The Associated Press
New Jersey Devils draft choice Patrice Cormier was suspended Monday for the remainder of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs for a violent hit on an opposing player.
Cormier, a 19-year-old forward the Devils selected in the second round of the 2008 draft, was suspended by the QMJHL for elbowing Mikael Tam, sending the Quebec defenseman into convulsions.
QMJHL disciplinarian Raymond Bolduc took more than a week investigating the Jan. 17 incident and called the hit “dangerous and intolerable.”
The 18-year-old Tam spent two days in the hospital because of brain trauma.
Cormier, who was captain of the Canadian world junior team, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Devils last summer.
Cormier would not be allowed to play for the Devils – or their AHL affiliate – until his team, Rouyn-Noranda, is eliminated from the QMJHL playoffs. There was a chance he could surface in a lower-tier professional league, but New Jersey general manager Lou Lamoriello closed the door on that option.
“We will honor the league’s suspension, have not considered, and will not explore other avenues for his return this season,” Lamoriello said in a statement. “We are pleased to hear Mikael Tam is doing well. Our thoughts are with him for a full recovery.”
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