Benefits of Hockey Video Analysis

Benefits of Hockey Video Analysis

by | Oct 9, 2019 | Article

Watching video has long been a part of preparation for athletes, but it has had increased emphasis placed on it in recent years. With more camera angles, better equipment, and easier access to recordings from across any league, there are far more opportunities for players to learn from their own mistakes as well as others. Hockey players can benefit greatly from watching video and working with their coaches to understand their strengths and weaknesses. This can translate to better individual skills as well as stronger performance in a game setting. Here are some ways video analysis can help improve the overall game for the player and the team.

Hone your individual skills

Video today is clearer, crisper, and easier to slow down. Players can quickly navigate to any part of the game and find where they may have made a mistake, or where another player baffled them with an excellent play. By slowing the video down and taking a frame-by-frame approach, they can pinpoint exactly where the mistake was made and focus on tightening up their stick handling, skating, or shooting at the next practice and in the next game. Watching other individuals perform exceptional moves may also give them some ideas for their own game.

Prepare for other teams

By watching video of other teams, players can understand their habits, play-calling, and learn about their strongest and weakest players. Video of their last game against a specific team can help them to identify where they were bested and where they had the advantage, whether the previous game was a win or a loss. They can come up with new defensive or offensive strategies and overall game plans based on adjustments they should have made in the last game. They can also watch tape of the team playing a totally different team in order to gain insight and ideas on how to succeed.

Gain a new perspective

When you are playing a game, you can only see things from your own perspective. You may understand where you went wrong and have an idea of how to fix it, but watching video allows you to step back and see things from a third-person point of view. It’s often easier to find the flaws, whether they be mechanical or mental, when you can slow the tape down and watch the play developing from all parts of the ice. In addition to gaining a new view for yourself, you can watch the tape with coaches and other players and discuss what happened, further allowing yourself to evaluate what you did right and what might need to change the next time around.

Prevent Injuries

While injuries can have a variety of causes, many are due to poor mechanics or bad habits. Watching videos with coaches and trainers can help players understand which movements – or lack of movements – can contribute to strains, sprains, and other injuries, even if they haven’t been directly responsible for one to this point. It is important to notice these behaviors before they become prevalent, and watching video is the most effective way to pinpoint which actions could be detrimental to a player’s health.

Statistical Metrics

Watching video gives players a chance to learn about their stats over the course of the season. Metrics such as shots per game, points per game, puck touches, save percentage, and more will change throughout the season, and videos will show the player why they may be improving or regressing in certain areas. Perhaps a more aggressive offensive approach is leading to more shots, but also causing the player to commit more costly turnovers. Watching videos to see how habits and success has changed from game to game throughout the season may encourage the player to make certain adjustments that can result in both skill improvement and in-game performance.

Follow the League’s Top Players

No matter what league you play in, there are sure to be some superstar players on other teams. Watching video of them can help other players see why it is that they are the best. You’ll get an idea of their natural instincts as well as the adjustments they make on the ice in order to gain every advantage possible. There’s nothing wrong with learning from other players, and video of skilled rivals may be the only way you’ll learn about their abilities and figure out how to apply them to your own game. Even the best players have mentors and other athletes that they look up and learn from.

Improved Game Plans

Coaches and players alike can work on improving their game plan when they watch video of past performances. While the coach usually has the final say on the strategy that the team will use, he can gain valuable insight from his players as they watch video with him. That can mean taking ideas from other teams or altering your current plan slightly in order to create more scoring opportunities. This is both a team exercise and an individual one, as players can discuss certain mechanics and decisions with one another as they work together to bolster individual skills while coming up with a cohesive strategy that plays to their strengths as a team while avoiding weaknesses as much as possible.

Team Unity and Better Performance

All in all, video has been a highly effective tool for athletes across all sports, and hockey teams should be studying video regularly to become more competitive and create more unity both on and off the ice. Chemistry on the ice during a game is just one important aspect of playing hockey, but it is not the only one. Video analysis and viewing sessions give the team even more time together to get another view of how they play and come up with ideas both on their own and together. It is also very helpful for the coach to be able to show video to his team so that they can keep learning to adjust to the rest of the league.

