Hockey Canada new Head Contact Rule
- Thread starter jamo27
- Start date
I was actually considering starting a thread about this.
I'm an assistant coach with a Bantam CC team from a Montreal suburb. The way the rule was explained to us by the head referee from our association is that any intentional contact to the head was an automatic 4 minute penalty. Any accidental contact with the head is a 2 minute penalty.
Intentional contact, which is a 4 minute penalty, includes things such as facewashes, punches, etc.
In about 5 exhibition games so far this season, the calls have been all-over the place. We had 1 game where it wasn't called once, another where it was called pretty often, and then a game last night where almost every single body contact was called a hit to the head penalty. It was BEYOND ridiculous. We spent about 2/3's of the game on the penalty kill.
Now, we are a very physical team, but we probably only deserved 2-3 of those penalties. One player had 14 penalty minutes on his own. The other team received a lot of questionable ones as well.
Example, our defenseman has the puck in our zone. A smaller kid skates towards him to try and hit him, so our defenseman lowers his shoulder and leans into him, knocking him over. 4 minute hit to the head penalty. Another example, our forward has the puck in their corner, battling a player. Another one of their players comes in to hit him, our forward, while controlling the puck, knocks the other kid over: 4 minute hit to the head penalty. Are they supposed to stand there and let the opposing player hit them?
Hopefully this was just a referee who never ref'ed full contact before, because if this is the new standard then we might as well eliminate contact all together, which is unfortunately what I think will eventually happen.
I'm an assistant coach with a Bantam CC team from a Montreal suburb. The way the rule was explained to us by the head referee from our association is that any intentional contact to the head was an automatic 4 minute penalty. Any accidental contact with the head is a 2 minute penalty.
Intentional contact, which is a 4 minute penalty, includes things such as facewashes, punches, etc.
In about 5 exhibition games so far this season, the calls have been all-over the place. We had 1 game where it wasn't called once, another where it was called pretty often, and then a game last night where almost every single body contact was called a hit to the head penalty. It was BEYOND ridiculous. We spent about 2/3's of the game on the penalty kill.
Now, we are a very physical team, but we probably only deserved 2-3 of those penalties. One player had 14 penalty minutes on his own. The other team received a lot of questionable ones as well.
Example, our defenseman has the puck in our zone. A smaller kid skates towards him to try and hit him, so our defenseman lowers his shoulder and leans into him, knocking him over. 4 minute hit to the head penalty. Another example, our forward has the puck in their corner, battling a player. Another one of their players comes in to hit him, our forward, while controlling the puck, knocks the other kid over: 4 minute hit to the head penalty. Are they supposed to stand there and let the opposing player hit them?
Hopefully this was just a referee who never ref'ed full contact before, because if this is the new standard then we might as well eliminate contact all together, which is unfortunately what I think will eventually happen.
RandV
It's a wolf v2.0
Are you sure about facewashes/punches being 4 minutes? For my rec league I sat in for my team at the managers meeting, and they went over the new 'Hockey Canada' rules on headshots which we would be adopting. According to them though a punch was still considered 2 minutes by Hockey Canada's rule, which some people complaining about that not making any sense. So I don't know, maybe Hockey Canada got the same sort of feedback and made a last minute change?
Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. One of our players got 18 minutes in penalties (Three 4 minute headshot penalties, one 2 minute headshot penalty, plus a 2 minute unsportsmanlike for getting mad at the ref). Our games are also three 15 minute periods.
What's even worse is we have 3 point games in Quebec, where you automatically get 1 point if you finish the game under a certain amount of penalty minutes. In our level, it's 18 penalty minutes.
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Guffaw
Registered User
I obviously wasn't there, but it's always ridiculous at first. Players will adjust.
Something has to be done. The players are too fast, big, strong, etc. Head is off limits. Star players are having their careers cut short on a regular basis now.
I play Bantam AA and on saturday our team got like 40 minutes of headshots and it was a CLEAN game. It's ridiculous...
duul
Registered User
- Jun 21, 2010
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Played the same team again tonight in exhibitions, the calls were definitely cut down. Not sure if it was the reffing or what, but only one or two headshot penalties were called. Weird because one of our prospects got lit up from a headcheck and has a pretty bad concussion, the guy who hit him only got 2 minutes.
