Major junior hockey may be forced to confront some dark moments in its history in a class-action lawsuit.

Former NHL and Sarnia Sting player Daniel Carcillo is spearheading the lawsuit against the Canadian Hockey League and its member teams on behalf of players who allege abuse while playing major junior hockey.

Carcillo, who played in the Ontario Hockey League between 2002-05, and Garrett Taylor, who played in the Western Hockey League from 2008-10, filed a statement of claim June 18 with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The CHL and its three member organizations — the WHL, OHL and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League — are listed as defendants, as are all 60 teams.

A statement from Koskie Minsky LLP, the law firm representing Carcillo and Taylor, said the action “is on behalf of children aged 15-17 who were sexually and physically assaulted, hazed and otherwise abused while away from home and playing for CHL teams.”

The allegations haven’t been proven in court.

The claim was filed the same week former Kitchener Rangers player Eric Guest told The Hockey News as a rookie he was forced by an older teammate to use cocaine at a party. Guest said he never told anyone in the Rangers’ organization.

On Friday, the CHL announced it will form an independent panel to review league policies and practices related to hazing, abuse, harassment and bullying and the allegation players don’t feel comfortable reporting behaviours that contravene these policies.

“We are deeply troubled,” a CHL statement read, “by the allegations in the recently announced class action, many of which are historic in nature and we believe are not indicative of the leading experience our players receive in the CHL today. Regardless of the timing, we are taking the claims very seriously as the protection of our players has been and will always be our primary concern.”

The CHL said each year its teams are charged with the care and safety of 1,400 young men and is committed to ensuring an environment that is players first and free of hazing, abuse, harassment and bullying and provides zero tolerance for any of these behaviours.

“The CHL and its member leagues have made a number of advancements to enhance our player experience programs over the past 20 years,” states the release. “We have been working with organizations such as the Canadian Mental Health Association, Canadian Red Cross and Respect in Sport to develop extensive policies and practices to educate players and team staff on the importance of respect and prevention of hazing, abuse, harassment and bullying.”

CHL teams conduct annual player conduct and safety training involving procedures for filing a complaint without fear of reprisal. It includes advising a coach, general manager, police liaison, player liaison or a governor or league official. If criminal conduct is involved, players are encouraged to contact police.

“We believe these programs protect our players and ensure that everyone associated with our teams understand that the type of misconduct alleged is not tolerated,” stated the CHL.

The CHL hopes the independent review will be completed prior to the 2020-21 season.

“We welcome the findings of the Independent Review Panel to ensure we are providing the safest player experience in hockey and amateur sport,” stated the release.

The lawsuit seeks damages for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and a declaration that the teams and leagues are vicariously liable for abuse perpetrated by their employees and players.

“This case is on behalf of underage minors who suffered violent hazing, physical and sexual assault and psychological trauma while playing major junior hockey,” Carcillo said in a statement. “I was one of those kids when I played in the OHL. I know there are many more just like me.”

Thursday: What are the Peterborough Petes doing to prevent abuse?

Ryan Munce didn’t fully realize what was happening the first time his teammates abused him.

The then 17-year-old, a goalie for the 2002-2003 Sarnia Sting, walked into the dressing room for practice when another player beckoned at him with one finger, he said.

“Come here, Muncey,” Munce recalled him saying. “Just bend over my knee. I just wanna slap your ass a bit.”

The veterans in the room started yelling at Munce to “do it” and said if he didn’t they’d “beat his ass.” Munce said he then walked over to the player, who caressed his ass before smacking it.

The abuse only grew from there. “That blossomed into it being bare-assed, and then the paddle,” said Munce. “It was ultimately better when the paddle got introduced because at least the physical touch wasn’t there.”

At this time Munce was already a world-class goaltender. He won a gold medal for Canada at the U18 World Juniors in 2003 and was drafted to the NHL in the third round. He should have felt on top of the world, but Munce said he had suicidal thoughts because of the abuse.

Horror stories from junior hockey have been prevalent, and reported on, for decades. Yet there have been few consequences over that time. Now a shocking new class-action lawsuit could be the start of a long-overdue reckoning for Canada’s most popular sport.

