Kings prospect Kurtis MacDermid earned himself a 12-game ban for an ugly hit to the head of Ducks prospect Matt Bailey. The force from MacDermid’s hit caused Bailey to suffer fractures to his face and jaw.

The Hockey News

Los Angeles Kings prospect Kurtis MacDermid is no stranger to suspensions, and he’ll be serving a 12-gamer for a vicious hit he threw on San Diego Gulls winger Matt Bailey.

The hit occurred during a Dec. 26 game between the Kings’ AHL affiliate Ontario Reign and Ducks’ AHL affiliate Gulls. Bailey had received a pass as San Diego was exiting the zone and had chipped it around an attacking Reign player when MacDermid came out of nowhere and obliterated Bailey with a dangerous hit that left him down on the ice:

Kurtis MacDermid was today suspended twelve (12) games for this illegal check to the head on Matt Bailey in the AHL. pic.twitter.com/no08SOlCVj — Robert Söderlind (@HockeyWebCast) December 29, 2015

Bailey left the game and did not return and has since been sidelined with multiple fractures to his face and jaw, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. The AHL took their time reviewing the play which resulted in a five-minute major for MacDermid and a match penalty for checking to the head. Tuesday, the league announced a 12-game suspension for MacDermid.

Reign coach Mike Stothers told Jon Rosen of L.A. Kings Insider that Bailey’s injury is never the kind of result you want to see from a hit.

“You never want to see a player injured on any hit, whether it’s your own player, or the opposition,” Stothers told Rosen. “(MacDermid) plays hard but never would intentionally try to hurt anyone. Hopefully Bailey is OK.”

MacDermid does have a history of crossing the line, though, and as recently as April 2015. MacDermid was handed an eight-game ban after a dangerous hit to the head of Max Domi, who was then playing with the OHL’s London Knights.

MacDermid, who stands 6-foot-5, 208 pounds, has two goals, five points and 66 penalty minutes in 24 games with the Reign in his first season out of junior. He was signed by the Kings as an undrafted free agent in 2012.

(Videos via Robert Soderlind/Sportsnet)