Nuanced things that bother you as a player

[tarheelhockey]

When i grab the puck around the defensive blueline and the cross ice winger isn't just flying up ice.

On a similar note, in a situation like that when the winger skates straight up the boards on the other side of the ice rather than angling in toward center. Basically asking me to fling a 50-foot pass and hit him in the tape, when it could just as easily be a 25-foot pass right up the middle.

 

[Outl4w]

Defenders that cross check you over and over in front of the net but lose their mind when you give it back to them. Also players in general that like to play physical, but cannot take it when the opposing player gives them the body back.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Defenders that cross check you over and over in front of the net but lose their mind when you give it back to them. Also players in general that like to play physical, but cannot take it when the opposing player gives them the body back.

Goalies that like taking swipes at players or give blocker punches to the back of your neck are even worse than the dmen. Goalies know they're untouchable and some of them are dirty af. They're like girls on the playground hitting a boy because the boy's told he can't defend himself.

 

[Outl4w]

I agree with you on that.

 

[Mattb124]

As a D man, I hate it when the other team recovers the puck in the D zone and advances it and our F’s wait 2-3 seconds before they back check. As though they are waiting for the puck genie to somehow give them possession again.

 

[Devil Dancer]

Any shift longer than 90 seconds.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Any shift longer than 90 seconds.

This. Always this.

 

[sasha barkov]

As I've gotten older, I really don't like being continuously cross checked in the back in front of the opposing goalie. Don't mind being pushed or tied up, but just repeatedly getting sticked in the back sucks.

Ref allowing opposing center to either come too far in or sit too far out of the faceoff circle. It makes my own attempts at cheating less effective.

As I got older and made my way into juniors, a lot of people will slew foot the defensemen when tying up

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Played Stick and Puck last night with a new group, not one person cycled or played positions properly.

Might be nitpicking, but what a terrible on-ice experience. I'm trying to do a give and go in the neutral zone and the forward just stops skating.

 

[GrumpyKoala]

Goalie here, I have many

D men that think passing a puck trough the crease is a good idea.

D men not concious of the angle of theirs blade in the slot.

D men thinking they can make that blocker save.

D men thinking I can definitely stop that shot with my stick.

D men that think my f****** water bottle is an all you can drink buffet.... fu.... gin expensive ya know

 

[tarheelhockey]

D men that think my f****** water bottle is an all you can drink buffet.... fu.... gin expensive ya know

Hang on... someone drinks out of your water bottle!?

 

[greyraven8]

As a goalie, that one defenceman who should have a wide load sign on his ass backing up all the way into the crease.

As a player, that one player who dipsy doodles before crossing the opposing blue line usually putting a forward or two way offside.

I'm as guilty as anyone, but even in pickup there is a time you have to ice the puck (play trapped in your zone forever and you're down a touchdown and a field goal). Short or low percentage passes or trying to carry it out especially when you're tired often doesn't end well.

 

[dr robbie]

A lot of good ones already in this thread.

-Forwards not playing a lick of defense is probably my biggest gripe. Yes, you missed your shot - it sucks. Leaving the rest of a team to deal with a 5 on 4 for 30 seconds isn't proving any type of point. Get back and help.

-Intentionally trying to hurt other players. We'll all in our 30s and 40s (or older) playing in some low-tier beer league. We've long waved goodbye to any sort of career in this. You hacking at my wrist when the ref turns away or making sure to hit my face with a high follow through of a shot is garbage.

 

[tarheelhockey]

As a player, that one player who dipsy doodles before crossing the opposing blue line usually putting a forward or two way offside.

Oh my gosh yes. And worst of all when that same guy gets mad at his linemates for going offside. Like they're supposed to read his ****ing mind.

 

[abo9]

Goalie: these are for lower level leagues and doesn't actually drives me nuts... it just breaks my will to play:

1- Players circling around the zone trying to set up the "perfect shot". Like, they'll even be alone in the crease and wait a solid 3-5 seconds before making... A PASS which of course whiffs and doesnt even need to be stopped.

Listen, I'm obviously here to move, but also to stop pucks and have fun breaking your spirit because you can't score after 50 shots. Being in position, using my legs to go up-down and shuffling around the crease for 50 mins while getting 3 shots on nets is annoying.


2- No pressure on a shooter - playing with no urgency

In the same vein as 1)... I understand that we play for fun, but leaving one guy standing woth an open lane to shoot, taking his sweet time, then he decides he can't score so goes forward for a deke. Once again, super slow and just wait, wait wait. Someone get even partially in his way!!!

3- if you're a grown ass person, learn to shoot straight shots!!!

Sometimes a skate can be fun for a goalie even if the players suck (at skating), because they'll possess strong shots. But, if I cant feel the puck when it hits my pads... ugh.


I wish I could offer more nuanced takes, but I've recently been trying to find a place to play after moving, the points above are really killing my fun as a goalie. maybe im too critical though lol

 

[tarheelhockey]

Goalie: these are for lower level leagues and doesn't actually drives me nuts... it just breaks my will to play:

1- Players circling around the zone trying to set up the "perfect shot". Like, they'll even be alone in the crease and wait a solid 3-5 seconds before making... A PASS which of course whiffs and doesnt even need to be stopped.

Listen, I'm obviously here to move, but also to stop pucks and have fun breaking your spirit because you can't score after 50 shots. Being in position, using my legs to go up-down and shuffling around the crease for 50 mins while getting 3 shots on nets is annoying.


