Former T-Bird Connor Honey suing city of Vancouver over head injury

Former Thunderbirds forward Connor Honey is suing the city of Vancouver for an injury he suffered following warm-ups prior to a game against the Vancouver Giants in 2013. The city of Vancouver owns and operates Pacific Coliseum, where the Giants play their home games.

As reported by Keith Fraser of the Province newspaper in Vancouver, Honey, now 21, hit his head on a cement overhang as he was exiting the ice towards the locker room following the usual pregame warm-up routine. The incident, according to Fraser, occurred on Sept. 25, 2013. That night, Honey had one of his best games as a Thunderbird, registering a goal, three assists and a plus-three rating in a 6-0 Seattle victory. He played in five more games following that game in Vancouver.

Honey had played most of the previous two seasons with Seattle before the injury and totaled 110 games during his WHL career. The team was quiet on the specifics surrounding Honey’s status – as most teams are with injured players – but his final game occurred just over a week later on Oct. 5, though he remained on the WHL Weekly Report for the remainder of the season with an upper-body injury that would keep him out for an “indefinite” amount of time.

According to the lawsuit, Honey suffered from the following: Pain and stiffness in his neck; neurological injury; depression; disablement, impaired strength and impairment of capacity; limitation of endurance of many activities; nausea and dizziness.

Honey seeks general damages for pain and suffering, special damages for past loss of income, and damages for future cost of care and loss of earning capacity.

A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Honey had a bright future in hockey before his untimely departure. In his 18-year-old season with Seattle, he had 54 points in 57 games. As a 19-year-old, he was expected to be an important part of the team that would eventually advance to the second round of the playoffs.