The suit was brought forward by Munce’s then-teammate and NHL veteran Daniel Carcillo and Lethbridge Hurricanes player Garrette Taylor. The lawsuit alleges that “Canadian major junior hockey has been plagued by rampant hazing, bullying, and abuse of underage players, by coaches, team staff, and senior players.” It names all three major junior hockey leagues in Canada—the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the Western Hockey League, and the Ontario Hockey League—collectively known as the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), as defendants.

“Rather than respond to or make meaningful attempts to prevent such abuse, the defendants have instead perpetuated a toxic environment,” reads the statement of claim.

The lawsuit alleges a litany of abuse: players were sexually assaulted, forced to masturbate in front of teammates or coaches, made to consume the “urine, saliva, semen, or feces of teammates,” forced into “sexual engagement with animals,” had their genitals tied to heavy objects or dipped in irritants or toxic liquids, and had things forcibly shoved into their anuses.

James Sayce, the lead counsel of the lawsuit, told VICE while there are many details he can’t divulge, “it appears there is a large number of people who want to tell their stories.”

The CHL responded to VICE’s requests for comments by pointing to a statement it released Friday that said it was “deeply troubled by the allegations in the lawsuit.” The league announced it was starting a “Independent Review Panel to thoroughly review the current policies and practices in our leagues that relate to hazing, abuse, harassment and bullying and the allegation that players do not feel comfortable reporting behaviours that contravene these policies.”

The Sarnia Sting did not respond to a request for comment.

None of the allegations have been proven in court. You can read the lawsuit in its entirety below.

Brock McGillis, a former OHL player who was one of the first professional hockey players to come out as gay and is now an advocate for making hockey more inclusive, said he’s not fully confident of the league’s ability to take on the problems raised in the lawsuit effectively.

“You have the same people who have perpetuated the cycle trying to shift the cycle,” said McGillis. “It’s never gonna work. I’ve been predicting for over a week that they would just start more task forces.”

It’s hard to overstate how important the CHL is to hockey in general, and to the Canadian psyche in particular. Talented teenage hockey players from across Canada and all over the world join the league. They’re expected to leave their families and billet in a new town, usually a small to-mid-sized Canadian city, where they will likely be the biggest sports team the city has to offer.

Despite increasing competition internationally, the CHL is still the most important feeder league in the world for the NHL. More than 30 percent of the players drafted into the NHL in 2019 came from the CHL. Sidney Crosby played for the Rimouski Océanic, Connor McDavid played for the Erie Otters, and Wayne Gretzky played for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. But while the talent in the league is immense, so is the amount of scandal associated with it.

One of the highest profile coaches in the league in the 90s, Graham James, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault in 1997 in regards to more than 300 incidents that took place over 10 years on two specific players. After serving his time and being released in 2000 and pardoned in 2007, James was charged and sentenced again in 2011 after other players including NHL star Theo Fleury came forward. While in prison he plead guilty to another sex assault charge in 2015. He was granted full parole in 2016.

In March, the CHL finally settled a class-action lawsuit over minimum wage payments for $30 million, after the suit dragged on for six years—the CHL denies the players and the league are employers and employees.

Countless other stories have been written about the league’s hazing rituals and its players being charged with sexual assault.

Dr. Kristi Allain, an associate professor in sociology at St. Thomas University who studies how hockey influences national identity, interviewed upwards of 50 professional hockey players from 2002 to 2012 for research on hockey culture. Hazing and sexual violence were brought up consistently by the players.

“It’s an ongoing problem that’s deep-rooted into the culture of hockey and I think it’s been allowed to perpetuate itself because of the insular nature of the institution,” said Allain. “‘What happens in the room, stays in the room’ is kinda their mantra.”

While there are rules against hazing in the league, typically the abuse is kept quiet, said Allain.

The lawsuit mentions players being forced to sit in the shower as other players urinated and spat on them; in another instance, players filled up a cooler with “urine, saliva, and other bodily fluids” and forced other players to bob for apples in it.

Munce, who intends to add his name to the lawsuit, told VICE he wasn’t forced to bob for apples but did see it happen and remembered the mix being dark with chewing tobacco spit.

