Hockey is a physically intense sport that requires strength, athleticism, and quick reflexes. There’s also however, a strong psychological and mental aspect of hockey that can truly help set the good players apart from the greats. Being the captain of a hockey team requires the ability to keep up with the physical game but also to stay on top of it mentally and emotionally. Captains can’t get into bad habits like taking careless penalties or daydreaming on the ice. They are the cornerstone of the team and must act accordingly in order to keep great chemistry and promote strong teamwork. These are some of the qualities that the best hockey team captains will exhibit both on and off the ice.
Highly Motivated
While some players are able to get by with their natural talent and minimal effort, captains don’t fall into this trap. Even if they are the most skilled player on the team, the captain will be constantly working to improve his or her game on a daily basis. They are willing to show up early and study the other team or go over important drills and learn from past mistakes. To a captain, the most important thing is that the team gives its best effort, and he is prepared to motivate his teammates and often even his coaches in order to bring out everyone’s strengths.
Selfless
A captain isn’t just looking to be the stats leader at the end of the season – he wants to see all of his teammates play to the best of their ability. This means being selfless and giving someone else an opportunity when the situation calls for it. A selfish player might see a small opening on the ice and attempt to shoot their own goal when a much better option was right in front of them. A good captain knows that he should pass in this situation as it gives the team a better chance to score and possibly win the game.
This selflessness doesn’t only show during the game, either. Captains will stick around and help younger or less experienced players with their drills and practices. The captain is there to motivate not only himself but every other player on the team. He will be focused on growth and learning and willing to give his time to the team in order to help others. The success of the team is far more important than that of the individual, and the captain is well aware of this. He’d much rather see a “W” for the team than a hat trick for himself.
Positive Reinforcement
Negative comments and pessimism are contagious and can result in the entire team playing below their standards. If someone takes a bad shot and gets reamed out by their teammates, they may become angry or lose confidence. This can cause them to start playing worse throughout the game even if they hardly made a mistake in the first place.
A good team captain is aware of this and does everything possible to focus on the positive aspects of the game. Instead of dwelling on what went wrong with a certain play, the captain might compliment the initial move or the excellent skating skills shown by the other player. He will discuss what can be changed next time in order to succeed rather than continuing to highlight why the team failed previously. Encouraging a stronger performance always yields better results than putting teammates down and dwelling on poor ones. This starts small with every play on the ice but must also be followed throughout the course of the season. Losing four in a row isn’t an ideal situation for any team, but a captain knows how to rally them together and get everyone looking forward to the next game instead of thinking about the past.
Humble but Strong
While there is nothing wrong with a good goal celebration, a good captain knows not to get too emotional in any aspect of the game. He can have fun with his team and enjoy the victories, but he must maintain a steady, humble but strong presence that keeps the team on an even level. This can be a challenge when everyone is celebrating an overtime victory, but it is a major asset when a team is down multiple goals in a physical and chirpy game against one of its rivals. Instead of succumbing to emotion and taking a bad penalty or starting a fight, a captain knows to focus on the game and remain undistracted.
When the captain can show this kind of resolve, the team is likely to follow suit. Negative emotions should be channeled into a burst of energy to get the team working together again. A captain will not let a bad situation get the best of him, and his teammates will respect him for keeping his head in the game in the face of adversity.
Learns from Mistakes
Many players continue to try to the same technique over and over even when it isn’t working. They may become frustrated and unable to understand why they can’t get their plan to work. The right team captain knows that mistakes will be made and that he must adjust in order to overcome them. This ability to learn from mistakes is one of the strongest traits that a captain can show his team, and he must impart his knowledge to his teammates at every opportunity.
Whether it’s something as small as poor footing leading to an inconsequential turnover or a sloppy pass that leads to the game-ending goal for the other team, a good team captain is always analyzing his and others’ mistakes. This allows him to evaluate the cause of the problem and come up with a fix for it the next time it happens. It isn’t so much dwelling on mistakes as it is learning from them, and that is extremely important for any athlete. Even if his play caused a team to lose the championship game, he sees it as a learning experience that he can take into the next season.
The National Hockey League (NHL) offers a rich and meaningful history dating back to its formation in 1917. Throughout the last 100 years, friends and family members bonded over astounding goals, record-breaking games, and world-class players striving to make hockey history.
The NHL has given its viewers some unforgettable moments; memories that will survive for centuries to come.
