".
These comments and influences can also equally work in a negative way. I'm quite sure that many players have decided not to come here over the years precisely because of negative feedback.

August04 is correct.
 

James

Administrator
#50
Got to laugh at the fat estate agent on twitter saying its purely a dops issue nothing to do with Sheffield. I'd put good money on Thommo having been straight to the Refs dressing room after the final whistle and two point tony straight on the phone to Kirkham to pile on the pressure, won't be the first time, nor the last.
 

pjj365

Well-Known Member
#51
Thanks for the clarification.
I do believe that the league should have a Chief Medical Officer, paid or voluntary and that person should be available to give advice and deliberate on a DOPS panel.
I agree with you that it is astounding that her offer to help free of charge has not been accepted.
A CMO is, I would have thought, vital and not just to work with DOPS but on day to day issues.

Too many players play injured and with concussion. Team medics should have a league source for advice and guidance
 
#52
Simms has actually attempted to justify Fretter in a Sheffield Star article. He actually says that although he wishes Fretter hadn’t done it, he 100% understands why he did!!
He attempts to ‘muddy the waters’ by blaming the ref, the league, DOPS and Goulakos himself, amazingly he also says we shouldn’t judge Fretter because we have never been in his situation and he was understandably reacting to a non call by the referee.
The double standards espoused by this idiot are breathtaking, but then again he did hero worship a certain Mike Peron and we all know the indelible effect he had on a certain Jon Cullen!
 

Johnnybravo1927

Well-Known Member
#53
Dops and the EIHL will do nothing about this. They wont sack anybody or change anything and why would they? They know that this will soon blow over and be forgotten about as the next scandal takes over. In saying that, I am sure that due to all this pressure from the fans/players/ex players that if Giants appealed ( I assume they can) then the penalties would be adjusted and more games added.
 

Pleximan

Active Member
#55
Yes I remember this very well, a shocking incident at the time and no less shocking seeing it again now a few years later.
Deeply worrying seeing Cullen writhe around in agony and the inept officials letting Peron stand over his victim while they instead targeted Rob Davison in pushing him away.

This backs up my earlier point that high end skilled players will be deterred from coming here because of these types of incidents.
Jon Cullen was a high end point scorer who entertained us all but unfortunately he chose not to sign with us for a 2nd season and instead went to Germany because he felt there was a serious lack of protection to players from the league when these incidents occurred.

The following season we signed......Brad Voth.
 

ASHIPP

Well-Known Member
#56
Simms has actually attempted to justify Fretter in a Sheffield Star article. He actually says that although he wishes Fretter hadn’t done it, he 100% understands why he did!!
He attempts to ‘muddy the waters’ by blaming the ref, the league, DOPS and Goulakos himself, amazingly he also says we shouldn’t judge Fretter because we have never been in his situation and he was understandably reacting to a non call by the referee.
The double standards espoused by this idiot are breathtaking, but then again he did hero worship a certain Mike Peron and we all know the indelible effect he had on a certain Jon Cullen!
What do we expect from the self-styled representative of the Sheffield Steelers - the organisation that has just signed a player who was dismissed from a former club for attacking/injuring an opposition player.....during a pre-game warmup. It is hypocrisy - if the situation works to their advantage, they condone or defend it. But then, the idiot is just demonstrating what we already know.... he has twisted values.
 

Foxy

Well-Known Member
#57
Going just by the video evidence there is no way on earth that can only carry a one game ban. It is deliberate, its from behind so no way can the Belfast player know its coming, its a two handed punch directly to the neck/head with the force of a flying tackle. Minimum of 5 games for me although some of the NHL fans suggest it would a lot longer if it had happened in their league.

As for the kick....... imo more of a defensive action rather than a deliberate kick.

This annoys me the league has strived to improve its reputation. We have had good reactions to Nottingham and Cardiff in the CHL and its probably going to be all for nothing. Spoilt by the inept chairmanship of the league and the actions of DOPS. It cant be coincidence that whenever Sheffield is involved DOPs comes up with some ridiculous ban.
Another related Sheffield personnel who should have a gagging order placed on him is David Simms. With last years fiasco and now his comments re this incident it does nothing but damage to the EIHL.

When you have coaches and players making comments on social media condeming DOPS you have to start taking note as these are the people who DOPS are supposed to be protecting. If the players have lost faith in the system then we have serious problems for the future.

As was said on the podcast, which is a good listen by the way, Retaliation is no justification.
 

Temme

Well-Known Member
#58
Simms has actually attempted to justify Fretter in a Sheffield Star article. He actually says that although he wishes Fretter hadn’t done it, he 100% understands why he did!!
He attempts to ‘muddy the waters’ by blaming the ref, the league, DOPS and Goulakos himself, amazingly he also says we shouldn’t judge Fretter because we have never been in his situation and he was understandably reacting to a non call by the referee.
The double standards espoused by this idiot are breathtaking, but then again he did hero worship a certain Mike Peron and we all know the indelible effect he had on a certain Jon Cullen!
There seems to be a lot of hate for Sheffield here, whilst i'll never defend them, the issue is as follows:

Hicks made a mess of the game with non calls.
Fretter felt the need to take matters into his own hands.
DOPS has failed to punish him accordingly.

Fretter won't be the first or certainly not the last person to seek their own retribution for an incident that occurs like this, so i agree with Simmsey's comments - He shouldn't have done it but it's pretty obvious why he did.

If a player like Goulakos can run about cheap shotting all game with no call then for the sake of a 1 game ban where Goulakos will miss 5+ with concussion, what Fretter did is 100% worth while doing.

The issue is not "sheffield did this, did that", it is simply that if players are going to deliberately injure others then they must be punished accordingly to stamp that behaviour out- something that DOPS have failed to do.

Heck if this kind of incident draws a 1 game ban and i was a Devils coach i'd be sending 90% of our team out to target the leagues best players to deliberately injure them, what's a 1 game ban when the other player is injured for more?
 
#59
There seems to be a lot of hate for Sheffield here, whilst i'll never defend them, the issue is as follows:

Hicks made a mess of the game with non calls.
Fretter felt the need to take matters into his own hands.
DOPS has failed to punish him accordingly.

Fretter won't be the first or certainly not the last person to seek their own retribution for an incident that occurs like this, so i agree with Simmsey's comments - He shouldn't have done it but it's pretty obvious why he did.

If a player like Goulakos can run about cheap shotting all game with no call then for the sake of a 1 game ban where Goulakos will miss 5+ with concussion, what Fretter did is 100% worth while doing.

The issue is not "sheffield did this, did that", it is simply that if players are going to deliberately injure others then they must be punished accordingly to stamp that behaviour out- something that DOPS have failed to do.

Heck if this kind of incident draws a 1 game ban and i was a Devils coach i'd be sending 90% of our team out to target the leagues best players to deliberately injure them, what's a 1 game ban when the other player is injured for more?
I don’t think my post mentioned anything regarding a hatred for Sheffield, I was merely commenting on a published newspaper article written by Simms (who I do have loathing of) where he attempts to justify what Fretter did because the referee didn’t call a penalty on Goulakos.
I’m also not sure that anyone, and certainly not myself, that has insinuated that ‘Sheffield did this and Sheffield did that’. The ruling of DOPS and the ramifications of what could happen as a result of that ruling have been central to my posts.
 
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