Marotte Marauder
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- Aug 10, 2008
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It will require an adjustment period. It will also require coaches to teach proper bodychecking techniques such as stick on the ice, hands on the stick.
Does anyone still teach that the purpose of bidychecking is to separate the player from the puck not separate the player?
Does anyone still teach that the purpose of bidychecking is to separate the player from the puck not separate the player?
Stickmata
Registered User
- Aug 30, 2011
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Personally, I love it. Bring back the hip check and get rid of the high hits that have seeped into the game at all levels. Sick of seeing all the 'checking' with elbows and forearms that goes on today. Anything that will reduce the 'high finish' to checks and force players to learn to use their core/hips to body check, I'm for. It'll take time, but everyone will adjust.
jamo27
Registered User
- Mar 24, 2007
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It was definitely explained that a face wash is a double minor. A punch is intentional head contact and therefore a double minor. The course I went to showed roughly 20 specific examples of what would be a double minor. The game will be much different if this rule is enforced as it appears they want it to.
Go to www.hockeycanada.ca Then follow:
Media Gallery
Safety
Head Contact
Watch Penalty #2 video. A face wash is a double minor.
Yes, the next month or so are going to see painfully delayed games. In two midget games I refereed last weekend, there were probably 20 head contact calls. It's going to take time for players and officials to get used to the new rule and adjust accordingly. But just like when we went to the higher standard on obstruction calls in 06, by January, the players figured out what they could and could not get away with.
What I am finding is that the players who actually use their shoulders to through a check are much less likely to get those incidental two-minute minors than the guys who are hitting with their hands. In other words, if you know you to throw a proper body check, the new rule isn't going to have much impact on you.
Media Gallery
Safety
Head Contact
Watch Penalty #2 video. A face wash is a double minor.
Yes, the next month or so are going to see painfully delayed games. In two midget games I refereed last weekend, there were probably 20 head contact calls. It's going to take time for players and officials to get used to the new rule and adjust accordingly. But just like when we went to the higher standard on obstruction calls in 06, by January, the players figured out what they could and could not get away with.
What I am finding is that the players who actually use their shoulders to through a check are much less likely to get those incidental two-minute minors than the guys who are hitting with their hands. In other words, if you know you to throw a proper body check, the new rule isn't going to have much impact on you.
Stickmata
Registered User
- Aug 30, 2011
- 1,489
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Exactly. Which is something way too many young players these days have learned to do, i.e. finishing checks with their elbows and hands. That needs to change.
There was an adjustment period a few years ago when Hockey Canada mandated and emphasized strict calling of all hooks, holds, interference, and tripping fouls (the obstruction penalties) to align minor hockey with the rest of the world. Teams would be playing 3-on-3 for lengthy periods, and there were tons of penalty shots.
But teams seemed to adjust after 3 months. The game was fundamentally changed in Canada, from an obstruction and dumping game to a skating, passing, and positioning game. It seems to have worked out, with a lot more emphasis on and reward for skill and elusiveness.
With this revised head contact rule (the head contact penalty was introduced a couple of years ago, with a new signal) and the new emphasis on enforcement, since it's only 2 mins for cup checking but 4 mins for face-washing, scrums could get a lot dirtier. The elbow-to-the-head penalty becomes a double minor for intentional head contact. Again, the game will be fundamentally changed. For the better again? Safer? We'll have to wait and see.
But teams seemed to adjust after 3 months. The game was fundamentally changed in Canada, from an obstruction and dumping game to a skating, passing, and positioning game. It seems to have worked out, with a lot more emphasis on and reward for skill and elusiveness.
With this revised head contact rule (the head contact penalty was introduced a couple of years ago, with a new signal) and the new emphasis on enforcement, since it's only 2 mins for cup checking but 4 mins for face-washing, scrums could get a lot dirtier. The elbow-to-the-head penalty becomes a double minor for intentional head contact. Again, the game will be fundamentally changed. For the better again? Safer? We'll have to wait and see.
Canadian91
Registered User
Ref called me on this last night... I used my hands, though. Usually I'll use my shoulder on the exact same spot and don't get called, so MeHateHe is right.
I've got no problems with this rule. I think it changes the game for the better. I think that they could even by enforcing it even more... there is a LOT more contact with the head than people think.
I've got no problems with this rule. I think it changes the game for the better. I think that they could even by enforcing it even more... there is a LOT more contact with the head than people think.
