Upping the Ante on Suspensions

While the NHL dithers, its primary talent farm is setting a new standard for policing dirty hockey.

The Canadian Hockey League handed out another season-long suspension on Monday.

Patrice Cormier is done for the year after flattening an opponent with a vicious elbow last week.

It's the latest in a series of lengthy suspensions handed out for a series of ugly hits.

Not harsh enough for the hanging judges in the crowd. But still far tougher than your average NHL suspension, which usually amounts to a three-game vacation for hits that inflict brain damage.

With 60 teams in three leagues across Canada and the U.S., the CHL gathers most of the top junior hockey players in the game, and is the NHL biggest talent supplier.

A couple of crucial factors distinguish the CHL from pro hockey, increasing the urgency to curtail dirty hits:

They're kids: juniors range in age from 16 to 20. And the potential size difference between a 16-year-old and a 20-year-old makes a dirty hit even more dangerous.

They're amateurs: these guys aren't paid, and most of them will never play pro hockey.

Don't expect the NHL to adopt a harder line anytime soon.

For starters, nobody can agree on what constitutes an egregious offense.

And while the league doesn't mind making an example of repeat offenders, it doesn't want to set a standard that might see a star player miss several weeks or more because of one nasty play.

The list of NHL suspensions extending 10 games or more is short enough to fit on one page.