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Skating – The Foundation of Hockey

Skating – The Foundation of Hockey

by | Sep 25, 2019 | Article

If you watch any hockey game today, you may notice something interesting. When the players are on the ice, they only have control of the puck every so often. They get an opportunity to pass infrequently, and the same goes for taking a shot at the net. However, there’s something that every hockey player is always doing while playing the game: skating.

Yeah, I guess that’s obvious, but that’s why skating is considered one of the most important skills in the sport of hockey. You can be a good stick handler and shooter and if you practice & improve your skating, it will help improve these and other skills as well. All hockey players need solid skating skills to become better at the game, and many coaches preach it and take the time to teach it as they should.

So, with skating being so crucial to the sport, here’s some info about hockey’s superstar skill.

Why is it Important?

 Other than the obvious “you skate all the time when you play hockey,” here are some benefits that come with being able to skate well:

1. Speed

Since skating is the way you move around in hockey, it makes sense that the faster you can skate, the faster you can get to the puck. There are countless situations in hockey where you will be racing an opposing team member to the puck. The player that gets to the puck first will secure control for their team, which is a big advantage. And that player will be the one who can skate the fastest.

Having great speed also makes it easier to position yourself well on the ice. Hockey is a fast-paced game that is very dynamic. The positions of the players on the ice and the team which has control of the puck is constantly changing. Because of this, players need to be able to adapt to the game and re-position themselves as fast as possible, so they can be reactive.

2. Agility

With fantastic skating comes the ability to be agile on the ice. It’s not only important to reach the puck first, but once you have it, you need to be able to avoid the enemy players and create good opportunities for you to pass and shoot. If you can skate well, then you have the agility and fancy footwork to dodge the opposing team and shut down their attempts to steal the puck.

3. Turning and Pivoting

This skill is alike agility in that it has to do with more finessed foot movements. In fact, it goes hand in hand with both speed and agility. The expert skater can turn and pivot themselves almost instantly to face their desired direction. They can then apply either their speed to get to the puck or their agility to try and steal the puck or deke an opponent.

Pivoting and turning also benefits a player’s reaction time. The faster you can change your direction, the faster you can see in the new direction. You’ll be able to view the ice and react to new situations faster. True, the time difference is small, but it is a slight advantage. You’ll spend less time having to orient yourself and more time thinking about what you should do next: where you should skate, who you should cover, etc.

The Evolution of Skating

Hockey has only been around for a century and a half now, which compared to all human history, is very new. However, skating itself has a much longer history in human culture, dating back 5000 years ago. Back then, skates were needed to traverse large lakes. They were made from flattened animal bones and a few leather straps, and unlike skates today, they attached to other footwear and couldn’t be work directly on bare feet.

In the 1500’s, the bone blade was replaced by a sharper metal blade, which made skating much easier. Over the years, people were using skates less for necessity and more for recreation. Once sports like ice hockey and figure skating came about, hoards of inventors raced to develop better forms of skates. They played around with the way they attached to shoes, the type of metal they were made of, and the sharpness and length of the blade. Eventually, in the early 1900’s, people settled on the skate design as we know it today: having the blade attached to a whole boot, sold as one piece. And in the last hundred years, that model of skate has been refined countless times to optimize comfort and performance on the ice.

A Good Investment

True, any hockey player can work on their skating skills with just a pair of rickety old blades and a backyard pond. However, becoming an excellent skater usually comes with a bit of an investment, namely in the form of buying good-quality skates and paying for quality skating instruction.

Back when hockey was first invented, around 1875, ice skates were cheap. Unfortunately, as the sport has developed over the years, the price of skates has increased at the same time. Of course, the cost of a given pair of skates depends both on the quality of the skates and the age group they were made for. In general, a lower-quality pair of blades for a younger child will cost around $60, and a high-quality pair for a midget, junior, or senior player can cost upwards of $500 or more! That’s some serious cash for a couple of metal blades on shoes!

On top of that, hockey teams or individual players sometimes choose to spend money on specialized skating instruction. While usually not cheap, these extra skating lessons from a highly trained teacher can give hockey players a huge advantage and learning boost.

So, that’s the lowdown on skating. Why it’s important in hockey, a bit of a history lesson, and even some information on what it costs to be a top-notch skater. There are many areas of focus for a hockey player when they train, both on and off the ice. Shooting, stickhandling, strategic thinking, healthy eating and rituals, the list goes on and on. However, skating is without a doubt at the top of that list. Everything in hockey starts and ends with skating. So what are you waiting for? Get out on the ice and start training!