In another incident that Munce recalled, also mentioned in the lawsuit, a rookie was tied up while naked and players beat him with a belt. When the coach walked in to tell them to tone it down, the players pressured the coach into hitting the teen himself, which gave the actions a “huge endorsement,” Munce said.

The lawsuit also details a disturbing but well-known ritual for junior teams. During road trips, the lawsuit claims, a group of rookies get stripped naked and forced into the team bus washroom for lengthy periods of time. Sometimes players poured chewing tobacco, urine, and spit onto them through the vents.

“This is something in the hockey community that every single person knows about and just assumed was normal,” said Munce. “Everyone knows about the ‘hotbox.’”

Munce said since he wasn’t there for the initial hotbox, he was forced to strip and wait in the bathroom naked by himself.

Taylor, the lawsuit’s other plaintiff, said he was forced to dress up in women’s clothing and made to drink to the point of passing out. These sort of parties, often dubbed “rookie parties,” occur at all levels of junior hockey (and in other sports). Taylor said the rookies were subjected to “racist, sexist, and homophobic slurs” daily and forced to fight their teammates.

Journalist Laura Robinson published Crossing the Line, a book that detailed hazing and sexual violence in junior hockey in 1998. Many of the acts included, as well as those outlined in a CBC documentary from that time, are similar to those mentioned in the lawsuit. Hazing in the league goes back generations. Legendary Montreal Canadiens goalie (and federal politician) Ken Dryden, who played in the NHL from 1970-1979, told the Fifth Estate in 1997 that he was always terrified of hazing.

In her book, Robinson found that hazing and abuse happen at all levels of hockey. In 2011, a 15-year-old player for the Neepawa Natives who played junior ‘A’ in Manitoba told his parents about how he and other rookies were forced to walk around the dressing room with water bottles taped to their scrotums while a coach was in the room. The incident sparked an RCMP investigation, although no charges were laid, and league discipline.

McGillis said he doesn’t believe the league is willing to change.

“This stuff still exists; it just might not be as overt as it used to be,” McGillis told VICE News. “I’m tired of hockey people patting themselves on the back for minimal improvements. It’s microscopic shifts when massive shifts are needed.”

Players who speak out are often ostracized by the players and staff for betraying the room and therefore become “problems in the room.” Many go from being hazed to doing the hazing. The problem becomes cyclical, as the rookies become the vets, and the vets become the coaches.

“There are very few people (running) the CHL who haven’t been part of the league since they were young children,” said Allain. “It’s a system of abuse that reproduces itself through generations. These systems sort of go in unchecked when there’s nobody else in the system to raise questions.”

The mantra of keeping what happens behind dressing room doors quiet is something that starts even before junior hockey. Both McGillis and Munce said they were fully ingrained in that culture by the time they hit the CHL. Allain said she has a family member whose 10-year-old boy is going into the sport and was told by a coach not to tell his parents what happened between the players and coaches.

Every person interviewed for this story said they were confident that many talented players, who could have had great NHL careers, walked away from the sport because of the culture of hazing and abuse.

Former NHL player, Akim Aliu, who is Black, came forward earlier this year with a story about how his AHL coach Bill Peters said the N-word in front of him while denigrating hip-hop in 2009. Peters resigned from his NHL coaching position last year when the story surfaced. In a separate incident, Aliu refused to get in the hotbox in 2005 during a CHL road trip and a few days later, during practice, had seven teeth knocked out by a cross-check delivered from Steve Downie, a right-winger who would go one to have a lengthy (and controversial) NHL career. The two publicly fought on camera following the hit and it was widely reported to be in retribution for Alui’s refusal to be hazed. Downie hasn’t commented on the incident.

“There will be more reckonings for coaches, more incidents highlighting the dark side of hockey culture,” Aliu wrote in a recent piece for the Player’s Tribune. “Hockey is not unique. It has the same problems that plague our whole world. There’s not much we can do about that right now.

“What we can do is be honest.”

Allain said while she stopped interviewing players in 2012, she sees no reason for something so deeply rooted in hockey culture to have disappeared.

