Flyers

One of Our Facebook Commenters, Who is an Idiot, Asks a Stimulating Hockey Question

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: May 14th, 2026 · 2:06 PM EDT

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There’s this guy “Joe” who always comments on our Facebook posts. He is an idiot and a Cowboys fan (same thing) and he’s always ripping me specifically.

But I have to admit that this is a good question, even if it’s unserious. It’s in regard to the Flyers postseason injury list, which was longer than a CVS receipt:

Uhhh… Well, the wrist is part of the upper body I would say. It is one part of the arm, which extends from the torso, and therefore you would assume that anything originating from above the waist line would be considered an upper body injury. Everything below the waist would be a lower body injury. That’s how the NHL, its teams, and Captain Obvious have defined this very vague reporting over the years.

But it is also true that the wrist can and does hang below the waist, which is often the case with players who are reaching for the puck and/or in the action of shooting or passing.

What’s particularly fascinating is that sometimes one wrist can be above the waist while the other is simultaneously below the waist, as you see in this very scientific photo:

That’s Tyson Foerster ripping a shot while K’Andre Miller defends. You see Foerster has one wrist below the waist and one above. Miller has one below and the other wrist is out of sight.

And then in this photo here you see a combination of wrists. Some are below the waist and some are above:

Hypothetically, if Travis Konecny got hit with a puck on the right side while in this particular position, one COULD argue that it’s a lower body injury, since the wrist is below the waist line. But if Jackson Blake got hit on the left side, it could be an upper body injury, since his wrist is above his waist.

I have no idea why I’m fascinated by this, but to take it one step further, try standing up straight and putting your arms by your side. Your wrists are going to be located below the waist line. That’s unless you have abnormally short arms, like a Tyrannosaurus Rex: