Jonathan Huberdeau announces that he will be donating his brain to science for research purposes
Newly acquired and signed Flame Jonathan Huberdeau announced Monday that he has pledged his brain to science upon his passing. Huberdeau is just the second active NHLer to make the commitment after Ben Lovejoy announced he would be donating his brain to science in December 2017.
Many NFLers have pledged their brains to science and concussion research after they have retired and families have also donated the brains of their loved ones after they have passed. The goal is to understand how multiple blows to the head not only alter the brain function, but to determine long-term effects in the hopes of being able to identify CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). As it stands now CTE is only identifiable after a person's death.
Numerous studies of former NFL players have shown signs of CTE and the NFL has acknowledged that football is a cause of it. The NHL however, continues to deny any such links between hockey and CTE. To have such a high-profile active player pledge his brain to these studies has surely put (or will put) the NHL on notice that players and their families are concerned about the long-term effects of traumatic head injuries associated with hockey.
Huberdeau may have opened the door for other active NHLers and future NHLers to also want to donate their brains for these studies as well, which could, depending on the findings in the future, put the NHL in a very bad predicament. The NHL is doing its best to avoid a multi-billion dollar lawsuit by continuously denying the link between hockey and CTE, but common sense would say that the link is very obvious.
