Jon Mirasty has accumulated a hefty number of penalty minutes while playing minor professional hockey in places like Bakersfield, Syracuse, Danbury, and Elmira. His career mirrors the classic country song 'I've Been Everywhere.'
From KHL Enforcer to Matchmaker
In 2011, Mirasty's agent found him a spot on the infamous roster of Chekhov Vityaz, a KHL team that styled itself as Russia's version of the Broad Street Bullies. The team became so notorious for brawling that the league had to alter rules regarding North American minor leaguers joining Russian teams. In just 30 KHL games that season, Mirasty racked up 197 penalty minutes.
'Our team was, by far, the toughest team in the league, and they played it like we were hated over there, but we were always the team that was sold out wherever we went,' Mirasty said. 'So obviously we were well accepted. Guys like me and Jeremy (fellow enforcer Jeremy Yablonski) would have to sign hundreds of autographs after games. So, as much as they claimed to hate us, I think we were pretty popular.'
Mirasty's wife no longer permits him to fight, but he has found a new role as a matchmaker for Bare Knuckle Ice Wars. This fighting circuit has combatants don hockey sweaters, lace up skates, and wear foam helmets resembling knock-offs of the Esa Tikkanen Jofa model from the 1980s. They skate onto a 900-square-foot 'ice box' and engage in 60-second rounds.
Upcoming Event at River Cree
The next event is scheduled for May 14 at the River Cree Resort and Casino on the Enoch Cree Nation, just west of Edmonton. The most recent card in Florida attracted MMA fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Colby Covington, with Donald Trump Jr. noted as a fan. The River Cree event will feature former Buffalo Sabres enforcer Matthew Barnaby as a special guest.
The fights are considered too extreme to be held within Edmonton's city limits. 'The Edmonton Combative Sports Commission only sanctions professional events that adhere to the unified rules of boxing, mixed martial arts, and Muay Thai, as maintained by the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports,' said Forrest Gavins, executive director of the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission. 'As bare knuckle hockey fight formats do not meet these regulatory standards, such an event would not be considered for sanctioning within the City of Edmonton's jurisdiction.'
Combatants and Purses
The field primarily consists of journeyman tough guys from minor leagues or major junior hockey, along with some MMA fighters looking to make their mark on ice. A women's division has also been introduced. Purses range from $1,000 to $15,000, so no one is getting rich yet, but Mirasty hopes the circuit will give many fighters new leases on life. The enforcer role—a player on the roster solely to drop gloves—is a dying breed, but Mirasty believes fighting will never be completely erased from hockey.
'There's a particular kind of expression of violence that is accepted culturally because it evolved that way, and it has limits and it has constraints,' Mirasty said, reflecting on the cultural acceptance of violence in hockey.
