NHL Interested in Safety Innovation by Penticton Glass Maker

A glass maker from Penticton hopes his invention prevents injuries in the NHL one day.  Capital Glass owner Mike Sproule has designed a curved piece of glass that could replace the stanchions between the player's benches.  "Safety comes out of people getting hurt a lot of times, whether its in the NHL or minor hockey," says Sproule, "I have 2 young boys in hockey and I would hate to see anything happen to them, or anybody for that matter," he says.  Sproule's idea is for a curved Lexan plate to be supported by shock absorbers.  It would effectively bounce the player back onto the ice if they came into contact with it.  It wouldn't obstruct a fan's view of the game, either.  "Its in the hands of the [NHL] safety engineers now," says Sproule, "they have my drawings.  Its not the only plan they're looking at but they're expected to know within the next 2 weeks which direction they're going," he says.  A friend passed Sproule's design to NHL star and Lake Country resident Jerome Iginla, who sent the drawings to former Canucks GM Brian Burke.  League officials came calling days later.  Sproule got to work on the project after a violent hit that put Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty in the hospital with a broken vertibrae and concussion.  The glass maker's design is one of several new safety measures being considered by NHL officials.