Hitting and checking are not one in the same. Finishing your check is just code for hitting the player. Hitting was added as a statistic to track in the NHL but checking is not a statistic? The area is blurred. Hitting and checking are not one in the same. Youth ice hockey is not the NHL and leagues, clubs, parents, and USA Hockey are responsible for teaching the youth players the difference. Safety is taught not hoped for or wished. Hitting and checking are not one in the same. Address this difference in youth ice hockey now.
What is the difference between a hit and a check? It is really quite simple. A player with the puck is checked in order to move that player off the puck. A check is used to gain control of the puck or break up the play. The key here is possession of the puck. Checking a player that doesn’t have the puck is interference. Checking a player the passes the puck away, is still interference. He does not have the puck. You don’t agree? Research the game from the beginning. Watch a few games from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.
Hitting is well… contacting a player that doesn’t have the puck under the disguise of checking. It really is interference.
Somehow it became acceptable in the NHL to hit players after they delivered the puck or better known as finishing the check. Finishing is what? If the player just released the puck as contact was made? Released the puck for 1 second, 2 seconds, or more? Or is a player free to hit the guy that passed the puck until that puck is touched by another player? What exactly are the rules? There aren’t any. It is discretionary. And these discretionary calls have no place in youth ice hockey. Zero, none, nada – Youth ice hockey is not the NHL. Treat it that way.
My son is good shoulder checker. This weekend I saw some good hip checks. All done on players that had the puck. The check was done as a skill to gain control of the puck or break up the play on a player that was carrying the puck. Youth ice hockey can not have gray areas. You can not allow players to hit under the idea they are checking. If you believe gray areas must exist in youth ice hockey then error on the side of protecting the youth players. I also saw players hurt that were hit well after they delivered the puck. Well after, as in, the referees turned away to follow the puck and the players were then hit.
Youth ice hockey is not a complicated support to manage. What is difficult is changing the mindset or culture of youth ice hockey. Let me say this again – Youth ice hockey is not the NHL. Adapt rules that manage a youth league. Here you go… simple.
A player can only be checked if they are in control of the puck. The puck must be on their stick. If a player is checked who is without immediate possession of the puck a 2 minute interference penalty will be called.
Checking or contacting a player in the head, neck, or back is an automatic 5 minute major and a 10 minute misconduct. Harsh penalties for the most dangerous behavior.
Immediate game suspension for a player that receives a 2nd penalty for checking or contacting a player in the head, neck, or back. The player is ejected from the game and a bench player must serve a 5 minute major penalty.
A team receiving three penalties for checking or contacting a player in the head, neck, or back with forfeit 1 point/goal. Each additional penalty of this type will cost the team 1 point and a 5 minute major penalty will be given.
Now I am not saying these rules must be adopted as I wrote them. I am saying it is quite easy to significantly penalize the most dangerous behaviors in youth ice hockey. We are adults and adults are absolutely 100% responsible for making youth ice hockey safer.
Any delays at this juncture, with the current knowledge on concussions, is just plain negligent. Stop protecting reckless behavior and reckless players. Teach the players how to check and play physically. Significantly punish the dangerous behaviors. Remove the players that repeat offenses in the game quickly and punish the team for these dangerous behaviors. This is not a difficult choice. It will not harm competitive game play. It will only save harm to our children.
No comments:
Post a Comment