Ian Braisby has been a Panthers fan since the club reformed in 1980 and despite the will for the club to thrive, sees the wellbeing of the players and staff as paramount.
For all of us associated with the Nottingham Panthers, the 2023-24 season has been a voyage in uncharted waters. The tragic death of Adam Johnson back in October was an unprecedented event that shook the hockey world, nowhere more so than within our club itself. With no template to follow, I share many people’s view that the way our players, officials and fans conducted themselves in the aftermath was exemplary, with just the right combination of respect for the loss of Adam and determination to continue.
For many of us, myself included, just getting back out on the ice into competitive action was a massive achievement for a set of players and coaches who were naturally and obviously deeply traumatised by what they had witnessed. To be honest, if they had announced that they were withdrawing from all competition for this season I would not have been surprised and would have totally understood and supported that decision. But they chose to keep playing.
Results have been disappointing, there is no question about that. A couple of weeks ago, I started to sense frustration among the fanbase with the team’s performances, and it has been growing. We are starting to see calls for roster changes on social media and to hear the familiar criticisms in the arena on game nights. In many ways I agree with the issues people are identifying with our roster, and in any other season I would likely be calling for a shake-up with the best of them. But this is not any other season due to the tragic events of October 28th.
I’ve heard people saying that moving on includes getting back to normal in terms of how you manage the team and react to performances. But the more I think about it, the more I find it hard to agree. While I want to see my team competing at the highest level possible and playing the best hockey they can, there are much bigger issues at stake this year. However disappointing recent results have been, everyone on the roster is visibly giving one hundred percent for the cause. Not one player can be criticised for a lack of effort. Even more importantly, this group of players have been brought together into a very tight-knit unit by what happened. How do you approach breaking that unit up? What does releasing a player do to that bond? Even if you upgrade on quality, what do you lose in already fragile morale?
And even that isn’t the most important consideration. For me, the number one priority this year is taking care of the mental health and wellbeing of our players and coaches. They experienced something that none of them ever expected to and we cannot underestimate the impact of that trauma on them. Anyone who has had mental health issues will know that in the toughest times you need something to hold on to, something to help keep your head above water when you might otherwise give up. It might be work, it might be family, it might be a hobby, doesn’t matter. For some of these players, being part of this team unit and the Panthers community might be that thing. If playing for us is keeping them back from the brink of a very dark place, do you want to be the one to walk in and hand them their P45? Do you want to be the one to remove that lifeline?
You may say that sport is harsh and that professional players know that, and you would be right, but what the response to Adam Johnson’s death showed was that there is also a human side to sport and particularly hockey. And that is what I would prefer to see prevail for the rest of this season. I’d like to see us take care of these players for the next several months, then in the summer there can be a reset and things will start to get back to “normal”. These players have showed a commitment to our club and our city by getting back out there are playing their hearts out when they could easily have taken another option – now it’s time for the fans and the club to return the favour. I think they deserve nothing less.
thecatswhiskersonline.com 