Since the time of the Sting allegations, the CHL has implemented several programs to deal with hazing. This includes a zero-tolerance police for hazing across all three leagues. Some newer players, such as Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat, have said the abuse they received was minimal. Other players and coaches have claimed hazing has practically been phased out.

Still, other players say otherwise. Recently Eric Guest, a former Kitchener Rangers player who last played for the team in 2019, said that while at a party with teammates, older players forced him to snort cocaine. McGillis said he hears horror stories from the locker room all the time. Carcillo previously told VICE he received stories almost daily outlining abuse in hockey.

Despite games being some of the biggest attractions in their towns and being aired on Sportsnet, as well as lucrative sponsorship deals for the league, the typically teenage CHL players aren’t paid for their labour. The players, still maturing both mentally and physically, are taken from their parents and thrust into the waiting hands of a league that, after decades, is just finally starting to address the problem.

It’s important to remember who the adults in the room are.

“It always starts from the top down,” said Munce. “It starts from the coaching staff, it starts from Hockey Canada, it starts from the owners and the directors of CHL. It starts up there and trickles down. It always does. You’re not going to ask the kids to change and that’ll change the adult situation. It needs to come from the top.”

Follow Mack Lamoureux on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on VICE US.

“We are deeply troubled by the allegations in the recently announced class action, many of which are historic in nature and we believe are not indicative of the leading experience our players receive in the CHL today. Regardless of the timing, we are taking the claims very seriously as the protection of our players has been and will always be out primary concern.”

The CHL said it and its member leagues have made a number of advancements to enhance its player experience programs over the past two decades. The league said it has been working with organizations like the Canadian Mental Health Association, Canadian Red Cross and Respect in Sport, “to develop extensive policies and practices to educate players and team staff on the importance of respect and prevention of hazing, abuse, harassment and bullying”.

“Throughout the leagues we have worked to ensure there is a zero tolerance for violations of our rules and policies for both the team and players. We believe these programs protect our players and ensure that everyone associated with our teams understand that the type of misconduct alleged is not tolerated,” the CHL stated.

The league said it wants to ensure that it provides the safest environment to protect players.

The league also announced that its Board of Directors has appointed an Independent Review Panel to thoroughly review current policies and practices in the WHL, OHL and QMJHL that relate to hazing, abuse, harassment and bullying, as well as the allegation that players do not feel comfortable reporting behaviours that contravene these policies.

A chair of that panel will be announced in the coming weeks. The CHL said the goal is to have the review process completed in time for the start of the 2020-2021 season.

“We welcome the findings of the Independent Review Panel to ensure we are providing the safest player experience in hockey and amateur sport,” the league stated.

The CHL is reminding players of the training that is provided on player conduct and safety and the league is encouraging players to access established complaint procedures related to hazing, abuse, harassment and bullying.

“The existing procedures to raise a complaint without fear of reprisal include advising your Coach, General Manager, Police Liaison, Player Liaison or Governor/Member or league officials. To the extent that the allegations relate to criminal conduct we encourage those involved to contact the police.”

The full statement can be viewed via the CHL’s website here.

An area high school varsity coach has been charged with engaging “in an inappropriate relationship” with a 16-year-old girl.

Erin Koonz, of Kingston, was arrested on Friday, June 12, by investigators from the Ulster County Family and Child Advocacy Center, reported the Ulster District Attorney’s Office.

The investigation into Koonz, 29, who was employed as head varsity field hockey coach at Kingston High School began in March after receiving a report of the inappropriate relationship with the 16-year-old, the advocacy center said.

The investigation revealed that during the month of February, Koonz and the juvenile female had engaged in illegal contact, they added.

Koonz was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and sexual abuse.

She was released with an appearance ticket, returnable to the Town of Ulster Court on a later date.

The center is staffed by numerous law enforcement and social services agencies.

Any information or questions may be referred to the Ulster County Family and Child Advocacy Center at 845-334-5155.

Click here to sign up for Daily Voice’s free daily emails and news alerts.

I’m sure you’ve all read what’s going on in the news. People across the country are calling for racial justice reform following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota.