You can watch and Learn from NHL Skating Coach Lucas Lawson in his online Hockey Skating Training Course @ www.HockeySkillsTraining.com.

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5 Habits of Successful Hockey Players

5 Habits of Successful Hockey Players

by | Sep 11, 2019 | Article

Hockey is an incredibly fun game. Groups of kids play on frozen ponds in the winter, fathers play in beer leagues to let off some steam after work, and millions of fans gather every weekend to watch their favorite NHL team on television.

But while hockey is fun, it’s also extremely competitive. The goal of most hockey players, no matter the age or skill level, is to train, improve, and rise in the ranks to ultimately play in the NHL. To make it to the highest level of play, however, you need certain skills and habits that have been practiced and fine-tuned over the course of years.

Well, what are those skills and habits? What things should you work on to give yourself the best chance to improve and take your game to the next level?

Sure, you should have a good attitude and always try your hardest. But I’m talking about more game-specific things—-things you can actively practice on and off the ice until they become second nature. Here are the 5 most common habits among successful hockey players:

Good Body Position

Good body position is crucial to your success as a hockey player. It can be broken down into two categories: personal and relative.

Personal body position refers to your physical posture. To have good personal body position, you should:

  • Keep your stick on the ice
  • Keep your head raised
  • Bend your knees to maintain a low centre of gravity
  • Keep your feet hip-width apart

All these habits contribute to staying aware and ready to react to any situation on the ice. If you work on developing proper posture, it’ll soon become habitual and you won’t need to think about it anymore.

Relative body position refers to where you are on the ice compared to all the other players. It’s important to position yourself so that, even if you don’t have the puck, you can still affect the play in the best way possible.

Having good relative body position involves:

  • Using your body to block the trajectory of shots on your net
  • Getting in the way of enemy forwards when they have puck possession
  • Placing yourself open and available for passes if needed

Constant Movement

You should always keep your feet moving. Plain and simple.

Why? Well, what’s the difference between a player who’s actively skating towards the puck and one who’s just standing an watching the action? The first player has an objective and the second one doesn’t.

In hockey, you should always have an objective. Pay attention and quickly decide how you can best help your team in the moment (hint: it’s never by standing still and watching the action). As a result, you should always keep your feet moving towards your goal. Plus, if you maintain movement and a low centre of gravity, it’ll be easier for you to react to changes in puck possession and other potential surprises.

Communication

Communication is an important habit if you want to become a successful hockey player.

If you watch any NHL game, the players on the bench are always talking. Communication is key. When you’re not on the ice, you should always be discussing the game and potential strategies with your teammates. Or, you should be calling out to the players on the ice with helpful suggestions, which you can only do if you’re paying attention to the game.

Even while you’re on the ice you should be communicating as effectively as possible. If you notice an opportunity for one of your teammates, call it out to them. If you notice one of your teammates is out of position or making any sort of mistake, let them know.

Sure, some players aren’t used to calling out for the puck or shouting suggestions at their teammates, but you must get comfortable with it. Often, communication skills mean the difference between a win and a loss in a hockey game.

Always Think Through a Play

This habit is an extension of the “always have an objective” idea.

Professional hockey players assess every situation before rushing with the puck, making a check, or positioning themselves elsewhere on the ice. Hockey is a fast game, so the assessment must be made quickly, but in professional hockey it always happens. Thinking through a play allows you to avoid making costly mistakes that end up with you being out of position and granting the opposing team an opportunity to advance the puck and score.

Before repositioning yourself or making any sort of play, assess the situation. Where are your teammates and the opposing players located on the ice? Where is the puck likely to head? It is best to skate into traffic, or to position yourself elsewhere.

If you make it a habit to think through each play, you can trust that you’re making sound decisions. Then, you’ll notice that you’ll influence your games in a much more notable and positive way, helping to elevate your vision and hockey I.Q.

Good Nutrition

All high-level hockey players take excellent care of their bodies. Good nutrition can be separated into three things: sleep pattern, eating habits, and exercise.

In terms of sleep, make sure you’re consistently getting at least seven hours of sleep at night—-the more you get, the better. And that goes for every night, too, not just nights before practices or games. In addition, try your best to go to bed and wake up around the same time each night. If you set a pattern for your sleep, your body will become used to it. Then, you’ll fall asleep faster and wake up feeling more well-rested.

