Top OHL Prospect Announces Leave From Hockey Due to Health Concerns

Now more than ever before are we seeing both mental and physical health play a role in professional sports. There seems to be a greater emphasis placed on protecting players in any way possible, and it looks like yet another promising young player will be forced out of the sport due to health reasons.

Ethan MacKinnon, a defenseman for the London Knights of the OHL, has announced via his team that he will be stepping away from playing due to growing health concerns following a series of injuries.

According to the Knights, concussions are the driving factor behind MacKinnon's departure.

Despite MacKinnon announcing that he will put his playing career on pause, the Knights have decided to retain his services in another fashion.

The team announced that MacKinnon will be sticking around the team to serve as a development coach to his peers, allowing him to continue helping the team as the push for a spot in the OHL playoffs.

Hopefully, this is just a short-term bump in the road for MacKinnon's playing career, and he'll be able to resume playing sooner rather than later.

As Seen on Daily Hockey Dose - Star OHL Defenseman Leaves Professional Hockey For Health Reasons

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