Here are five of the most memorable moments in the history of the NHL:
Mario Lemieux scores five different ways in the same game
Mario “Le Magnifique” Lemieux played for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1984 to 2006. Considered one of the best hockey players of all-time, Mario led the Penguins to numerous Stanley Cup championships both as a player and as the team’s eventual owner.
Lemieux certainly did fantastic things for the Penguins and has himself achieved some of the highest honors in the NHL. He received the Lester B. Pearson award for most outstanding player four times and the Hart Trophy as the MVP thrice (among many other awards). Mario was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame right after his first retirement as a player in 1997.
Despite all those accomplishments, Mario’s biggest claim to fame is widely considered to come from a December 31st, 1988 game against the New Jersey Devils. In that game, Mario scored five goals in five unique ways.
What exactly does that mean? Well, Mario scored an even-strength goal (5 on 5), a short-handed goal (4 on 5), and a power play goal (5 on 4) all within the first period of the game! During the second period, Mario scored a fourth goal on a penalty shot – another unique type. Finally, with literally one second left in the game, Lemieux snuck in an empty net goal to complete one of the NHL’s most memorable moments.
The flight of Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr is one of the most esteemed pro hockey players of all time. He played ten seasons with the Boston Bruins and two with the Chicago Blackhawks from 1966 to 1978. Before Bobby, the Bruins hadn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1941. They hadn’t even made the playoffs in seven years. That all changed, however, in 1970.
That year, Bobby lead the Bruins on a tear through the playoffs, right to the final series against the St. Louis Blues. The Bruins led the series 3-0, and in the fourth game, both teams had scored three goals in the first three periods, pushing the game into overtime. In true nail-biting fashion, Orr scored the clutch goal, winning the Bruins the Stanley cup for the first time in 29 years.
As if that moment weren’t special enough, Orr’s Cup-winning goal birthed one of the most iconic photos in hockey history: a shot of a horizontal Orr, feet off the ice, as he leapt into the air after being tripped by a Blues defenceman. By the time he landed, he was a Stanley Cup champion.
Wayne Gretzky scores 50 goals in 39 games
Hockey player or not, chances are that you’ve heard of Wayne Gretzky. Nicknamed “The Great One,” Gretzky has been unofficially dubbed the greatest hockey player of all time. He had a playing career that lasted 20 seasons (1987 to 1999) and spanned four different NHL teams: the Edmonton Oilers, the L.A. Kings, the St. Louis Blues, and the New York Rangers.
Gretzky is the NHL’s top scorer of all time with more combined goals and assists than any other player. In fact, Gretzky is the only hockey player to ever score more than 200 points in a single season. To boot, he accomplished that feat four times. By the time he retired, The Great One held a whopping 61 NHL records.
The historic moment we’re focusing on, though, happened on December 30th, 1981 playing for the Edmonton Oilers against the Philadelphia Flyers. It was the 39th game of the season, and Gretzky began the game with a total of 45 goals so far. Before that game, only Maurice “Rocket” Richard and Mike Bossy had accomplished scoring 50 goals in exactly 50 games, an impressive feat itself.
During the December 30th game, Gretzky scored five goals for a total of 50 goals in 39 games. With that, Gretzky surpassed Richard and Bossy, providing one of the NHL’s most memorable moments in the process.
Darryl Sittler scores 10 points in a single game
Ten points in a single game? That sounds impossible!
Not impossible, but improbable, since one hockey player has done it: Darryl Sittler, playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On February 7th, 1976, the Leafs faced the Boston Bruins at Maple Leaf Gardens; a game which would haunt Bruins goalie David Reece, because that game eleven points were scored against him. And, as the name of the memorable moment suggests, Darryl Sittler had a hand in ten of those eleven points. He scored six goals and added four assists to reach his total of ten points in a single game, the only player to have done so in NHL history. In fact, nine points in a single game hasn’t yet been accomplished – the next highest is eight, reached by a few players such as Maurice Richard, Wayne Gretzky, and Mario Lemieux.
Sittler’s ten-point record has stood for 42 years now, and judging by the pure difficulty of the feat, it’s likely to stand for a long time into the future.
Jacques Plante wears the first ever goalie mask
Hmm… maybe I should protect my face from the rubber puck that’s being shot at me at 80 miles an hour.
That’s what Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante was thinking in 1959 when he donned the first ever full-time goalie mask. To any of us, Jacques’s thought seems obvious, but to NHL players in 1959, wearing a mask during regulation play looked ridiculous. Nobody wore masks at that time. Everyone thought a mask would just impede your vision and slow you down.