Also, ensure you’re eating healthy. It’s okay to treat yourself occasionally, but if you want to become a top-notch athlete, you’ll need to fuel your body properly. Stick to veggies, carbs, and lean protein. Drink plenty of water throughout the day and try to refrain from eating a lot before bed.

Lastly, exercise. NHL players exercise more than just during practices and games. Perhaps join another sport in addition to hockey for some extra exercise. Maybe go for a half-hour jog every second night or go to the gym a few times a week. To become an elite hockey player, you need to make sure your body is in peak physical condition so you can perform your best on the ice. The hard work you do in the gym should transition onto the ice.

There you have it: 5 of the most common habits of successful hockey players.

Of course, these aren’t the only things you need to work on to become a high-level hockey player. There are many skills and techniques that must be practiced in order to compete in elite hockey. Plus, you also need great work-ethic and immense dedication to the sport to succeed.

These 5 habits are a fantastic start, however. Work on body position, maintaining constant movement, communication, thinking through plays, and keeping good nutrition, and you should see rapid, notable improvement in your game.

Always strive to do your best, but remember to have fun, too. Hockey is a game, and it’s meant to be enjoyed by all those who play it. So, whether you want to make the NHL or just play minor hockey as a hobby, make sure to enjoy yourself along the way.

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Common Hockey Injuries

Common Hockey Injuries

by | Aug 14, 2019 | Article

While hockey is fun, and usually a safe sport, it’s not totally free of injuries. Even with all the protective gear donned by hockey athletes, injuries can still happen to both amateurs and professionals.

Some causes are obvious, though. With players skating at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour and the pucks shooting at speeds of around 100 mph, getting hurt can no doubt part of the game.

Physioworks.com estimates that 15% of hockey players suffer injury every season. Sure enough, adequate conditioning and warm-up before training and actual games, can all help reduce the risk of suffering hockey injuries.

However, despite putting some safety measures in place, injuries can still occur. This is mostly due to collisions with other players, hard body checks, inadvertent collisions with the walls of the rink and with the ice, direct and indirect blows from the puck, flying sticks, etc.

Sprains and Strains

These are the most easily suffered types of injury in hockey. When a player incurs a sprain, it means they have either stretched a ligament (the tissue which attaches two bones at a joint) or torn it. Strains on the other hand are caused by stretched or torn tendon (a tissue that joins bone and muscle together). 

Most common of this sort of injuries is a condition where the medial collateral ligament (MCL), a ligament in the interior of the knee stretches or tears. This can be really painful, but thankfully, it doesn’t require surgery, and an affected player can usually recover within about two weeks. Falling, twisting the wrists, or getting hit while playing hockey may likely cause this condition.

The best on-the-spot remedy for sprains and strains is the RICE (Rest – Icing – Compression – Elevation) technique.

Concussions

Concussions are probably the most familiar but underreported injuries among players on the ice, which sadly doesn’t get as much attention as they do in other sports (e.g., soccer). They are usually the result of a trauma to the head.

Contrary to popular belief, concussions don’t always have to be as a result of knockout blows or direct, blunt force trauma. They can arise from as little as glancing blows from a stick, puck ricochet, or a stray elbow.

 Concussions generally affect the brain’s capacity to function normally ─ for a short while that could vary anywhere from two days to several weeks. Symptoms usually include loss of consciousness, dizziness, headaches, general changes in mood, nausea, persistent ringing noise in the ears, ect.

Players are usually advised to seek professional medical attention immediately after a concussion is suspected. Correctly sized and proper face masks and well fastened protective helmets are measures that could help reduce risks of suffering a concussion.

Shoulder Separation

When players run into each other or onto the boards and ice during play, the chances of developing Acromioclavicular joint injuries (commonly known as shoulder separation) increase dramatically. A shoulder separation injury can involve anything from spraining the shoulder joint to complete tearing of the ligaments in the area.  Wearing good quality shoulder pads and avoiding hitting or falling on the outside of the shoulder are good protective measures against injury. Strength training can also go a long way to improve stability in the shoulder joints and help reduce the risk of incurring the injury.

Hamstring Injuries

Hamstring muscles spraining and/or tearing are also common in hockey players who skate with explosive speed, because these muscles tend to overload with accumulated pressure and are pulled apart or torn.

