Another Canadian junior hockey player has been suspended for a doping violation after using what is believed to be a contaminated supplement.
Forward Spencer Asuchak of the Western Hockey League's Prince George Cougars was banned for eight games Monday after testing positive for methylhexaneamine, a stimulant that the World Anti-Doping Association added to its banned substance list in 2009.
He's the third player this month to receive a suspension for testing positive for the drug. Plymouth Whalers centre Alex Aleardi and Saginaw Spirit defenceman Ryan O'Connor are also sitting out for eight games.
Officials believe all three players inadvertently took the drug through a tainted supplement.
"In reviewing this matter, we are completely satisfied that the player used a supplement which he had purchased over the counter at a local retail outlet and had no knowledge that it contained a prohibited stimulant under our national CHL anti-doping policy," WHL commissioner Ron Robison said in a statement.
Methylhexaneamine is not an ingredient in medications licensed by Health Canada but is in some nutritional supplements that athletes take to build muscle or to replenish themselves after a workout.
"This violation once again underscores the potential dangers of supplement use," said Paul Melia, president and CEO of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. "Athletes must exercise extreme caution when considering the use of supplements, as ultimately they are responsible for what substances are in the products they consume."
The CHL, which includes the Western, Ontario and Quebec major leagues, began league-wide testing during the 2006-07 season. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League had already been conducting drug tests for two seasons as a pilot project.
A first-time offence brings an automatic suspension of eight games, a second offence a 25-game ban and a third offence a two-year suspension. Players are subject to testing by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport during the pre-season, regular reason and playoffs.
