BC Prosecution Service declines to approve charges in Burnaby hockey game brawl

No charges will be laid against a man accused of kicking a fellow hockey player in the head with a skate during an on-ice fight in Burnaby last summer, according to Mounties.

The BC Prosecution Service has declined to approve assault charges recommended by Burnaby RCMP following an investigation into the incident at an Adult Safe Hockey League game at Scotia Barn sports complex on Aug. 1, 2022.

“The file has since been concluded,” a Burnaby RCMP spokesperson told CTV News on Tuesday.

Rinkside video posted online shows a fight in which two players fell to the ice, and one appears to take a skate to the head when he tries to pull himself away.

For the rest of the video, the player can be seen holding his face while lying stomach-down on the ice.

Authorities did not detail the severity of the victim’s injuries, but say he received medical treatment.

Burnaby RCMP said in a statement last summer that it was investigating the “circumstances and actions” that led to the player being injured.

Defence lawyer Sarah Leamon says one of the paramount factors Crown prosecutors consider when it comes to charges is whether they’re likely to lead to a conviction.

“There is some degree of consent to physical contact when we decide to play sports and engage in sport activities, particularly when it’s a contact sport like hockey. So that could have been a factor in the Crown’s ultimate decision not to approve charges forwarded by police,” she told CTV News Tuesday.

While the player accused of delivering the kick won’t face charges, he was handed an indefinite suspension from the ASHL.

“The conduct and on-ice behaviour depicted in the video in no way aligns with the values of our league and the rules of the game,” the league said in a statement.

The ASHL also said the player would face “supplemental discipline,” which could include a permanent expulsion from the league.

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Andrew Weichel and Shannon Patterson