Six-time Stanley Cup champion and former St. Albert Saint Mark Messier is widely regarded as one of the National Hockey League’s all-time greats. He’s second on the all-time career lists for regular season points and playoff points.
He’s also on almost everyone’s lists of all-time cheap-shot artist. Google “Mark Messier head shots” and you’ll see just a few of his greatest hits.
As hockey struggles with the growing problem of concussions resulting from head shots, Messier’s NHL performance stands out as one of the worst examples for minor hockey kids. There are a couple of generations of hockey players who grew up thinking elbows and sticks to the head were an acceptable part of the game.
We bring this up because minor hockey season is underway once again in St. Albert and new rules designed to try to get head shots out of hockey are in place and causing problems for referees.
The problem isn’t so much in calling the new rules; it’s that the parents haven’t clued in. Young referees have enough problems with parents and coaches screaming at them for calls they may have missed or made incorrectly; now they’re hearing the obnoxious yelling after making the right calls on hits to the head.
This is an issue that has been at the forefront of hockey news all summer. It’s been a major issue since Sidney Crosby’s career was put in doubt by two cheap shots back in January — shots that would have made Messier proud in his playing days and hits that have no place in hockey.
While the NHL and, shockingly, the NHL Players’ Association continue to come up with ridiculous excuses on why they can’t ban hits to the head outright, thankfully Hockey Canada has stepped up to show leadership on the issue.
The rules could not be any clearer: in minor hockey and female hockey, a minor penalty is to be issued for any accidental contact to the head, face or neck with a stick or any part of a player’s body or equipment.
If the contact is intentional, the penalty is a double minor or, depending on the severity of the hit, a major and a game misconduct. If the player is injured, it’s an automatic major and game misconduct.
Dave Bell, president of St. Albert Minor Hockey, notes that the ever-popular facewash, being intentional, is an automatic double minor penalty. The players, he says, are figuring out the new rules. One or two trips to the penalty box is usually enough. And the coaches have all watched the Hockey Canada video, so they know what’s going on. But the parents haven’t yet figured it out.
Bell points to the facewash as a good example and when the new rules are pointed out to parents, “the light goes on … it’s one of those defining moments.”
Referees have been instructed to call every contact. So stop with the screaming. Be thankful the young referees are making the calls. It may be the only way to get head shots out of the game. And make no mistake about it, there is absolutely no place in hockey for head hunters.
It’s not surprising there are still some Neanderthals who suggest this rule would harm the game by reducing physical play. There will always be a faction that thinks there’s a place in hockey for the goons. Fortunately, there’s another growing faction that would prefer to see the skill players dominate the game.
That’s crucial because minor hockey registration numbers have declined in recent years and Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson says it’s partly because parents are concerned about their kids’ safety on the ice.
Parents should be concerned. They should also be aware of the new rules and be encouraging their sons and daughters to pay attention and follow those rules. It’s for their own safety and for the future benefit of all players.