Factors include improper warm up, weakness in gluteus muscles, and quadriceps muscle tightness. Minor hamstring pulls usually heal without medication in a short while with enough care. Affected players are advised to elevate and rest their legs when sitting or lying down. They can also use ice, painkillers and anti-inflammatory meds, and slowly resume training based on the relief from symptoms, rather than how long since they sustained the injury. Severe hamstring pulls may take between several weeks to six months to completely heal.

High Ankle Injury

Skates might promise protection against the typical ankle sprains due to their height from the ice, but athletes who possess very high speeds and have to suddenly make rapid direction changes tend to have a higher risk of and high ankle sprains due to torque imbalances. This injury often takes long healing times and can be excruciatingly painful.

Groin Pull

Sudden turns on the ice and rapid bursts of speed while skating can cause groin or hip injury. When the groin or hip muscles are engaged either too forcefully or too suddenly, the muscle tissue in the area faces an increased likeliness of stretching or tearing. Several different muscles including the hip flexor groups and the adductor group are involved in this type of injury.

Fortunately, groin pulls almost never result in surgery. Taking time off the ice, along with cold therapy to gradually reduce pain and inflammation are the best treatments for groin injuries. The risk of pulling a groin muscle can be significantly reduced by wearing compression shorts and properly warming up before a game.

Shin splints

Shin splint manifest as pain down the front of the legs and are usually caused by running for long periods on hard surfaces like concrete, asphalt, or as in hockey – ice. If a player suspends action in the rink for some time and ices the sore area 20-30 minutes at every 3 to 4 hours each day, in a few days, the pain should be gone. Shin splints can usually be avoided by simply wearing shin guards.

Injury risks in hockey, as in any sport, cannot be eliminated, but possible to reduce substantially with correct gear, proper warm ups /cool downs and staying healthy. Fortunately, most hockey injuries are not severe and heal without much medical attention, however upon injury, players who seek immediate therapist attention rather than let injuries linger will sooner be back on the ice!

𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝, 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 & 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨!

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What Kind of Defenseman are You?

What Kind of Defenseman are You?

by | Jul 11, 2019 | Article

In hockey, there are five main positions that must be filled to make a successful hockey team. Every team needs a goalie, two defencemen, a left wing, a right wing, and a centre. In addition, all the players filling these positions must communicate and work together effortlessly, like a well-oiled machine.

However, it’s not enough to just say that someone is a “center” or a “defenseman.” Why? Because different playstyles exist within specific positions in hockey. Some defensemen are more offensive, some are more defensive, and some exhibit a mix between the two styles, known as “hybrid defense.”

Of course, to be an elite defenseman in hockey, you need to be highly skilled both offensively and defensively, but I’m talking about specialization. Some defensemen specialize in one of the extremes, and others are very balanced in their playstyle.

So, what makes a defenseman offensive, defensive, or hybrid? Below are the main skills for each defenseman style. Take some time to consider each set of skills and compare them to your own abilities to figure out which type of defenseman you are.

Defensive

It sounds silly to consider a hockey player a “defensive defenseman,” but it isn’t a meaningless title. There are certain skills, listed below, that some defensemen exhibit more than others and end up making them more protective on the ice. Likewise, there are skills, mentioned in the next section, that make a more “offensive defenseman.”

The designation is exactly how it sounds: a defensive defenseman specializes in protecting their team’s territory and keeping the puck out of their net.

Here are the most common defensive skills:

Initiating a Change in Puck Possession

One of the most important defensive skills for a defenseman is taking the initiative to retake the puck from the enemy team. A good defenseman must be willing to engage the defensive system at the right moment to avoid letting the opposing team close in too far on the net.

Confidence plays a huge role in the willingness of a defenseman to initiate a change in possession. They can’t be afraid of being outmaneuvered upon challenging an enemy forward, or else the other team will get a better opportunity to position themselves to score.

There are many ways to initiate a change in puck possession, and one of the most important ones is gap control.

Gap Control

As a defenseman, gap control involves closing the distance between you and an advancing forward who is carrying the puck. A defenseman with good gap control will pick optimal spots to challenge approaching forwards and push them towards the outside of the rink and away from a prime scoring area.

