Body Checking in the Women's Game

[Timothy A]

I think the ACTUAL result of the checking rule is that interference actually gets called in the women's game instead of like 5% of the time like in the NHL. The absolute worst thing to watch in hockey is a dump and chase where a pylon defender just squeezes and pins the forward into the boards.

I hate that situation as well, but I watched a 10 minute video from the NHL on what interference is and I came away thinking the play you described is actually legal. The best example in that video that made me think of that was at the end. Maybe I can find that and post a link.

 

[TitleIXHockey]

I hate that situation as well, but I watched a 10 minute video from the NHL on what interference is and I came away thinking the play you described is actually legal. The best example in that video that made me think of that was at the end. Maybe I can find that and post a link.

There's definitely a gray area where they'll allow it if it isn't "excessive". Unfortunately I've seen it a bit in the women's game as well.

 

[Scott_TG]

Following a season where 86% of surveyed players said they had a "very positive" or "positive" experience with the new checking rules, Sweden is not only extending the checking rules into 2023-24 for their top 2 pro leagues but will allow checking and have instruction on body checking at the junior league benefits.

According to the professor from Linne University who conducted the study on the effects of body checking in Swedesh pro women's hockey the benefits included better competition, more entertainment and less injuries. There is also belief the checking in the Swedesh pro leagues led to better peformance at the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championships as players from the two nations were better prepared for the physical style of the US and Canadian teams.

Checking will be allowed along the boards and open ice hits are allowed when traveling in the same direction, but it is a penalty to open ice hit when traveling opposite directions.

 

[vicb]

Following a season where 86% of surveyed players said they had a "very positive" or "positive" experience with the new checking rules, Sweden is not only extending the checking rules into 2023-24 for their top 2 pro leagues but will allow checking and have instruction on body checking at the junior league benefits.

According to the professor from Linne University who conducted the study on the effects of body checking in Swedesh pro women's hockey the benefits included better competition, more entertainment and less injuries. There is also belief the checking in the Swedesh pro leagues led to better peformance at the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championships as players from the two nations were better prepared for the physical style of the US and Canadian teams.

Checking will be allowed along the boards and open ice hits are allowed when traveling in the same direction, but it is a penalty to open ice hit when traveling opposite directions.

Better Competition: At the expense of more injuries IMHO.
More Entertainment: So we are now gonna watch the women's game turn into the men's game only now we will have 5' 7 to 5' 11" players going after 5'2" thru 5'4" players and vice versa. What I liked about the women's game was the lack of physicality especially along the boards. More entertainment my you know what. Now a team with not as much skill can out physical a team with better talent just like the mens game.
Less injuries: I do not buy that one at all.

 

[shelfit]

Better Competition: At the expense of more injuries IMHO.
More Entertainment: So we are now gonna watch the women's game turn into the men's game only now we will have 5' 7 to 5' 11" players going after 5'2" thru 5'4" players and vice versa. What I liked about the women's game was the lack of physicality especially along the boards. More entertainment my you know what. Now a team with not as much skill can out physical a team with better talent just like the mens game.
Less injuries: I do not buy that one at all.

THIS!!!!! I agree 100%. Body checking would ruin our game. When are people going to learn that women's hockey and men's hockey are two different sports, and that men's hockey is not the standard for the game for both genders. Women's hockey does not have to copy men's hockey to be legitimized. It is already a great game on its own just the way it is. It is already a very physical game and does not need body checking to be a "better" sport.

 

[Gargoyle]

They start checking, I quit watching.

 

[Lindsay]

Scott thanks for sharing. Quiet board in the summer, not many articles out there.

It’s an interesting issue, my general attitude is I don’t want hitting. Glad to see the Swedish league at least still doesn’t allow open ice hits where the players are going in different directions. Wish they’d extrapolate on how injuries were prevented…

I don’t quite understand why they need to add hitting to compete with Canada and US? Those NA women don’t grow up hitting… makes me wonder if something is being lost in semantics or a different style of game.

