Hockey Canada to remove red line for offsides passes

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Golbez

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According to a report from Sportsnet.ca link here , Hockey Canada will abolish the Red Line for offside passes in all levels of amateur hockey starting in 2004-05

When you look at it, a lot of our leagues are not using the red-line already," Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said. "I'm really happy to see that it's happening because it's just making it really consistent for everyone across this country."

Wow...

So, the CHL will go out on its own and stop trying to be just a feeding factory for the defense-hungry NHL. I like the fact that Hockey Canada sees that it's more important to develop kids rathen than produce players for the NHL.

Now, is removing the red line the panacea for the game? It remains to be seen.

In the past, I've been opposed to removing the red line to match the European game.

Yes, I know the play at the Olympics was riveting, but that was a time when you had the world's best players in one small tournament. Everyday regular games will not have that level of competition.

European leagues, especially Sweden and Russia, are extremely low scoring and boring in their own right. Removing the red line has led to defensemen rarely joining the rush, and has actually made it easier to trap.

How?

Without the red line, teams simply pull 4 or 5 backcheckers and try to divert the oppositions attack to one side of the ice. The opposition is forced into turnovers, and has little choice but to put the puck into the corner. Once the puck is in the corner, the wider ice surface ensures that fewer scoring opportunities will ensure.

Now the North American rinks do not have that problem of wider ice surfaces making cycling an inferior weapon, so that alleviates some of that worry.

I just worry that coaches will be even more afraid to use the open ice, and will use 0-5 or 1-4 systems instead.

But I expect the good coaches will adapt, and that skill can prevail.

Hockey can't get any more boring and low-scoring, can it? I applaud Hockey Canada for this bold step.
 

Kritty

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Feb 27, 2002
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Golbez said:
Hockey can't get any more boring and low-scoring, can it? I applaud Hockey Canada for this bold step.

Boring? Have not watched any of the playoffs this season? The hockey has been far from boring. You know what, I'm glad this happened. Not because it will make the game better, but because people will finally realize that taking out the redline will not make a difference. Less talented teams will continue to trap up the neutral zone but now to avoid that long bomb pass. This will end up failing and the redline will be brought in, that's my prediction.

My other concern is with minor hockey. Does this ruling relate to minor hockey too? I would assume if it's all amateur hockey that it would. This will be absolutely terrible for minor hockey. Kids will turn into cherry-pickers overnight. There are enough of those now in minor hockey, this just opens the flood gates for me. I really hope this is just junior hockey.
 

Golbez

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Kritty said:
Boring? Have not watched any of the playoffs this season? The hockey has been far from boring. You know what, I'm glad this happened. Not because it will make the game better, but because people will finally realize that taking out the redline will not make a difference. Less talented teams will continue to trap up the neutral zone but now to avoid that long bomb pass. This will end up failing and the redline will be brought in, that's my prediction.

My other concern is with minor hockey. Does this ruling relate to minor hockey too? I would assume if it's all amateur hockey that it would. This will be absolutely terrible for minor hockey. Kids will turn into cherry-pickers overnight. There are enough of those now in minor hockey, this just opens the flood gates for me. I really hope this is just junior hockey.

Considering the Kelowna Rockets were the WHL championships and went through the season with less than 2 goals for and against per game, and the runners up were Constantine's trapping Silvertips, I'd say WHL hockey hit a new low.

Do you enjoy watching 2-1 trapfests? If you do, the CHL is an oasis. If not, then this is an encouraging rule change.

I hope this leads to a lot more puckhandling and passing plays. It's quite easy to teach a kid to play the friggin trap..what good is it to stifle creativity at such a young age? If you don't let the kids play with skill at the lower levels, they will never get a chance to learn.

Nothing wrong with a few more cherry pickers. The best players will have to adapt their style to make it to the next level, anyway.
 

Dave is a killer

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Oct 17, 2002
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Ironic that the beginner of this thread's hometown ex-GM absolutely deplored the thought of getting rid of the red line...now their will be fewer odd man breaks with one man sitting on his side of the red line practically most of the game...according to Burke.

Bad move Hockey Canada :shakehead
 

Kronblom

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Nov 27, 2002
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Golbez said:
According to a report from Sportsnet.ca link here , Hockey Canada will abolish the Red Line for offside passes in all levels of amateur hockey starting in 2004-05

When you look at it, a lot of our leagues are not using the red-line already," Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said. "I'm really happy to see that it's happening because it's just making it really consistent for everyone across this country."

Wow...

