BOSTON — There might not be a player in the NHL with a more unique perspective on the NHL's latest controversy than Steven Kampfer.
The Bruins' rookie defenseman played with Max Pacioretty at the University of Michigan and shares an agent with the Montreal forward, who is out indefinitely after suffering a severe concussion and fractured vertebra when Zdeno Chara hit him into the partition between the benches during Tuesday's game at the Bell Centre.
Kampfer has also often been paired with Chara on the Bruins' blue line in his first pro season, giving him insight to both players involved in Tuesday's incident.
"I've talked to our agent," Kampfer said. "You feel bad for [Pacioretty], especially knowing him and knowing Z. I feel bad for both of them because of the whole situation."
Kampfer has even more empathy than most, as he has battled through a number of head injuries himself. He suffered a fractured skull and a serious concussion in an off-ice incident while at Michigan, then another concussion and a sprained neck when attacked by Michigan State's Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp during a game after he returned to action.
Kampfer suffered yet another concussion last week from a hit by Tampa Bay's Mattias Ritola and remains sidelined indefinitely after suffering a setback Wednesday with headaches after riding the exercise bike for the first time since the injury.
"I've gone through it. I know what's it's like to have an injury like that," Kampfer said. "I told our agent I'll be the first one to talk to Max if he wants to talk because I've gone through this before and I can definitely give him some pointers along the way of what he can expect and what he's going to encounter.
"At the same time I support Z," Kampfer added. "He's essentially my mentor. I'm learning a lot of things from him. I believe what he said is what happened."
Chara has stated the he did not intend to injure Pacioretty on the hit. He was given an interference major and game misconduct penalty on the play, but was not fined or suspended by the league.