Backwards Skating

This skill is defensive because it acts as another counter to the pressure that the opposing team’s forwards will impose when they’re attacking. Having fast, effortless, controlled skating (but especially backwards skating) allows defencemen to retain the best position against an enemy attack. It also allows them to react to enemy movement, passes, and shots as fast as possible.

Hitting/Fighting

This is in the defensive category?

Yes, indeed.

Hitting and fighting are huge parts of stopping the opposing team from scoring. If you have a fearless, intimidating physical presence, the opposing team won’t be able to easily approach your net. In short, you’ll prevent them from obtaining favorable shooting opportunities.

How do you develop an intimidating physical presence? You need to be willing to take/deliver checks and engage in fights for the good of a play.

Offensive

Offensive defensemen specialize in helping their team attack the enemy team’s net in the effort to score goals. While they still protect their own net, the focus is more on aiding the forwards on their team to get the puck in the net.

Shooting Ability

Defensemen, of course, won’t be making too many shots on the ice. But when they do, it’s important that the shots are consistent and accurate. Part of a defenseman’s offensive repertoire is the ability to make good shots so that they can either score (by a literal longshot), or their shot can be tipped into the net.

Rushing the Puck

Although a defenseman’s primary purpose is to protect the net, they still play an offensive role from time to time. An important offensive skill is the ability to rush the puck on a breakaway. The defenseman’s skating, stickhandling, and agility need to hold up if there’s an opportunity for them to make an offensive push to try to score.

Supporting the Rush

Another offensive ability closely related to rushing the puck yourself, is supporting a rush that your team is making. Defensemen shouldn’t be afraid to jump into their team’s push by either challenging enemy defenders or positioning themselves as an option to receive a pass.

A word of caution: you should always assess the risk of joining a rush before doing so. Check the positioning of the opposing team to see if it’s worthwhile to leave your defensive zone and go all-in with your team.

Hybrid

A hybrid defenseman shows balance between all the skills previously mentioned. They might specialize in position control and backwards skating while also having fantastic shooting and rushing abilities.

There are four “hybrid skills” listed below, as well. The skills are important for all defensemen to have, but for the purposes of fitting into an offensive or defensive role, the skills are more neutral. Specializing in these skills may mean that you’re more of a hybrid defenseman.

Hockey Sense 

Hockey sense is often mistakenly considered to be “intuition” for the game, which implies that it can’t be developed. That couldn’t be further from the truth, however.

“Hockey sense” is just a name for a large group of individual skills, which can all be learned by practicing and studying the game:

  • Versatility: Being able to perform well in a variety of roles on the ice
  • Decision-making: Being able to make quick and correct decisions in the heat of the game
  • Foresight (Anticipation): Being able to estimate where a play will move in advance, so that an advantageous position can be gained
  • Awareness: Being able to keep track of the position of every player on the ice and the location of the puck, and using that information to help make decisions

Communication

All defensemen, whether offensive or defensive, should have outstanding communication skills. This comes in two forms:

First, a defenseman should recognize when, in the middle of a play, something needs to be verbally communicated to one of his teammates and shouldn’t hesitate to pass along the information. Second, a defenseman should engage in constructive discussions with teammates and coaches while on the bench, and before and after a game.

Puck Skills

All hockey players, defensemen not excluded, should have good puck skills. These are skills like shooting accuracy and strength, stickhandling, giving and receiving a pass, and protecting the puck.

Attitude/Work Ethic/Competitiveness

The final hybrid skill is a mix of attitude, work ethic, and competitiveness, that we’ll call mindset.

Mindset involves staying calm through losses and stay humble through victories. It involves keeping focused on your long-term goals in the sport of hockey so that you stick to healthy eating habits and a proper training regimen. It involves fighting your hardest in every game no matter how bleak the result looks. Finally, it involves staying true to your own strengths and recognizing the strengths of your teammates and adjusting your play accordingly.

There you have it: a rough and ready way to find out what type of defenseman you are.

It’s important to remember, though, that even if you deem yourself “offensive” based on the skills listed above, it’s entirely possible to make the switch to hybrid or even defensive. In truth, all the skills mentioned here are important for defensemen to have, and you get to choose which skills you want to practice.

So, if you look at this list of skills and identify some of your weak ones, perhaps focus on developing those in your coming months of training. It’ll only contribute to you being a more well-rounded player and will help you along with the ultimate goal: being the best hockey player possible.

𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝, 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 & 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨!

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Women Referees in the NHL

Women Referees in the NHL

by | Jun 20, 2019 | Article

Once a pipe dream that nobody would have thought possible, the idea of a woman referee in the NHL seems to be getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. Decades ago, the mere concept of a female referee would send not only the professional players into fits of laughter, but also the fans and even other women. Times have changed, however, and so has the attitude towards female athletics and the idea of female officials in the major league. While we haven’t yet seen the first female referee in the NHL, it seems increasingly likely that we may see the glass ceiling broken in the near future, and there are many reasons to be optimistic and hockey becomes an ever more inclusive sport.

Overall Attitudes are Changing

For centuries, women have fought an uphill battle for equality in most aspects of life. While there are still many barriers to be toppled, we have seen much progress in recent history, and the trends seem to favorable moving into the future. This is especially true in the world of sports, where more and more female leagues are popping up in sports previously thought to be reserved only for men. Hockey is one such sport that’s often been lumped into the “manly” category, thanks to its physicality and fast-paced nature as well as the overall bad-boy image that it has cultivated over the years.

Today, however, girls and women alike are joining competitive hockey leagues at a record pace, and they are being accepted into the hockey culture like never before. Players in the NHL and in other male professional sports leagues don’t hold the same antiquated beliefs about sex and gender as many of their predecessors from generations past. That isn’t to say there aren’t still plenty of examples of misogynistic behavior – it’s still a problem that needs to be addressed – but it is becoming far less common as younger, more progressive generations enter the fold.

Climbing the Ranks

Because people are more likely to advocate for equality these days, we’ve seen female referees climbing the ranks throughout female hockey leagues. This may not seem like much, but these are positions that, despite being in female leagues, were usually filled by men in the past. Now, women have the chance to prove themselves in the highest levels of female competitive leagues, and that may open the door for officiating in men’s professional leagues in the future.

It also helps that other sports have experienced progress in breaking the gender barrier in the past. The NBA has had several female referees over the years, and the NFL – long seen as the most “macho” and man-centric of the big four sports, introduced its first female referee in 2015. Perhaps professional hockey leagues, the NHL specifically, will soon follow suit and allow the first female referee to take the ice in years to come. Once that happens, it could open the door for many more who dream of officiating a professional hockey game.

History

Although hockey seems to have fallen behind the NFL and NBA in this regard, things actually started to look like they were moving forward in the 1990s. In 1995, Heather McDaniel was the first female to ever officiate a men’s professional hockey game. However, it was not an NHL game. McDaniel reffed games in the Central and West Coast hockey leagues. These were professional minor leagues that to that point had only seen male referees on their ice rinks. McDaniels reffed here for 4 years before becoming pregnant and deciding to call it a career.

McDaniels’ retirement from refereeing left it looking bleak for the future of female referees, as we didn’t see a female official in a men’s professional game until 2014, when Katie Guay and Erin Blair both officiated a game in the SPHL. That 15-year gap between female referees is a long one, but it seems to have kicked off a wave that may suggest a positive trend. In the 2015-2016 season, 23 of 36 regular season NWHL games had a female referee. Yes, that is a female hockey league, but it is the largest number of female referees that has ever been seen in one season for any league. The inaugural game for that season, in fact, featured an all-female crew for the first time in the history of professional hockey.

What the future holds

While nobody can predict the future, recent trends suggest that things are looking up for the possibility of a female referee in the NHL. As we’ve mentioned, the primitive attitudes that have held women back from positions across a variety of fields are starting to become more and more outdated. There are still people that hold these views, but they seem to be getting pushed to the side in favor of progress, fairness, and equality.

The rise in popularity of female hockey leagues, as well as their increased amount of media coverage, may be another factor that contributes to an eventual female NHL official. We’ve seen that women have continually proven themselves to be not only fantastic athletes, but highly competent referees who work hard and have just as much passion for the sport as any of their male counterparts.

As more women start officiating junior leagues, women’s leagues, and professional minor leagues, we are seeing the push towards the first female referee in the NHL. Once that happens, it could open up a myriad of opportunities for other women who have dreamt of getting on the ice in a professional game. It may not happen in the immediate future, but maybe one day all of this progress will lead to us seeing the first all-female officiating crew at an NHL game.

𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝, 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 & 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨!

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