At the same time…the North American / IIHF reffed games have some issues. One of the most dangerous plays I recall from recent worlds was I think Maltais bodychecking an American around the goal line, may have been Winn? No penalty, the American was very shaken up but thankfully not hurt. At the same time the players who were respecting the no hitting rule and trying to stick check (as is done in both men’s and women’s hockey) seemingly too often got their sticks caught up in someone’s skates and took penalties. Perhaps that’s just the way the women’s game is but I can apprecite the constant struggle and yearning for finding the fine line of appropriate body contact that doesn’t result in brain damage.

There was a former old NHL’er who was just post humously diagnosed with CTE. Lots of variables (fewer helmets, more fighting in the old game) but I was surprised to hear that, given the old men’s game was noticeably slower. Thought it was a skill guy, not a fighter, and he still had it. Clearly our bodies are not built to have our brains rattled. To me, the women’s game should really proceed with caution. Maybe those annoying tripping penalties are worth what they prevent.

 

[Scott_TG]

I would really like the perspective of a player from the 2022-23 SDHL who came from an NCAA program, just to hear from someone who has played both styles.


I don't think the US and Canadian federations buy in on checking unless it's allowed at international tournaments over their objections or one of Sweden or Finland pull off the upset at a major tourney through physical play while still under current rules.

I think the day Sweden or Finland wins gold due to this would be the day we see checking seriously considered in North America.

 

[Steamboat]

THIS!!!!! I agree 100%. Body checking would ruin our game. When are people going to learn that women's hockey and men's hockey are two different sports, and that men's hockey is not the standard for the game for both genders. Women's hockey does not have to copy men's hockey to be legitimized. It is already a great game on its own just the way it is. It is already a very physical game and does not need body checking to be a "better" sport.

Totally agree! Has anyone watched the movie Slapshot with Paul Newman lately? Very dated. A glorification of gooning hockey. Who is entertained by gooning tactics? Not me. I quit attending the mens collegiate games because the fans were such jerks. The women's game is a much purer form of hockey. I remember when the Russian national team played the North Stars at the old Met Center. The Russians could skate! The North Stars tried slowing them down with the typical NFL gooning tactics, but after several power play goals they realized they had to try skating with them. Every time the Russians got the puck, the audience would hold their collective breath, while the Russians skated towards the opposing goal. It was a slaughter for the visitors, and a good illustration of what real hockey could be.
What game do we wish to see? What type of game do we want our young women to play? As a kid, I realized early on that it is hard to fight when you are slipping on ice. Let's reward the skaters, not the wrestlers.

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

I think it would cause too many injuries in women's hockey. Men's physique with musculature and bone structure are much more suited to take hits and they still get hurt.
We already have enough "incidental" contact and dirty hits.

 

[Reddington]

I can remember Canada putting all sorts of money into figuring out how to keep girls longer in hockey and checking was definitely not one of them. Just sayin.

 

[Timothy A]

They start checking, I quit watching.

There's a certain beauty of the game without checking. It's more free-flowing and skill orientated. If the ladies start hitting, it changes the game. I'd be much less inclined to watch. I just hate when a men's player gets knocked out of a game or misses multiple games due to the result of a hit. How is people getting hit and injured good for the game?

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Totally agree! Has anyone watched the movie Slapshot with Paul Newman lately? Very dated. A glorification of gooning hockey.

You totally missed the point of Slapshot. Hint, it was the exact opposite.

Read up on the history of the making of that movie and why the author (a woman by the way) wrote the script she did.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

There was a former old NHL’er who was just post humously diagnosed with CTE. Lots of variables (fewer helmets, more fighting in the old game) but I was surprised to hear that, given the old men’s game was noticeably slower. Thought it was a skill guy, not a fighter, and he still had it. Clearly our bodies are not built to have our brains rattled. To me, the women’s game should really proceed with caution. Maybe those annoying tripping penalties are worth what they prevent.

It was Henri Richard. Most definitely a skill player.

One of the things about CTE that people are constantly getting wrong is the belief that it is the result of big hits. Not necessarily true. It is more the result of constant hits, and they can be all small hits.

This is why linesman in football have the highest rate of CTE. They are constantly getting their heads "tapped" (note, I didn't use the word "hit" on purpose) around on every play when they are blocking or trying to get through a block.

