OHL player receives indefinite suspension for disgusting act caught on camera

In case you missed it this past weekend, the OHL suspended Niagara IceDogs forward Alex Assadourian indefinitely for actions he made in a 10-0 blow out loss to the Kingston Frontenacs.

Check it out:

The comments on this announcement are full of people just trying to sort out what exactly Assadourian did to earn himself such a crazy suspension, so I had to go back and review the tape.

Luckily, Generals Live, a Twitter account that follows the Oshawa Generals and other OHL happenings, caught Assadourian in the penalty box where he threatened the life of his opponent.

Check out this video where the young man makes a throat slashing gesture while uttering death threats:

Now, this isn't the first time I've seen a hockey player make a gesture like this, but I do think it's the first time I've seen such a stiff penalty handed down for it. Honestly, I'm not sure what I think about that but it's clear to me that the culture of the game is changing and what was once acceptable is no longer acceptable. When Phil Esposito made this same gesture to the Russians in 1972 it was seen as admirable, 50 years later though and it's an indefinite suspension. Time marches on.