Plante wouldn’t stand for that, though. The game before he wore the mask, Plante had his nose broken by a shot from the New York Rangers’ Andy Bathgate. Plante was sent to the dressing room to have his nose stitched. When he returned to the ice, he was wearing the mask that he used in practices but his coach, Toe Blake, wouldn’t let him wear during games.
After the broken nose, though, Plante refused to listen to Blake and played the rest of the game with the mask on. Blake, the players, and the public griped and laughed about the mask as Plante continued to wear it for eighteen straight games afterward. The Canadiens, however, won all eighteen of those games. On the nineteenth game, Blake once again asked Plante to remove his mask and Plante agreed. The Canadiens lost that game 3-0, and Plante wore his mask ever since.
Plante’s mask moment was crucial for NHL history because goaltender masks quickly gained popularity and soon became standard equipment. At the time, Plante figured he was taking a stand to protect himself. He didn’t know he would change the NHL forever in the process.
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Hockey is fast-paced, highly physical sport, and with that comes several inherent dangers. Big collisions can result in bruises, cuts, missing teeth, and even broken bones. However, one of the most dangerous injuries that happens in hockey is the dreaded concussion. A concussion not only leaves a player dazed and confused but can also result in long-term brain damage if it isn’t addressed quickly enough. In recent years, hockey leagues across all ages have been taking concussions more seriously with good reason. It is important for children and adults alike to understand the dangers of concussions as well as how to evaluate them and ultimately what steps to take to prevent them.
What is a concussion?
A concussion is a head injury that temporarily affects the functioning of the brain. It can cause headaches, blurred vision, nausea, decreased cognitive function, and sleep disturbances. In the most serious cases, concussions can lead to loss of consciousness. Concussion symptoms have been known to last for four weeks or longer depending on the severity of the injury.
Concussions can be caused by strong blows to the head or repeated violent shaking of the head or upper body. In hockey, most concussions happen when two players collide with one of the player’s heads being hit aggressively by the other’s head or shoulders. Most motions that lead to contact with the helmet have been made illegal in hockey, but there are still risks, even with legal hits, that a concussion could take place. Momentum can make it difficult to avoid certain collisions, which is why protective headgear is so important.
Symptoms and Complications
Concussions come with a variety of symptoms which can vary based on how serious the injury is. Some of the initial symptoms include:
Dizziness or seeing stars
Nausea and vomiting
Blurry vision
Slurred or slowed speech
Glassy eyes
Headache or pressure in the head
Decreased cognitive function, such as being confused or feeling “brain fog.”
Ringing in the ears
Fatigue
While some of these symptoms may subside within a few hours, other complications may arise several hours or day after the incident. These can include:
Difficulty concentrating
Loss of memory
Mood swings and irritability
Change in gait or loss of balance
Insomnia
Light and noise sensitivity
If you suspect that you or someone you know is concussed, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. In some cases, you will want to seek emergency care immediately. These include:
Repeated Vomiting
Loss of consciousness
Exaggerated loss of coordination
Disorientation or inability to remember familiar people or places
Seizure
Severity of Concussions
As seen above, there are a wide range of symptoms that can come along with concussions. The severity of a concussion is based on how hard the hit is, the amount of protection the player was wearing, and individual factors such as personal strength and history of prior concussions. A mild concussion can have symptoms that only last a few days before it is gone, while the most severe concussions can last several months and even have symptoms that pop up over the course of a year. In the medical world, there are 3 grades of concussions:
Grade 1 – Mild Concussion
Headache, dizziness, nausea, and confusion may be experienced, but there is no loss of consciousness. Usually these symptoms are at their worst for the first hour, but milder forms may be felt for several days.
Grade 2 – Moderate Concussion
A grade 2 concussion is similar in nature to a grade 1 concussion, with many of the same symptoms. These symptoms, however, might last several days, and loss of consciousness can occur for several minutes after impact.
Grade 3 – Severe Concussion
A grade 3 concussion always results in loss of consciousness. Symptoms can persist for days or weeks after the impact. Serious symptoms such as amnesia and difficulty speaking might occur. This severe of a concussion can lead to mild brain damage.
Treatment of Concussions
The best way to recover from a concussion is to get some rest. There is not much more that doctors can do other than telling you to rest your body and mind while you are recovering. These means that you will not be able to play hockey until your symptoms are gone, and you should also avoid any other strenuous physical activities or any additional training. You may even need to slow down on reading, watching tv, or playing videogames, as these might cause headaches that can make your symptoms worse.
