By Canadian Press

Criminal Code applies on ice, says B.C. minister after apparent chokehold during game

Jan 30, 2024 | 7:14 PM

British Columbia’s health minister has weighed in on hockey violence, saying the Criminal Code applies both on and off the ice, after an incident in which a player appeared to put a goalie in a chokehold.

Adrian Dix says he hasn’t seen video of the incident in a Pacific Junior Hockey League game in Richmond last Thursday, involving a defenceman for the Richmond Sockeyes and the goalie for the North Vancouver Wolf Pack.

But Dix says “criminal actions need to be taken care of by criminal processes,” regardless of where they occur.

He told an unrelated news conference on Tuesday that players who think they can do things on the ice that wouldn’t be allowed elsewhere are “kidding themselves.”

Video of the game shows the Sockeyes’ Eithan Grishin appearing to put Wolf Pack goalie Evan Paul in a chokehold during a fight, before Paul falls motionless to the ice.

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The Wolf Pack said on social media on Saturday that Paul was recovering at home after suffering a “severe injury” in what it called a “horrible incident.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2024.

The Canadian Press