Hronek's agent rips NHL after Vancouver Canucks defenceman elbowed in the head
Injuries are an inevitability in hockey.
However, taking a cheap shot elbow to the head is something no player should endure.
Late in the third period of the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night, Hronek did get elbowed in the head by Andrei Svechnikov.
Filip Hronek has left the game after this elbow from Andrei Svechnikov đł pic.twitter.com/MRWV0jpg8V
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) November 15, 2025
The referee seemingly turned his head to the play as Hronek cleared the puck, and missed calling the penalty even though he was standing maybe five feet away from the incident.
Canucks head coach Adam Foote said after the game that Hronek was pulled by the concussion spotter.
This dirty hit, coupled with the fact that there was no penalty on the play, prompted Hronek’s agent, Allan Walsh, to rip into the officiating and the NHL itself after the game.
Here we go again! The National Concussion League. Open season on NHL playersâ brains. No call on the play. If only the referee were in a position to have a clear view of the play. pic.twitter.com/wP8WytuGqO
— Allan Walshđ (@walsha) November 15, 2025
“The National Concussion League,” Walsh tweeted. “Open season on NHL players’ brains.”
There have now been two instances this season where a Canucks player has potentially suffered a concussion, with no penalty called by the referee on the play.
Back on Oct. 19, Filip Chytil was laid out at centre ice by Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson. While that hit wasn’t as blatantly foul as an elbow to the head, it was clearly interference, as the puck was nowhere to be seen when Chytil was struck.
It’s been nearly a month since Chytil took that hit, and he doesn’t seem anywhere close to returning for the Canucks.
Walsh continued to take shots at the NHL, showing little confidence that they will punish Andrei Svechnikov for this hit.
Parros and his merry band of Kangaroos quietly plotting another fine. Cue the press release. https://t.co/VH6nZjdjEl
— Allan Walshđ (@walsha) November 15, 2025
That chirp by Walsh turned out to be partially correct.
CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported on Saturday morning that no supplemental discipline at all will be coming for Svechnikov.
There is no discipline coming for Andrei Svechnikov and his elbow on Filip Hronek last night.
While it could have been called a penalty on the ice, the movement of Hronek as he is moving the puck substantially contributes to the hit to the head rather than Hronek's arm.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) November 15, 2025
The Canucks could be in serious trouble on the back-end if Hronek misses any upcoming games. Vancouver was already without their best defenceman, Quinn Hughes, on Friday against Carolina. That forced Marcus Pettersson to play over 30 minutes, which was a regular-season career-high for him.
If they miss Hronek, their defence may look something like:
M. Pettersson – Myers
E. Pettersson – Willander
Joseph – Mancini
That’s if Mancini is ready to return. He was practicing with the team in Carolina before this game.
There were two occasions where the league followed through on supplemental discipline against players who injured Canucks skaters in 2024-25.
Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary was suspended for two games last season for an elbow on defenceman Elias Pettersson. Earlier in the year, Los Angeles Kings forward Tanner Jeannot was given a three-game ban for a brutal head shot on Brock Boeser, which concussed the Canucks star forward.
This isn’t the first time that Hronek has been the victim of a headshot. Back in 2022, Ryan Reaves connected with his head in an open ice hit. Reaves did not face any supplemental discipline for the headshot.