Racism has been an issue brought to hockey’s attention several times recenty. Most notably, J.T. Brown’s peaceful protest before a Tampa Bay Lightning game, racist taunts from Chicago fans at Devante Smith-Pelly, the Bill Peters fallout following Akim Aliu’s story, and K’Andre Miller’s Zoom call with a racist fan. These are the moments that come to the top of my head, there are many more.

In times like these, it is important for those with a voice to amplify and make heard the people who are being ignored. Some teams and players in the NHL have understood the importance of shedding light to this injustice and have shared statements and stories, while unfortunately most have not.

Among the teams that have shared statements include Anaheim, Arizona, Calgary, Colorado, Los Angeles, Minnesota (kind of), Nashville, New Jersey, San Jose, Toronto, Vegas, and Washington. Their statements have been linked with their names.

Among the franchises that have not (yet) released team statements against racial injustice include Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Montreal, both the New York Islanders and Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.

As for the players, of the close-to 800 players in the NHLPA, the following have released personal statements and are joining the fight against racism in and out of the sport. Akim Aliu, Mathieu Joseph, Evander Kane, Blake Wheeler, JT Brown, Logan Couture, Kurtis Gabriel, Connor Carrick, Brian Boyle, Anze Kopitar, Nick Foligno, Anthony Duclair, Kyle Turris, Daniel Carcillo, PK Subban, Auston Matthews, and Kevin Weekes. Their statements have been linked with their names. This Twitter list also shows players who have also retweeted statements.

Meanwhile, a few other players have shared statements from their sponsors. Zdeno Chara, Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner, and Mark Scheifele are the ones I could find.

The PWHPA and CAA Hockey (the player agency) have also released statements against racial discrimination.

Furthermore, former Lightning prospect Tony DeAngelo and teammate Brendan Lemieux are starting a podcast he claims will “push the ‘Politically Correct’ boundary, while also being “not political,” the Rangers twitter account retweeted the announcement, but later took it back. Jack Eichel shared a tweet on Instagram criticizing the protesters.

The NHL also released a statement, as well as shared those from their players and teams.

I’ll share some of the most impactful statements and stories that I found from NHL players. The “must read” ones, if you will.

I’ve seen a real ground-swell of support from everyone in the community. Not just silent support, but loud advocating. Hopefully we see a positive change to society, especially hockey.

---

Lightning Links

• Erik Erlendsson will no longer be on the Power Lunch show as his contract with the network expired. Hoping he gets picked up again when hockey is back.

• Pierre LeBrun has this article out at The Athletic on the NHL’s conditional draft pick trade rulings.

• Remember when Niagara IceDogs goaltender Tucker Tynan suffered a gruesome injury in a game back in December? Google it if you’re not queasy. Well, he just had his pads delivered to his home, looks like he’s ready to lace ‘em up again.

• This is a funny story. Elite Prospects has an incredible vetting team. Nothing gets past them.

Copyright 2020 Tribune Content Agency.

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers pitcher David Price has pledged to donate $1,000 to each Dodgers minor leaguer in June.

The aid will go to those not currently on the 40-man roster — a little more than 200 players in all.

NFL: Pro Football Hall of Famer Floyd Little, who starred in the NFL for the Denver Broncos, has been diagnosed with cancer, according to former Syracuse teammate Pat Killorin, who has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for treatment costs. Little, a three-time All-American at Syracuse from 1964-66, was selected sixth overall in 1967 by the Broncos. He led the NFL in rushing yards (1,133) and yards from scrimmage (1,388) in 1971 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. … Roosevelt Taylor, a star safety on the Chicago Bears’ 1963 NFL championship team, has died at 82. No cause was given. Taylor was an All-Pro in 1963 and made the Pro Bowl that year after leading the league in interceptions with nine. Taylor earned another selection to the Pro Bowl in 1968.

College basketball: Florida point guard Andrew Nembhard is removing his name from the NBA draft and returning to school — just not in Gainesville. A team spokesman said that Nembhard plans to transfer and will have two years of college eligibility left.

NBA: The Washington Wizards reopened their practice facility and began voluntary workouts after the city lifted restrictions.