You’ll have to continue to consult with your doctor and have your condition evaluated. As you get better, you will gradually be able to return to your normal activities. It is not wise to jump right back into high contact sports, as you risk getting a second concussion which could lead to permanent brain injury.
For pain, your doctor may prescribe pain relievers like Tylenol. It is also wise to keep lights down and to get as much sleep as possible.
Prevention
Right now, there is nothing that can protect against a concussion 100%, but there are things that can minimize your risk. A helmet is one of the most important pieces of gear, as it is effective against localized head injuries and skull fractures. Still, a strong jar to the head can result in a concussion, but the presence of the helmet may limit the severity. This is why new rules have been implemented.
New Rules
The new rules enacted across all leagues of hockey are designed to minimize the occurrence of concussions and address them immediately. These include:
Almost everyone has heard about meditation. Many however, may not know what it involves. Some may think that it’s very difficult, only done by the most elite or of spiritual minds.
In truth, meditation is extraordinarily simple to perform. People may argue that they don’t have the time to meditate or that it is, in fact, a waste of time. Both of those are excuses, and largely incorrect. Meditation only requires about ten minutes a day and can be the most rewarding ten-minute investment of your daily routine.
How to Meditate
All you need at your disposal to be able to meditate is a quiet, comfortable place. It’s recommended that you sit upright with your back straight. Once you have your seat, place your hands on your legs or wherever they feel most comfortable. Then, close your eyes and breathe. That’s it! The name of the game is to focus only on your breathing and nothing else. You should be completely aware of the rise and fall of your chest, and if your mind begins to wander, re-capture your attention and centre your thoughts back to your breathing.
If you’re new to meditation, 3 – 5 minutes at a time should be enough. Once you get better at focusing your attention, you can increase your meditation time up to around 10 or 15 minutes. Meditation should be done daily to maximize benefits. And speaking of benefits, there are plenty.
How Meditation Helps Hockey Players
There are countless benefits to daily meditation. It lowers your blood pressure and heart rate, makes you happier, slows your respiratory rate, etc. However, there are a few key advantages that can be very helpful for hockey players, or any athlete in general. Here are four of the most crucial benefits of meditation for hockey players:
1. It Reduces Stress and Improves Focus
Perhaps the most common reason that people decided to meditate in the first place is its ability to reduce stress. Stress levels play a crucial role in sports, and especially hockey. In a hockey game, players should have a clear head and be ready to react quickly to situations. Hockey players will also ideally go into every game relaxed and ready to win, not plagued by any worries.
Of course, we don’t live in a perfect hockey universe, so there will always be stress factors that affect players to varying degrees. Maybe you’re facing a team that crushed yours last time you played. Maybe you’re coming off a recent injury and are unsure how you’ll perform. Maybe you embarrassed yourself last game and feel like you need redemption. Whatever the case, regular meditation can help!
The affect that meditation has on clearing your mind can be immense, and while it may not completely get rid of your worries, it can calm your mind enough to stay focused during your practices and games.
Speaking of focus, meditation is essentially exercising your ability to focus. While you’re meditating, you’re practicing focusing on your breathing. This is a skill that translates directly to the ice when you’re in practice or in a game. Your reaction time will improve, you’ll make better decisions, and you can more easily keep your mind on the goal at hand: playing the best hockey you can and winning the game.
2. It Increases Endurance
Endurance is a key skill for all types of athletes. Hockey is a dynamic sport, where the players are constantly moving and reacting to new situations. Skating up and down the ice and racing the other players to the puck takes a tremendous amount of endurance. The most common way to prepare for this is to participate in activities that require endurance. Skating, running, soccer, etc. It may come as a surprise, then, that meditation can also improve endurance.
How, exactly? Well, meditation helps with cell regeneration and blood circulation. These two functions control how quickly oxygen and nutrients are dispersed throughout your body. Therefore, if these two things increase, then so does your endurance, because your body will be able to handle the physical exertion for longer.
3. It Improves Sleep
Sleep is important for any hockey player, especially the night before a game, and is a necessary component of any athletic lifestyle. The body and mind need to be well rested to be able to perform at their best. If you don’t get sufficient sleep and then try to play a hockey game, you’ll tire out faster, be less focused, and have slower reaction time on the ice.
Studies have shown that there is a direct link between improving mindfulness (through meditation) and improving your sleep. Not only do people who meditate daily get more restful sleep, but they also need less sleep on average.
