Hi Pat,

I will be honest in that I don't know you very well as a hockey player. You've been around the league for a while now and have played with a couple different teams. I've heard your name before in passing while watching the Chicago Blackhawks play the Anaheim Ducks, your first major team. To me all you were was an annoyance to my favorite team as you slammed them into the boards.

That is until one night earlier this month when I was on Twitter. I saw your name come up from a couple of journalists I follow who report on hockey regularly, and what I saw was not in the most positive light. So I was curious and searched your name to find out what exactly had happened. I came to find out that in an interview you said that the NHL "was a man's game," in regards to your teammate Connor McDavid being pulled by a concussion spotter. You were upset that he ended up hitting his head and had to leave the game to be evaluated for a possible concussion.

That in itself is a pretty terrible comment. Not only because of the concussion issue that the NHL has, but by implying hockey is only for men. And let me tell you as a woman who adores the sport, the hockey and the NHL is not just for men. While at the moment only men play in the NHL, that doesn't mean that women aren't in almost every other role in the league. There are female coaches in the NHL as the Arizona Coyotes have a female skating coach. There are female broadcasters, female office staff, women that work in hockey operations, women trainers, and even female executives.

I also would like to point out that the demographics of NHL fans is skewing female more and more each day. While getting an exact number for the percentage of female fans in the league is hard to find, it seems to be around 40-50% at the moment. That number is increasing most seasons as well. So no, the NHL is not just a man's game, Patrick Maroon, women love it and can be successful in it as well. Actually I will go so far to say that in my lifetime I will see the first female NHL player. I'm almost positive it will happen, probably in the next 10 years.

Then there is the problem of the implication that concussions aren't something that NHL players need to worry about. By being upset that your teammate was getting checked out for his overall health and well being is a disservice to him. Concussions are a very serious problem in the world of sports, especially in the NHL. A league who has had multiple players die or take their own lives due to concussion related symptoms.

Would you like to be the one to tell someone like Patrick Eaves that he should have "manned up" and played through his concussion? A man who was unable to be with his wife during her pregnancy and three kids because he was dealing with a brain injury because he took a puck to his face? He spent 14 months of his life in recovery not just from the shattered jaw but the months of constant migraines and pain. Are you sure you want to be the kind of guy that says "be a man" to someone going through injuries like that? I have a feeling you don't.

By brushing off the serious realities of concussions and their effects on players, you are doing such a disservice to them. You were dismissive and ignorant of the hardships faced by players like Sidney Crosby, Johan Franzen, Marc Savard, and Eric Lindros, which can then lead to cases like Derek Boogaard and Steve Montador. Two players that ended up either passing away or taking their own life due to the symptoms of concussion. Depression and painkiller addictions can be some of the more serious symptoms from suffering a traumatic brain injury like a concussion, and being dismissive of these facts and what these men have gone through is a travesty.

Because yes, these men are man enough, especially if they are taking care of their own health. There is this weird thing around hockey players of needing to constantly play through injury to not let down their team instead of putting their own health first. It is an incredibly dangerous stance to take. The NHL needs to get past this as a person's health is more important than a game, hands down.

I'm not done, though. The next part of this story is how you responded to the criticisms to you of the statement. For some interesting reason, you decided to post a note you wrote on twitter as a response. This tweet was then deleted later due to your, um, phrasing. But don't worry, it still exists out there as once you put something out on the internet, it never truly leaves. I have it linked here actually so those that read this can take a look.

I won't talk too much about the first paragraph as I've already addressed it. But once again the NHL is not just a man's game, no matter how much guys like you don't want to admit it. Now let's move on to your second paragraph which to me was the most interesting one of the three. I like the "I play hockey, not school." It made me laugh. I didn't know one could play school, but I digress.

I understand a lot of hockey players don't go the college education route and instead move straight to junior leagues. But I have such respect for those that do go to college and get a degree, because those are the players that know what's really up. They understand that their body will not be able to take the beating of playing a professional sport all their lives. As much as players would love to think it, one's body can't play professional sports forever. It's too strenuous and physically demanding to do for more than maybe 15 years for most players.

So those players that go to college and get degrees prepare themselves the best for the future will have something to fall back on once they have to retire. Those players don't end up bankrupt and lost after they can't play the sport the love. They'll have another career and most likely be very prosperous with it, which is such a good path to take for ones future. Because there is life after hockey and you need to be able to do something to keep your family and yourself able to live. Also education is an important thing to have as a person. It's good to grow your mind and have diversified interests which comes about from education.

Obviously that wasn't something you felt you needed. Fine, that is your decision to not have more of an education. Even if a good percentage of the world will look down on you for it. Then we move onto the third paragraph which also struck me. As someone who is about to enter the world of "the media," seeing yet another person call the industry out on taking things out of context and you're the reason we have these jobs pisses me off.

You have no right to say you are the reason journalists who cover hockey have their jobs. They have their jobs because they are great reporters. They write well, are able to analyze the game at a very high level, and have fantastic interview skills. That is not something you as hockey players give them. It's something each journalist cultivates themselves from years of hard work. Being a journalist may not be something you think is hard work, but let me tell you it is some incredibly difficult work. So no, it's not because of you that journalists have their amazing job in the media. It is because of themselves and their work ethic.

Also no, journalists do not put words in your mouth. At some point you have to be accountable for your own actions and what you say. You are the person who said that hockey and the NHL "is a man's game." You don't get to take that back. You said it and now you have to own up to those words. You put your own words in your mouth. Maybe next time you should articulate your point better so that you aren't misunderstood. But perhaps the reason you struggle with that is because you haven't had enough education to be a better at articulating. It's just a thought for next time.

So Patrick Maroon, this is where we are at. I hope that from this incident you have at least learned something from it. Maybe now you understand why taking concussions seriously is so important, or maybe you've learned that you need to be very careful with your words, especially if you are someone who isn't the best orator. Perhaps you learned that the media is important because they are able to analyze things and help people be more informed. I don't know. But I do hope you learned.

That is all I truly ask of you Pat. That you learn to be more considerate of your other players, of their health, and of the world. Because it really isn't so hard to be kind and understanding, especially when it comes to someone's livelyhood.