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A professional hockey player from Delta has been ordered to pay more than $34,000 in damages for his role in an assault outside a Tsawwassen house party last July.
According to provincial small claims court judgement rendered March 15 in Richmond, Ryan Olsen, a former draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets, assaulted Liam Griffin when Griffin and his friend tried to stop Olsen from pushing a women at the party.
According to the decision, Griffin, who was 19 at the time, attended the July 16 party with a friend. Olsen, who was 23 at the time, was also at the party. Griffin knew Olsen’s younger siblings, but had never met or spoken to Olsen.
In his decision, Judge Thomas Gove wrote that after Griffin and his friend tried to get Olsen to stop pushing the girl, Olsen punched Griffin on the left cheek. Griffin fell unconscious and when he hit the ground his head struck concrete. Olsen then knocked Griffin’s friend to the ground before leaving.
Griffin was taken to Delta Hospital where he regained consciousness the next day and was discharged.
Delta police investigated the assault. Olsen was released on an undertaking, but no criminal charges were laid by Crown.
A notice of claim was filed in civil court and Olsen filed a reply claiming self-defence.
A settlement conference was set, but Olsen did not attend. Another settlement conference was set for Feb. 5, but Olsen once again did not attend. The judge granted a default judgement setting a trial for March 12 to hear evidence on quantum of damages.
According to medical records, Griffin sustained a concussion, a contusion and frontal lobe injury to his right forehead requiring stitches, a cut to his left check requiring stitches, scrapes to his elbow and back, and a neck injury.
Gove assessed the pain and out-of-pocket expenses at a little over $24,000, but awarded $10,000 in punitive damages, which the judge said was necessary to satisfy the interests of justice and denounce the conduct.
“Griffin’s conduct prior to the assault in speaking up for the young female was the prosocial conduct of a 19-year-old Good Samaritan,” wrote Gove. “Olsen’s response was criminal and deserving of punishment. The conduct was deliberate in that he followed Griffin and his friend with the intent to strike them; which he did. His failure to attend any of the court proceedings or advise that he did not attend shows his attitude to this incident and process.”
Olsen, who was drafted 160th overall by the Jets in 2012, did not play a regular season game for Winnipeg. This season he has played for the East Coast Hockey League’s Utah Grizzlies and in Austria. He is now playing for the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL.