This benefit of meditation coupled with the stress and anxiety reduction it brings can help ensure you get proper rest before even the most important of hockey games. That way, you’ll be able to bring your A-Game when it’s time to perform.
4. It Improves Your Mindset
Let’s face it: it’s easy to get steamed after a big loss. Losing a crucial game can be devastating to a hockey player at any age or skill level. It can leave you bitter and angry, and sometimes those negative emotions carry over into your next practice and game, preventing you from performing at your best.
Daily meditation can reduce the feelings of anger after a big loss and help you regain your focus much faster. That way, you will spend less time stewing on your negative emotions and can spend more time focused on improving your skills and getting ready to win your next game. Also, meditation will improve your mindset in general. Regardless of the result of your last game, you will always be more driven to succeed and give your peak performance every game. This is a direct result of a clear and focused mind that meditation creates.
The art of meditation can do wonders for any hockey player looking to improve their mental and physical ability. Not only will you be playing better hockey, but you’ll develop a more relaxed, controlled, winning mindset at the same time. All it takes is a small leap of faith to start doing it and trust in the process. It may be difficult at first, but once you get used to keeping focused on your breathing, you’ll be able to meditate longer and longer and will notice the benefits in full.
In sports, character qualities can be described in two aspects: personal character and performance character. These two kinds of character qualities work hand-in-hand for players and teams to attain winning results on and off the ice. Personal characteristics may include (but not limited to) integrity, respect, teamwork, charisma, honesty, kindness, resilience, perseverance, compassion, and determination. Performance characteristics can include focus, mental and physical toughness, confidence, tenacity, competitiveness and self-discipline.
When is it Observed?
Character could also be defined as a set of traits that reveal themselves only when tested. It is often described as how a person acts when no one is looking. It is possible to have a significant amount of performance characteristics yet be plagued by an equal amount of deficiencies on the Personal character. Sure, you’ll stand out in your team, but it’ll also be at the detriment of everyone around you, and the sport at large. A person’s character is made obvious through their demeanor as well as their behavior. According to The Star Sports, a player that possesses character is regarded as one with certain moral qualities that are unflinching even in the face of adversity.
Coaches & Scouts
Character is one of the most important traits a hockey player must have for them to have any hopes of advancing to a significant point in their careers. One reason is that character is the first thing most coaches and scouts look for when recruiting players. True enough, the player under consideration must obviously have skill and flair and the desire necessary to compete at any particular level. But your character will most likely be the deciding factor that will determine you getting an opportunity to play on a team of your dreams or getting turned away.
Teammates
In many ways, character can be looked at as the foundation upon which other qualities are built. In several occasions in history, matches and epic battles have been won and lost because one person or a group of people stepped up to the plate and turned things around. The truth is, once you get in the competitive level in hockey, there are no days off. The competition is so high that every player in the league will be trying to defeat you. Trying to be better than you. Even your teammates. You will compete with a couple of your teammates looking for top spot. In those moments, a strong character is the only way you can hope to keep your head up.
Making it into the National Hockey League is extremely difficult, but achievable. Staying in (and making a name for yourself)? Now, that’s the hard part. Throughout history, many talented players rose fast and high, but crashed even faster because they couldn’t stay centered.
Game Situations
Character is knowing that the coach is probably not going to use you on his power play, or give you as much ice time as you want, but still going ahead to support the team in whatever way you can, whatever way you are asked to. A player who has character understands situations in a game, understands team instructions, respects fellow teammates, and plays for the collective good of the team. Any player who doesn’t possess these qualities will sooner find themselves off the team or not advancing anywhere.
In games like hockey where significant emphasis is placed on respect for the game, the traditions, other players, the fans, etc., lack of character can mean almost certain downfall. Sure enough, winning is important…. But winning is not the only the important thing.
In a game that preaches respect for tradition, lots of other values are in place for players to embody, and sometimes those things conflict with winning. Such characteristics include fairness, passion, skill, teamwork, empathy, etc. Hockey is meant to be tough, exciting and full of memorable moments.
Hockey is a unique team game and, unlike other sports such as basketball, solo moves almost never pay off. As a hockey player, you should be willing to sacrifice for the team by doing both the eye-catching as well as the less-glamorous tasks. If you’re only satisfied when you score a goal, then you’re going to turn out a pretty frustrated hockey player.
In high-performance sports such as hockey, skill, positive personal and performance character are the keys for advancement. Character builds team spirit, which in turn produces fighting and winning results. When members of a team understand that their collective contributions can yield remarkable successes for them, then they can become unbeatable.