So, the CHL will go out on its own and stop trying to be just a feeding factory for the defense-hungry NHL. I like the fact that Hockey Canada sees that it's more important to develop kids rathen than produce players for the NHL.

Now, is removing the red line the panacea for the game? It remains to be seen.

In the past, I've been opposed to removing the red line to match the European game.

Yes, I know the play at the Olympics was riveting, but that was a time when you had the world's best players in one small tournament. Everyday regular games will not have that level of competition.

European leagues, especially Sweden and Russia, are extremely low scoring and boring in their own right. Removing the red line has led to defensemen rarely joining the rush, and has actually made it easier to trap.

How?

Without the red line, teams simply pull 4 or 5 backcheckers and try to divert the oppositions attack to one side of the ice. The opposition is forced into turnovers, and has little choice but to put the puck into the corner. Once the puck is in the corner, the wider ice surface ensures that fewer scoring opportunities will ensure.


Now the North American rinks do not have that problem of wider ice surfaces making cycling an inferior weapon, so that alleviates some of that worry.

I just worry that coaches will be even more afraid to use the open ice, and will use 0-5 or 1-4 systems instead.

But I expect the good coaches will adapt, and that skill can prevail.

Hockey can't get any more boring and low-scoring, can it? I applaud Hockey Canada for this bold step.
Just of curiosity, how many games have you seen?

-----------------------------------------------------------

What´s wrong with trying new ideas?
You won´t know if it works until you have done it.
 

Golbez

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Kronblom said:
Just of curiosity, how many games have you seen?


I lost count years ago..
-----------------------------------------------------------

What´s wrong with trying new ideas?
You won´t know if it works until you have done it.

Nothing wrong with trying new ideas, but I tend to be conservative, and removing the red line is very drastic. I'd prefer if they called obstruction like they SHOULD be...if they did that, the game would open up well enough...we saw this with the NHL early 2 seasons ago. When the refs were calling obstruction, goal scoring went up...unfortunately, the refs refuse to call the game by the rule book, and drastic actions had to be taken.
 

Kronblom

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Golbez said:
Nothing wrong with trying new ideas, but I tend to be conservative, and removing the red line is very drastic. I'd prefer if they called obstruction like they SHOULD be...if they did that, the game would open up well enough...we saw this with the NHL early 2 seasons ago. When the refs were calling obstruction, goal scoring went up...unfortunately, the refs refuse to call the game by the rule book, and drastic actions had to be taken.
That´s a problem not only in North America, it certainly creates more entertaining hockey if the refs do that in the NHL and in Europe.

I was very much against to this idea with no redline offside before they introduced it 1998/99, I wouldn´t want to go back now. The whole idea was to generate more goals and remove the defensive tactics, you call it trap we call it 1-3-1.

Scoring in the SEL (per game):
1996-97 - 6,09
1997-98 - 5,61
1998-99 - 5,86
1999-00 - 6,00
2000-01 - 5,98
2001-02 - 5,76
2002-03 - 5,50
2003-04 - 5,37

A small setback the last two seasons but still higher scoring than the NHL have had in the last six years. And who said that the swedish league was low-scoring?
 

GKJ

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Feb 27, 2002
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If they took the red line out of the NHL, the coaches would just trap even more. In the playoffs you would rarely see defensemen even enter the offensive zone.
 

ttnorm

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This is a good idea and will not lead to more trapping. That doesn't happen anywhere it it currently used. Any team that retreats 4 guys to their own blue line is in big trouble. The way you beat any trap is by generating speed from the forwards and any tema that backs up that far is going to see forwards flying to either accept a pass or to beat the stationary D back into the corners.

Getting rid of the red line spreads the game out and puts a much greater emphasis on skating than trapping. Slow skaters, especially defensemen, would disappear quickly. This works great in the international and NCAA games and makes the sport more attractive.
 

An Ape called Yoko

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Golbez: You haven´t watched any SEL-games have you??

I see both NHL and SEL games. I can without doubt say that SEL games are more entertaining and more goals scored than NHL. One factor is red line thing which sucks MAJOR BOLLOCKS in NHL...
 

Kritty

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ttnorm said:
This is a good idea and will not lead to more trapping. That doesn't happen anywhere it it currently used. Any team that retreats 4 guys to their own blue line is in big trouble. The way you beat any trap is by generating speed from the forwards and any tema that backs up that far is going to see forwards flying to either accept a pass or to beat the stationary D back into the corners.

Getting rid of the red line spreads the game out and puts a much greater emphasis on skating than trapping. Slow skaters, especially defensemen, would disappear quickly. This works great in the international and NCAA games and makes the sport more attractive.

