Mark Messier was recently a special guest on Versus' "Hockey Central" program and spoke about The Messier Project and head injuries in hockey. You can watch the video below.

Helene Elliott, hockey columnist for The Los Angeles Times, recently featured The Messier Project and the M11 helmet in her weekly column. 

As Helene writes, "nothing can completely guard players against concussions, but a new helmet called the M11 that's designed to minimize impact and absorb the linear forces that cause traumatic head injuries is gaining a foothold in the hockey equipment market."  

She goes on to quote both Kevin Westgarth of the Kings and Mary-Kay Messier, VP of Business Devlopment and GM of Hockey for Cascade Sports.

To read the full article, visit:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2010/11/ian-laperriere-kings-hockey-nhl-mark-messier-m11-kevin-westgarth.html

As the issue of concussion in football takes center stage online and in print, the M11 was mentioned in a recent discussion on a Wisconsin sports message board as one of the users share's his own personal opinion on NFL helmet technology and writes in his post that "the NFL needs to then work on better helmets to help with these violent hits. The Messier Project has done this and is being used by many people in the NHL, why can't the NFL implore the same type of helmet technology."

Late last month, HockeyGiant.com tested the M11 helmet and gave it an excellent review, writing that "the Cascade M11 helmet was built to address every player’s need for protection, comfort, fit, and style – The Messier Project was an absolute success."

To read the full review, visit:

http://blog.hockeygiant.com/2010/10/cascade-m11-helmet-review-messier.html

As Kevin Westgarth and Willie Mitchell of the Los Angeles Kings continue to wear the M11, the helmet was mentioned in a recent post up on the LA Kings Insider site:

http://lakingsinsider.com/2010/11/04/doughty-on-guard/

In exciting product placement news for The Messier Project, the latest commercial for Subaru, now airing across the country, follows a Hockey Mom and her triplet boys as they live the life of being on a youth league traveling hockey team -- that wears the M11!

The message of the commercial, which promotes the safety-award-winning Subaru Forrester, is that "when you're responsible for this much of the team, you need a car you can count on." It is a fitting parallel to the safety message of the M11 and our belief that in hockey, protection is performance.

The Messier Project participated in the recent two-day summit on hockey concussions at the Mayo Clinic, where more than 250 doctors, experts and hockey officials discussed ways to cut down on concussions, especially in youth hockey.

The "conclusion," as reported by the Associated Press in an article entitled "Mayo Clinic summit seeks to cut hockey concussions" that ran in more than 100 news outlets across the U.S. and Canada, is that "change won't come easy and any steps will require changes in hockey culture, from pros all the way down to peewees."

The AP writes, "some prep programs are switching to the hot new M11 helmet developed by Cascade Sports and Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier, which is designed to absorb higher impacts than conventional helmets." The article goes on to say that better equipment is important "but it won't be enough."

As we have long stated, one of the missions of The Messier Project is to work with coaches, players, parents and the game’s stakeholders, across all levels, to encourage safe play. While better equipment and new technology, such as that within the M11, do help better protect players, it is only one part of the solution. Mark Messier and The Messier Project are working with the game’s greatest influencers to find a solution to the concussion epidemic in hockey, and the Mayo Clinic Symposium is an exciting step in the right direction.

To read the full Associated Press article, visit:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hWOYRs50vgV2Rso_qsCzPOdzYKGw?docId=558c1a6717384cb78e49e9ae0075672e

Earlier this month, Dan Sexton of the Anaheim Ducks was the recipient of a huge hit from the Coyote's Shane Doan. The hit was deemed illegal by the NHL and Doan was suspended for three games. Very luckily, Sexton -- who was wearing the M11 -- escaped the scary situation without injury.

As you may have already seen, the LA Kings' Kevin Westgarth and Willie Mitchell are both wearing the M11. The LA Kings website reported on Westgarth, Mitchell and the M11 at the end of training camp. Said Westgarth to the Kings' Rich Hammond: "I tried it and I loved it... It's nice because they tighten around your head, so it's a good, solid fit, real comfortable. I've been in three fights so far and it hasn't come off yet. Sometimes I like to get the hair out there, but I guess I'll take the punches off my helmet as opposed to off my head. You don't really notice it, minute to minute, but you do feel that it tightens the whole head, as opposed to front to back. So definitely it feels real snug and it feels good. You don't really notice it, and that's the idea."

Kevin Westgarth

Willie Mitchell