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Ottawa Citizen

Davis: CTE confirmed in Rob Trumbley, expanding the list of affected, former hockey players

Article content A recent study by Boston University stated the risk of CTE increased by 34 per cent every year a person played hockey. Article content Despite the growing, overwhelming evidence that hockey players suffer brain injuries, the NHL's denials are merely attempts to avoid paying millions in financial settlements. The NHL has actually implemented rules intended to prevent players from hitting an opponent's head. Article content If there was no danger of injuring someone's head/brain, why would the NHL need such rules? It's obviously time for the NHL and other leagues to concede that hockey causes brain injuries. That's why Hull, Mikita, Simon, Boogaard, Rypien, Rick Martin, Ralph Backstrom, Zarley Zalapski, Trumbley and others, plus their families, have donated their damaged brains and told their stories. Article content 'Deep down Rob wanted to know, not as an excuse but as an explanation,' said Degelman. 'And 100 per cent he wanted to help other people. I know that now from the stories that are coming out. Article content Article content 'He always thought about other people, so if he knew he was helping emotionally or socially, I think he would be proud that he could reach even one or two people.' Article content Trumbley's family recently held a memorial service for him in Lumsden, attended by former teammates and opponents, who recalled him as a scrappy, hard-working and popular player with the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League's Regina Pat Canadians and Western Hockey League's Moose Jaw Warriors. Article content He was an eighth-round draft choice by the Vancouver Canucks in 1989 and attended a couple of NHL camps, ultimately playing in the American and East Coast leagues and eventually heading to play professionally in Britain for eight seasons, where he was appreciated particularly for sticking up for his teammates as an enforcer. He retired in 2005 and tried several jobs, including assistant coach with the WHL's Saskatoon Blades, but his friends and family said he changed through his final years. Article content Article content 'He never denied the addictions, but said the CTE was his main problem,' said Degelman. 'CTE is a progressive disease and it's a hopeless scenario, to be honest, at this point.'