On December 3, 2023, Danbury Hat Tricks forward Daniel Amesbury was suspended 18 games for what many considered a freak accident after a hit injured Motor City Rockers forward Danny Vanderwiel, while others classified it as an illegal hit.
Some say he’s just an aggressive player, others have called him dirty, but one thing is certain, he’s absolutely a polarizing figure.
One Danbury fan in particular, Ron Rogell a member of the infamous fan group called The Animal Housel, has been vocal on the situation and had a fairly concise breakdown of the hit in question.
“I think it was a clean hit. I’m not just saying that being a Danbury fan. Someone broke it down frame by frame. It’s 30 frames per second. I think he got to 28 from the time the puck was passed to the time Amesbury made contact. That’s less than a second. You have 2 seconds to complete your hit,” Rogell said. “His arm did slide up to the guys neck after the initial contact, 90% of checks against the boards do that. I don’t know how if you’ve ever been to Danbury but where I sit we are right above the glass. I see that type of hit constantly from all players. The hit wasn’t that hard, but unfortunately the guy has a history of concussions and that can trigger a seizure.”
On January 15th, the league converted Amesbury’s suspension to an indefinite suspension.
The FPHL issued a press release that stated, “Effective immediately, the FPHL has decided to place Daniel Amesbury on an Indefinite Suspension from the league. He will no longer be allowed to participate in any practices or on ice functions at any capacity with any team in the FPHL. This decision has come after much discussion over the past few weeks with members of our league Board of Governors, attorney’s, & FPHL Staff. The leagues dedication to improving player safety comes first and foremost. The FPHL has the right to deny any personnel from participating in FPHL games if its deemed in the best interest of the league.” While that in itself is controversial enough, according to Amesbury, nobody from the league notified him ahead of time or has given him a reason. He found out when he was sent the press release by a fan. While he is limited on what he can say publicly, as a courtesy he was able to verify to me that in fact, he still has not heard from the league.
“I was not notified (by the league) and when I called Coach McCreary when I found out he said it was the first he heard about it as well.” Amesbury said, “I’ve sent an email to the league and still have had no response.”
Amesbury’s Advisor AJ Galante was with Amesbury when he got the news and also confirmed they were not notified ahead of time.
“We were together when someone sent him the official press release. Nobody gave him notice that this happened or even why it happened. We tried to let things calm down for two days,” said Galante. “On Wednesday we formally and respectfully sent an email to the league requesting an in person meeting or at least some sort of explanation – as of this moment I know that email hadn’t been responded too. It’s a pretty mind-boggling situation.”
Some have stated they think hockey is going soft, one being Columbus River Dragons fan Eric McMillan in a recent Facebook post.
“This thing is called, “What’s on my mind?” What is on my mind is, how soft Hockey has gotten, mainly because of constant rules changes mid season, or mid suspension! You have punks who play, lik Jacob Schnapp from the Carolina Thunderbirds, Jesse Swanson the from the Elmira River Sharks, Cody Oakes from the Blue Ridge Bobcats who are all punks,” McMillan said. “They instigate and then they run. Then when someone gets ahold of them, they cry.”
McMillan continued stating his belief that hockey has changed. “The game is changing and the hockey I love is becoming a thing of the past. Let’s get back to the days of Jerome ‘BOOM BOOM’ Bechard (legendary minor league enforcer and current River Dragons coach) and great enforcers like Dave ‘The Hammer’ Schultz, Marty McSorley, Chris ‘Knuckles’ Nilan, Stuart ‘Grimreaper’ Grimson, and many, many others,” said McMillan. “I hope something gets done and Daniel Amesbury is reinstated, he is one of the last of a dying breed.”
Galante disagreed and doesn’t believe the game is getting soft.
“At this point this really isn’t an argument or debate on if ‘hockey has gone soft’ – which people are stuck on. This is about a league making things up as they go,” said Galante. “This is a guy who’s been suspended since November- who didn’t complain or try and appeal and turned down other opportunities, so he could be ready to return to his team when the time came. To just decide to extend a suspension indefinitely, with no explanation is a pretty dangerous thing to do, and that is the issue to me personally.”
Recently the FPHL changed several rules mid-season regarding suspensions, such as suspending Head Coaches 1 game for every 2 a player is suspended. The debate about Amesbury is not going to die down any time soon. I have known Daniel since his rookie season when I covered the Columbus Cottonmouths. I also personally know several executives in the league.
The FPHL is setting a dangerous precedent by not only changing rules mid-season, but increasing a player’s suspension near its conclusion to essentially a season long suspension and what many feel will be a lifetime ban.
Not just increasing the suspension, but without notifying the player or giving a reason.
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