Braden Schnieder will have to watch Canada's second game of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship against Slovakia from the stands after the defenseman was handed a one-game suspension by the IIHF for violation of Rule 124-Checking to the Head and Neck Area.
Just under nine minutes into the first period of the Boxing Day contest against Germany, Schneider stepped into Jan-Luca Schumacher as the Germans were breaking out of the zone and made contact with his shoulder to Schumacher's head.
"Without any regard to the puck at any time and seeing his opponent in a vulnerable position, Schneider delivers a body check to the head of Schumacher," the IIHF's statement said. "Schneider delivers the check slightly elevating his shoulder, hitting his opponent directly in the head."
Braden Schneider (@NYRangers) gets ejected from the game and given a five-minute major penalty for this hit to the head of a German forward. pic.twitter.com/4kx1V5bmss
— J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) December 26, 2020
The IIHF did note that Schneider's elbow was down and there's a size difference between the two — the Canadian is 6-2 and Schumacher is listed at 5-9 — but determined the suspension was warranted because he "slightly elevated his shoulder into Schumacher’s head resulting in the player’s head snapping back (and therefore his) actions were extremely dangerous."
During his availability earlier in the day, coach Andre Tourigny discussed the play.
"I think it's a hockey play," he said hours before the suspension came down. "The size between the two players is a big factor. I won't lie, I did not review the clip 22 times. I just saw it and moved on; nothing we can do about it. We don't want, obviously, a hit to the head but I think it was a hockey play. I don't think he meant any harm to the opponent."
Selected in the first round by the Rangers in October, Schneider skated for a total of one minute and 57 seconds before being sent to the locker room with a five-minute major and a game misconduct. Schumacher did finish the game and played more than 13 minutes.
As per the usual, Canada dressed seven defensemen against Germany, with Kaedan Korczak moving up into the top-6. Jordan Spence, who sat on Boxing Day, is now expected to take Schneider's spot in the lineup.