Players who test positive for a banned substance always carry that negative tag, sometimes unfairly.
A mistrial should be called in the court of public opinion.
It would be easy to brand Prince George Cougars forward Spencer Asuchak a cheat or a druggie. The simple fact is he was found guilty of using a banned substance on Monday and for that, he may always have a negative, dark cloud hanging over his head.
Asuchak became the third player in the Canadian Hockey League to receive an automatic eight-game suspension for testing positive for violating the league's anti-doping policy. The other two were Saginaw defenceman Ryan O'Connor and Plymouth forward Alex Aleardi, whose suspensions became public knowledge on Jan. 14.
The sad reality is that none of those three players are guilty of anything more than not properly reading a label. In Asuchak's case, his suspension is attributed to an out-of-date banned substances list.
All three tested positive for methylhexaneamine, a stimulant found in a supplement called Jack3d, which all three had been using. The supplement is mixed with Gatorade or water and used to increase strength and energy for workouts.
It's not exactly like injecting steroids.
But before anyone is ready to point a judgmental finger at teenage hockey players for not properly reading a label, the product itself doesn't even list it as an ingredient. However, dimethylamylamine -- a derivative of the banned substance -- is listed.
Clearly, ignorance is bliss.
"The stimulant is like an energy drink and provides a manufactured greater energy to the player," explained Ontario Hockey League vice president Ted Baker. "The bottom line is that it's a banned substance based on the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned substances."
The substance is perhaps the most perplexing aspect of this story altogether. Aside from giving players a boost for a workout, it doesn't seem to provide an unfair, competitive advantage such as other more well-known substances like steroids or a human growth hormone.
But it isn't simply a CHL matter. The substance first appeared on WADA's prohibited list at the beginning of 2010 and many athletes were subsequently found guilty of using it, ranging from minor league baseball players to a rash of Australian athletes.
Asuchak's error came in reading the wrong list. Methylhexaneamine was not a banned substance in 2009, meaning the Cougars forward wouldn't find it on the out-of-date list he was referencing at the time he purchased and used Jack3d.
Upon learning the product responsible for two OHL players' suspensions, Asuchak turned himself in to the Western Hockey League head office.
"He knew he had been on it so he was very forthright," WHL vice president Richard Doerksen said. "He's done an outstanding job on his end from that, but it was just unfortunate, along with the players in Ontario -- they just weren't aware that this was now a banned substance by WADA."
Research materials are made available to each team. Every player that plays in any of the three member leagues under the CHL umbrella undergoes an E-learning program, which every player receives a certificate of completion once finished.
There is also a web site with a database where players can type an ingredient in to find out whether it is prohibited or safe under the guidelines.
Players are encouraged to speak with their team's athletic therapist as well.
"The bottom line is if you're going to take something, you're responsible for what goes in your body, however inadvertent, and that there are resources there for you to be able to at least ensure it's not prohibited," Baker said. "The CHL drug education anti-doping program is more about education than it is about testing."
All tests are conducted by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports. Tests are done randomly without the knowledge of the league or teams.
The CHL introduced the league-wide policy in 2006, two years after the Québec Major Junior Hockey League first introduced its policy.
Only one QMJHL player has ever been suspended for testing positive. Former Chicoutimi Saguenéens forward Justin Bélanger received an eight-game suspension during the playoffs when his urine sample exceeded the amount of ephedrine permitted.
So disheartened was Bélanger he quit the league and hockey altogether shortly thereafter.
But Bélanger's situation and those of the three most recently-suspended players are different. Years later in a story by Montreal Express, Bélanger admitted he knew what he took wasn't good for him, but also felt he was unlucky to be tested after the game.
No matter whether it was an out-of-date list or a lack of due diligence in identifying ingredients, the trio currently serving suspensions may always be remembered for testing positive.
"All players are aware of what happened, the danger of supplements, the awareness that needs to go into what's going into your body and that it could happen to you," Baker said. "It's not a disservice to the players to release this type of thing."
But in the court of public opinion, they may be guilty until proven innocent.