2- No pressure on a shooter - playing with no urgency

In the same vein as 1)... I understand that we play for fun, but leaving one guy standing woth an open lane to shoot, taking his sweet time, then he decides he can't score so goes forward for a deke. Once again, super slow and just wait, wait wait. Someone get even partially in his way!!!

3- if you're a grown ass person, learn to shoot straight shots!!!

Sometimes a skate can be fun for a goalie even if the players suck (at skating), because they'll possess strong shots. But, if I cant feel the puck when it hits my pads... ugh.


I wish I could offer more nuanced takes, but I've recently been trying to find a place to play after moving, the points above are really killing my fun as a goalie. maybe im too critical though lol

That's a really interesting perspective. I've never thought about point #1 before, how boring it can be for a goalie in a slow-mo league where the shots aren't coming regularly.

#2, I think a lot of lower level players come into the game later in life so they don't receive organized coaching for any sustained amount of time, so they tend to be "spectators" when a scoring chance develops. Sometimes I'll find myself waiting to see how a play pans out before deciding what to do next, and hockey just moves too fast for that. Early training and coaching seems to make a very noticeable difference in terms of pro-actively engaging with the play at all times.

 

[Yukon Joe]

#2, I think a lot of lower level players come into the game later in life so they don't receive organized coaching for any sustained amount of time, so they tend to be "spectators" when a scoring chance develops. Sometimes I'll find myself waiting to see how a play pans out before deciding what to do next, and hockey just moves too fast for that. Early training and coaching seems to make a very noticeable difference in terms of pro-actively engaging with the play at all times.

I think I've said this before, but I've assistant coached my kids for several years, and still do my U11 (Atom) kid. Now I came to hockey as an adult, so as an assistant coach I mostly just move pucks around / keep the kids in line while someone with real hockey and coaching experience runs the drills.

But I have learned so much about just really basic hockey tactics just from being out on the ice when the head coach is doing just basic breakout or shooting drills. I would never have known most of that stuff if I had just gone right from my adult learn to play program right into games.

 

[PK Cronin]

I could fill up the whole thread I think, but one thing that frustrates me is really fast defensemen who are able to generate a lot of speed and go around guys, only to carry it into the offensive corner and take a shot from near the goal line on a 3 on 2 instead of hitting the trailer for a shot from a prime scoring area.

They just think, I'm fast, I'll beat everyone and end up doing nothing but turning it over.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

If you have good vision you know where everyone is on the ice. If you’re giving drop passes that get intercepted than you don’t know where the other teams players are, so you shouldn’t be making a blind pass.

If you're going to say the guy making the pass is the real issue due to their lack of awareness and vision, how do you ignore the lack of awareness and vision from the guy beaver tailing and calling for the ill-advised pass to notice that he's covered.

One guy's carrying the puck, and needs to focus on defenders and teammates, the other can't even figure out if he's open or not for a pass. I know whose ability I'm critical of in this.

 

[PavelBure10]

I just hated the players on your team that had severe tunnel vision. Instead of making the simple plays, they would try to deke through the entire team and get checked, or take low quality shots when players are wide open. I don't care if these players are on my team, I'd cheer when they get checked by the opponent.

 

[ChuckLefley]

If you're going to say the guy making the pass is the real issue due to their lack of awareness and vision, how do you ignore the lack of awareness and vision from the guy beaver tailing and calling for the ill-advised pass to notice that he's covered.

One guy's carrying the puck, and needs to focus on defenders and teammates, the other can't even figure out if he's open or not for a pass. I know whose ability I'm critical of in this.

Did you really just reply to a post from over a year ago with something that’s already been covered?

Wow.

 

[AceKing21]

As a goalie I can't stand the following:

Defensemen that pass across the front of the crease
Players that have zero awareness of opposing players cutting to the middle of the ice
Players that get the puck/ball from behind the net and try to 1 v 1 rush up the middle

 

[Brodeur]

In beer league/rec league, goalie teammates who handle the puck drive me crazy. As a D, just stop the puck and leave it alone so I can pick it up in stride. You are not Martin Brodeur, you got no business trying to handle the puck and make plays. All your going to do is make a mistake the D will have to clean up.

As a beer league goalie, I usually am pretty conservative with playing the puck for the reasons you mentioned. But one season I had a buddy as a teammate who wasn't fleet of foot. The better forwards could chip it by him in the neutral zone and get a breakaway. He kept yelling at me to come out and play the puck, but I kept telling him that I wasn't going to beat the forward to the top of the circles.

One game I went against better judgement and decided to try. Unsurprisingly didn't get to the puck in time and the forward got an easy empty netter. Proved a point to my D but also broke a goal stick out of frustration.

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I play in a fairly low level league, so I shouldn't criticize too much. But watching how everybody approaches an offensive zone draw is equally hilarious and sad. The wingers always act as though the faceoff is solely the center's responsibility. I've seen the center get tied up and the puck is sitting in the faceoff dot, and the winger will stare at the center and call for the puck.

And in the case that the center does win it in the winger's direction, they are programmed to immediately shoot (from a bad angle with a bunch of bodies in the way) instead of passing it to the open D.

 

[Moose Head]

Players who carry their stick high are my biggest pet peeve. I’ve knocked the stick out of many hands because those guys piss me off.

 

[Golden_Jet]

One or 2 teams in our beer league, their centres slash down hard on your stick on a face off. Ie not going for puck initially.

Had to stop using a $300 stick against those teams. I realize face offs can be hard on sticks, but those 2 teams are bad.