Autos: The Austrian Health Ministry approved safety conditions which could allow Austria to host season-opening Formula One Grand Prix races on July 5 and 12.

College football: The College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta was badly damaged and looted by protesters in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

Hockey: Mark Pavelich, the famed “Miracle on Ice” Olympic player charged with assaulting his neighbor last fall, has been found competent to stand trial. Pavelich, 62, was civilly committed after allegedly striking a neighbor with a long metal pole and causing serious injuries after accusing the neighbor of “spiking his beer.”

Tennis: Fabio Fognini, ranked 11th, said he underwent arthroscopic surgery on both of his ankles.

— Wire reports

PRO FOOTBALL

Former Bears safety Roosevelt Taylor dies

Roosevelt Taylor, a star safety on the Chicago Bears’ 1963 NFL championship team, has died. He was 82.

The team said he died Friday but did not provide details.

An All-Pro in 1963 when the Bears won the title, Taylor played his first nine NFL seasons with Chicago, 1961-69, appearing in every game. A ballhawk, he led the league in interceptions in 1963 with nine, also making the Pro Bowl.

Chicago was 11-1-2 in that championship season, winning all eight games in which Mr. Taylor made an interception.

He also made the Pro Bowl in 1968. The next year, he was dealt to San Francisco for guard Howard Mudd and spent 2½ seasons with the 49ers, then was Washington’s free safety in 1972. The Redskins lost to Miami in the Super Bowl that season, with the Dolphins finishing off their perfect record.

In all, Taylor had 32 interceptions, 23 with the Bears.

Former Broncos star Floyd Little has cancer

Pro Football Hall of Famer Floyd Little, who starred in the NFL for the Denver Broncos, has been diagnosed with cancer, according to a former Syracuse Orange teammate who has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for treatment costs.

Pat Killorin, a center for Syracuse in the mid-1960s, created the fundraiser last Sunday.

“Floyd was recently diagnosed with a treatable but aggressive form of cancer. No doubt it will be the toughest fight of his life,” Killorin wrote on the Friends of Floyd page.

Little, a three-time All-American at Syracuse from 1964 to 1966, was selected sixth overall in the 1967 combined AFL-NFL draft by the Broncos. He spent his entire nine-year career with the franchise and rushed for 6,323 yards and 43 touchdowns.

Little, 77, led the NFL in rushing yards (1,133) and yards from scrimmage (1,388) in 1971. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.

TRACK AND FIELD

Sprinting great Bobby Joe Morrow dies

Bobby Joe Morrow, the Texas sprinter who won three gold medals in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics while a student at Abilene Christian University, died Saturday in San Benito, Texas. He was 84.

Mr. Morrow’s family said he died of natural causes at home in San Benito.

Mr. Morrow won the 100 and 200 meters in Melbourne and anchored the United States’ champion 400 relay team, matching the world record of 20.6 seconds in the 200 and helping the relay squad set a world record.

Earlier in 1956, he successfully defended his AAU 100-yard title and swept the sprints for Abilene Christian at the national college championships. He won the AAU’s James E. Sullivan Award the following year.

Mr. Morrow was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1989.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Nembhard to transfer from Florida

Florida point guard Andrew Nembhard is removing his name from the NBA draft and returning to school — just not in Gainesville.

A team spokesman said Saturday that Nembhard plans to transfer and will have two years of college eligibility remaining. Stadium first reported Nembhard’s intentions.

Nembhard entered the NBA draft last month. He hired NCAA-certified agent Jaafar Choufani so he could retain his college eligibility. He took a similar approach after his freshman year and eventually returned to Florida after not getting invited to the NBA scouting combine.

As a sophomore, he averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 assists and 3 rebounds.

HOCKEY

Pavelich found competent to stand trial

Mark Pavelich, the famed “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey player charged with assaulting his North Shore neighbor last fall, has been found competent to stand trial.

Cook County (Minn.) District Judge Michael Cuzzo found this month that, based on a recent examination, Pavelich “presently has sufficient ability to rationally consult with counsel, understand the proceedings and participate in his defense.” That allows the criminal case to proceed, months after Pavelich was civilly committed.

