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I cannot tell you how tired I am of coaches and players explaining away reckless, dangerous hits by saying, "He was just trying to finish his check." It's become the bane of our sport's existence.
What would you say if I told you that it's this type of play that makes me shudder in fear?

Folks, we can put all the stop signs we want on the backs of youth hockey players as they begin playing in checking leagues. It's not going to make a difference until -- from the NHL and other pro leagues on down -- we stop coaching players to think it's OK to disregard the safety of other players. Two key principles have been lost:

1) The purpose of a body check is to separate an opponent from the puck, not to separate his head from the rest of his body, and

2) You can't "finish" a check when you haven't started a check. In other words, unless you have an angle to ride someone out of the play legally -- which was how I always understood the concept of checking when I was playing and actively officiating -- it's not going to be a legitimate hit.

We are playing with fire. I've lost count of the number of tapes I've reviewed for dangerous checks from behind and players deliberately targeting the heads of other players. I am so fearful that someday we are all going to be standing at some Hospital lobby waiting for the parents of a player who is hovering between life and death, completely paralyzed, never to rise again.

As a hockey parent, I am totally fearful every time my own two boys play that they will be driven from behind into the boards by some hero who thinks he is proving something or another. I tell my own guys that when they go in, go in strong, with strong feet and be prepared to get hit from someone who has either never been coached properly or just doesn't care. I tell my sons, Max and Mccauley, especially when it's late in a game, to go in shoulder to shoulder with their opponent and don't let them get behind you.

These sorts of images haunt me: I saw a film last year where a player in Europe got drilled and ended up paralyzed. There was another player from Minnesota who, after a bad hit, now needs a wheel chair and a ramp to get around his house.

So for every coach who mindlessly yells" finish your check," I want to, like the Christmas Carol, boil them in plum pudding and drive a stake of holly through their heart.

Listen, I'm no Chicken Little screaming about how the sky is falling. I directly deal with discipline in many leagues. watch countless hours of film, I watch countless hits. Every time I sit and watch, I, while silently praying, count down and wonder if our luck and time to fix this problem is running out.

They say there are no atheists in foxholes. I can assure you, when I watch games around the world, there is no atheist sitting next to you inside of me. My prayer is that we can instill the message to play hard but clean rather than justifying yet another close call -- or worse, a needless injury -- caused by a foolish mentality.

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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.

Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).

The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.

In addition to his blogs for HockeyBuzz every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Stewart writes a column every Wednesday for the Huffington Post.