Do you actually watch NCAA and international games? Trapping happens all the time. I've seen it first hand. It is not as wide open as everyone seems to think. Does everyone already forget Canada almost losing to Germany at the Olympics all because of the trap? This is not a good rule, it will fail badly. The leagues will not open up, they will trap, count on it. I've seen it this past season.

And to Golbez, you think it's ok that minor hockey players don't know how to play in their own end? You don't mind having a kid that never goes past his own redline? What good does that do for the development of a player? Cherry-picking IS NOT a good thing for minor hockey. Once again, this will be an absolutely terrible ruling.
 

VOB

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Kritty said:
Do you actually watch NCAA and international games? Trapping happens all the time. I've seen it first hand. It is not as wide open as everyone seems to think. Does everyone already forget Canada almost losing to Germany at the Olympics all because of the trap? This is not a good rule, it will fail badly. The leagues will not open up, they will trap, count on it. I've seen it this past season.

And to Golbez, you think it's ok that minor hockey players don't know how to play in their own end? You don't mind having a kid that never goes past his own redline? What good does that do for the development of a player? Cherry-picking IS NOT a good thing for minor hockey. Once again, this will be an absolutely terrible ruling.


I agree completely! Did anyone here happen to watch the NCAA final???? If not then you missed a doosey! Two teams trapping to perfection!!

As another poster said, this will finally make people understand that removing the redline will not make an ounce of difference!
 

ttnorm

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I see 25 or so NCAA games live each year (I have season tix at Yale) as well as many NCAA and international games that my dish will allow. I was at the NCAA regionals in New Hampshire and at the Frozen Four.

By any standard, there is more scoring, more shots, and more skating when the red line is eliminated. One NCAA final game does nothing to change that.
 

BCCHL inactive

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So many misconceptions.

Most minor hockey in Canada has not used the centre line for offside passes for two years now. The only times the centre line was there during the last two years was for regional and national championships...and even those events voted to not use it this season. All Hockey Canada has done this week, is officially removed it from the rulebook because no leagues or associations used it anymore.

Removing the centre line has made little difference in the game. At first, there were more cherry pickers, and teams were hunting for the long pass. After a few games, teams simply went back to playing like they did with offside passes. Now they simply take the opportunity when it is there. In reality, the majority of long passes are caught within 2-3 feet of the centre line.

This change doesn't open up the goal scoring flood gates. The biggest change it has made is that there are less stoppages in play.
 

Riddarn

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Kronblom said:
Scoring in the SEL (per game):
1996-97 - 6,09
1997-98 - 5,61
1998-99 - 5,86
1999-00 - 6,00
2000-01 - 5,98
2001-02 - 5,76
2002-03 - 5,50
2003-04 - 5,37

A small setback the last two seasons but still higher scoring than the NHL have had in the last six years. And who said that the swedish league was low-scoring?

Thinking about that "extremely low scoring" thing, maybe Golbez is a QMJHL fan. Or something. Anyway, the dropoff in scoring in the SEL the last two years is interesting but I think the league has been increasingly competitive the same period of time. Maybe the drop in goals per game is due to more good teams (and of course, less bad ones). I expect Mora to fix this statistic next year ;)
 

ttnorm

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Van said:
So many misconceptions.

Most minor hockey in Canada has not used the centre line for offside passes for two years now. The only times the centre line was there during the last two years was for regional and national championships...and even those events voted to not use it this season. All Hockey Canada has done this week, is officially removed it from the rulebook because no leagues or associations used it anymore.

Removing the centre line has made little difference in the game. At first, there were more cherry pickers, and teams were hunting for the long pass. After a few games, teams simply went back to playing like they did with offside passes. Now they simply take the opportunity when it is there. In reality, the majority of long passes are caught within 2-3 feet of the centre line.

This change doesn't open up the goal scoring flood gates. The biggest change it has made is that there are less stoppages in play.
I agree with this analysis and I am a fan of removing the red line. Scoring won't explode but it will go up a bit. Cherry picking will barely increase. The more obvious change will be adding more flow and skating to the game. Team depth and overall skating will become more of a premium than it is now.
 

PMP5030

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Van said:
This change doesn't open up the goal scoring flood gates. The biggest change it has made is that there are less stoppages in play.

And less stoppages on its own is worth the change. It's incredibly annoying to hear
a whistle because a player receiving a pass is a foot over the red line. Scoring won't go suddenly through the roof, but every once in a while a team will get a great scoring chance that won't be stopped as it would have been before.
 
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