Pavelich, 62, is facing two felony assault charges and two felony weapons charges after allegedly striking a neighbor with a long metal pole and sending him to the hospital with serious injuries after returning to Pavelich’s Lutsen-area home following a day of fishing together in August.

Pavelich had accused his neighbor of “spiking his beer,” and the victim suffered cracked ribs, a bruised kidney and was “in and out of shock” when he was found, charges state.

Pavelich was found incompetent to stand trial on the charges in October.

In December, Pavelich was committed to the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter after being found “mentally ill and dangerous.” The doctor who recommended his commitment said Pavelich may suffer from an “unspecified neurocognitive” affliction. His family has said they suspect CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which may have resulted from repeated blows to the head while playing hockey, including 355 games in the NHL.

CTE — which can only be discovered through an autopsy — often manifests in erratic behavior and has been suspected in the deaths of a number of professional athletes.

TENNIS

Fognini undergoes surgery on ankles

Former top-10 player Fabio Fognini said on social media that he had arthroscopic surgery on both ankles Saturday.

The 2011 French Open quarterfinalist, who reached a career-high No. 9 in the ATP rankings last year, nnounced he would have the operations on Twitter. Fognini said he had trouble with his left ankle for 3½ years. Then he developed a problem with his right ankle during the past two years.

Mark Pavelich, the famed “Miracle on Ice” Olympic hockey player charged with assaulting his North Shore neighbor last fall, has been found competent to stand trial.

Cook County District Judge Michael Cuzzo found this month that based on a recent examination, Pavelich “presently has sufficient ability to rationally consult with counsel, understand the proceedings and participate in his defense,” allowing the criminal case to proceed months after Pavelich was civilly committed.

Pavelich, 62, is facing two felony assault charges and two felony weapons charges after allegedly striking a neighbor with a long metal pole and sending him to the hospital with serious injuries after returning to Pavelich’s Lutsen-area home following a day of fishing together in August.

Pavelich had accused his neighbor of “spiking his beer,” and the victim suffered cracked ribs, a bruised kidney and was “in and out of shock” when he was found, charges state.

Pavelic was found incompetent to stand trial on the charges in October.

In December Pavelich was committed to the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter after being found “mentally ill and dangerous.” The doctor who recommended his commitment said Pavelich may suffer from an “unspecified neurocognitive” affliction. His family has said they suspect CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which may have resulted from repeated blows to the head while playing hockey, including 355 games in the NHL.

“Mark is the most kind and gentle person you’d ever know,” his sister, Jean Gevik, previously told the Star Tribune. “This is a totally different guy.”

CTE — which can only be discovered through an autopsy — often manifests in erratic behavior and has been suspected in the deaths of a number of professional athletes.

After initially refusing treatment, in March Pavelich began to take medication and was following doctors’ orders, according to court filings.

Earlier this week his defense attorney, Chris Stocke, filed a motion to dismiss the two felony weapons charges — possessing a short-barreled shotgun and possessing a firearm with a missing serial number — saying they were found in an illegal search.

“The fruits of the illegal search warrant must be suppressed, which results in the state lacking probable cause to move forward” with the charges.

Stocke did not return a call seeking comment. Pavelich’s next hearing is June 22, and no trial has been scheduled.

For Pavelich, the best outcome may be a plea deal that avoids a trial — and prison time — said David Schultz, a law professor at the University of Minnesota who has been following the “fascinating and tragic” case. The defense will most likely focus on Pavelich’s mental state at the time of the incident that “could perhaps exculpate responsibility,” he said.

“You don’t want somebody to walk away without being held responsible, but on the other hand he’s likely not responsible for what he did,” Schultz said. “It’s not clear what justice actually is.”

Pavelich attended Eveleth High School and the University of Minnesota Duluth and was a member of the 1980 U.S. hockey team that upset the Soviet Union and went on to beat Finland to win the gold medal. He played the bulk of his NHL career with the New York Rangers and after retirement in 1992 became a land developer and shied away from the spotlight.

Staff reporter Paul Walsh contributed to this report.