Let’s face it, referees can sometimes frustrate us, and at times even cause some of us to lose control of our emotions. We may feel like they are unfair, calling for penalties that we don’t see and letting the other team get away with everything. The truth is, referees are human and make mistakes. They aren’t out to get you, and they generally get things right. However, when we feel that we have been slighted by them, we often form an unwarranted negative opinion, causing some of us to behave poorly and consequently making a scene. It’s okay to voice your opinion to a referee, but it should be done professionally and courteously. Here are some do’s and don’ts of referee communication for coaches, parents, and players.
Coaches
Do: Introduce Yourself and Your Team
Youth hockey referees are doing a service for your team and for the league, so it may be nice to introduce yourself and show some professional courtesy. They will be relieved to see that they are working with a calm, personable coach rather than someone who views them as the enemy. They take a lot of undeserved heat, so making them feel welcome to the league can help strengthen your relationship with them. This isn’t to “grease the wheels,” but merely to show appreciation for their work.
Don’t: Try to Gain Unfair Advantages
Some youth leagues take place in tightly knit communities where many people know each other. Even if the ref is your best friend, you shouldn’t try to gain an advantage over the other team. This is dishonest and will only hurt your team in the long run if they benefit from sloppy play. The refs are there to do a job and you should let them do it as objectively as possible.
Do: Respectfully Tell Your Opinions
If you feel that a ref made a bad call, it’s okay to let him know why you feel this way. Perhaps refer to a rulebook or point out that he might have missed something on the other end of the ice. As mentioned before, refs are human and will make mistakes. Being respectful in your objections to their calls will make them in turn respectful of you and more likely to listen to your point of view.
Don’t: Insult or Berate the Refs for Missed Calls
The refs are people too, and it doesn’t help anybody on the ice if you start hurling insults at them because you feel your team got the short end of the stick. It could give the refs a poor opinion of your ability as a coach and might have parents wondering the same thing. You don’t want to create any grudges or embarrass your team, so bite your tongue even if you feel it’s the worst call that you’ve ever seen. It could also result in you getting a penalty!
Parents
Do: Show Respect for the Officiating Crew
Everyone wants their kid to play well and remain safe on the ice, and the refs are a big part of that. They are trained to make the calls that should help to minimize the risk of injuries and keep the game moving along fairly and smoothly. You should be glad that they are on the ice and that they are looking out for the safety of the kids. Let them know that you appreciate their efforts and congratulate them on a job well done. They will be thankful for parents like you.
Don’t: Yell at or Taunt the Refs from the Stands
So, your kid had a great chance at a goal and you think the ref made a poor call that took it away from him. You may be right, but chances are that the trained referee had a better view of the play and more thorough understanding of the rules, and he deserves the respect that comes with that. Even if you feel that it was a blatant missed call, you will do everybody a favor if you just hold it back and let it ride. This is youth hockey and the most important part is that the kids have fun and improve their skills. A loudmouth, angry parent in the crowd ruins that for everybody.
Do: Wait Until After the Game to Speak with Refs
If you want to talk to a ref, either to show appreciation or discuss something about the game, be courteous and wait until afterwards. The ref has a job to do and it’s disrespectful to everyone to interrupt during the game. Wait it out and in most cases you can speak the ref afterwards.
Players
Do: Thank the Ref for Working the Game
The refs work very hard and are often underappreciated, so thank them and show that you’re happy to have them there. You might not always think that they make the right call, but they are following a fast-paced game and working hard. Let them know that they are valued members who share the ice with you.
Don’t: Complain About Past Calls
Whether the call happened 2 months or 2 minutes ago, don’t hold onto grudges or dwell on mistakes. You will come off as angry and immature and won’t gain any favor in the mind of the referee. If something does go your way, keep your head up and continue to play the game the way you always do. The ref most likely won’t change his call anyway, so you aren’t helping anyone by continuing to chirp at him. This will also distract you from focusing on your own game and can result in a penalty.
Don’t: Use Foul or Offensive Language Towards the Refs
Just like coaches and parents, players are responsible for being respectful and playing the game the right way. The ref has the power to kick you out of the game for unsportsmanlike conduct, so keep it clean and appreciative. You don’t want to hurt your team just because your temper got the best of you.
Do: Compliment the Ref on a Job Well Done
Whether he saw something from across the ice or simply had a solid game of officiating, give the ref the compliments he deserves. It isn’t easy to officiate a hockey game, so he’ll appreciate that you notice his talent and good eye.
