Article content continued

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or

Because of that, it’s a league where players are vulnerable.

Peters is also under fire these days for another incident of physical abuse, involving Michal Jordan, which occurred when he was coaching the Carolina Hurricanes. The difference is that when that alleged incident occurred, both players and assistant coaches went to management with their concerns and it was dealt with promptly.

Had Aliu come forward, the fear was that he might have been labelled as a problem child and had his path to the NHL blocked. An element of this is true, with Aliu alleging that Peters recommended he be demoted to the ECHL after voicing his concerns with his then-coach.

“I would guess that logically you would think that the younger the player — and the more they are seen to be on the upward path on becoming an NHLer — the more susceptible they are to abuses of power,” said Andrews. “My philosophy is that in most cases we need to be even more vigilant than the National Hockey League.”

The same is true of the Canadian Hockey League, where players are even younger and less established. David Branch, who is the president of the CHL and the commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League, said one way around this is to ensure that the dressing room is not only a safe place for players, but also a transparent place for all involved.

In other words, that old mantra of “what happens in the room stays in this room” has become as antiquated as wooden hockey sticks.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or

“I can recall going back 10 years ago and that slogan was up on the wall,” said Branch. “We addressed it with the team concerned and had it taken down. I’m not going to say that still isn’t in the minds of the players. But we’ve worked to diffuse that attitude. I’ll say this: young people are just so more well informed and they understand the importance of speaking out and not holding it in.”