Kris Versteeg: SHL is like rugby

[Eye of Ra]

"- I had a great time in Sweden, but hockey is like rugby on ice. It's not hockey, says Versteeg.
- I remember telling other North Americans that I could just as easily have played rugby. It was so f***ing brutal, they do not blow for anything. The hooks, the holds ... The referee level is so bad."


Ex-stjärnan sågar SHL: "Som rugby på is" - Hockeysverige

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[mattihp]

Nice follow up to this article when the referees started to blow (the whistle more). Now it is floorball according to other players!

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Nice follow up to this article when the referees started to blow (the whistle more). Now it is floorball according to other players!

When watching IKO - Luleå last Saturday, I was thinking about this interview and what Versteeg said about the obstructions in the league. Luleå spent half the first period killing off slashing penalties, and really borderline ones at that imo. It was annoying while watching the game, but the players interviewed in the break seemed to rather blame themselves for lack of discipline, since they’ve known about the crackdown on slashes and had the preseason to prepare and getting used to it.

It feels like scoring is way up early in this season, might that have to do with all this? Are we experiencing SHL’s version of the 05-06 season uptick in obstruction calls, powerplays and scoring?