The skill positions may receive harder hits, especially receivers or quarterbacks when they are on the receiving end of a hard open field tackle. But, they don't happen every play. Even the receivers who do block on running plays, aren't blocking like linesmen are.

The theory -- and I hope I explan this correctly -- is everytime the head gets bounced around, the brain needs to repair itself. It doesn't matter how hard the hits are, just that the hit requires a repair. It's these constant repairs, causing "lesions," which results in CTE. (And genetics can apparently play a part, too.)

Based on this, it's no surprise the fighters in hockey are getting CTE. But, perhaps some of these skill players played the type of game which constantly put them in the way of checks -- like trying to gain position in front of the net. Again, it doesn't matter how hard these checks are, only that they are plentiful.

This is also why when people talk about helmets, it may not matter much. A helmet protects a shock from getting to your skull (think crash helmet in racing) and the subsequent damage that shock can do to the brain, but it does nothing when your head is jostled around causing the brain (which sits in a jelly like substance in your head) from sloshing around. And, that's what causes the damage leading to CTE. Helmets don't necessarily stop that.

If I got any of this wrong, please correct me.

 

[Lindsay]

It was Henri Richard. Most definitely a skill player.

One of the things about CTE that people are constantly getting wrong is the belief that it is the result of big hits. Not necessarily true. It is more the result of constant hits, and they can be all small hits.

This is why linesman in football have the highest rate of CTE. They are constantly getting their heads "tapped" (note, I didn't use the word "hit" on purpose) around on every play when they are blocking or trying to get through a block.

The skill positions may receive harder hits, especially receivers or quarterbacks when they are on the receiving end of a hard open field tackle. But, they don't happen every play. Even the receivers who do block on running plays, aren't blocking like linesmen are.

The theory -- and I hope I explan this correctly -- is everytime the head gets bounced around, the brain needs to repair itself. It doesn't matter how hard the hits are, just that the hit requires a repair. It's these constant repairs, causing "lesions," which results in CTE. (And genetics can apparently play a part, too.)

Based on this, it's no surprise the fighters in hockey are getting CTE. But, perhaps some of these skill players played the type of game which constantly put them in the way of checks -- like trying to gain position in front of the net. Again, it doesn't matter how hard these checks are, only that they are plentiful.

This is also why when people talk about helmets, it may not matter much. A helmet protects a shock from getting to your skull (think crash helmet in racing) and the subsequent damage that shock can do to the brain, but it does nothing when your head is jostled around causing the brain (which sits in a jelly like substance in your head) from sloshing around. And, that's what causes the damage leading to CTE. Helmets don't necessarily stop that.

If I got any of this wrong, please correct me.

This was so informative but incredibly depressing to read. :-( Thank you on the name…I didn’t want to guess and get it wrong.

 

[ARM]

A helmet protects a shock from getting to your skull (think crash helmet in racing) and the subsequent damage that shock can do to the brain, but it does nothing when your head is jostled around causing the brain (which sits in a jelly like substance in your head) from sloshing around. And, that's what causes the damage leading to CTE. Helmets don't necessarily stop that.

I've wondered if that contributes to the higher rate of concussions in women's hockey. I would think that the weight of the helmet might even make the "sloshing" a bit worse. Data seems to indicate that an average human head weighs about 11 pounds. To keep the numbers easy, let's say that the average female hockey player's head only weighs 10 lbs. Helmets look to weigh about two pounds on the low end. While a female hockey player likely has stronger neck muscles than a similarly-aged woman who is not athletic, their necks typically don't rival those of football linemen. I wonder if that 20 percent more head weight due to the helmet can at times contribute to a greater whiplash effect and more brain trauma.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Speaking of CTE and women, here is the first case of CTE diagnosed in a female contact athlete:

https://www.espn.com/afl/story/_/id/37956773/aflw-player-heather-anderson-first-woman-diagnosed-cte

 

[Blackbeard]

I remember reading an article decades ago that cited Muhammad Ali's deteriorating condition in which one particular point stood out to me.

It was that when a blow to the head occurs the brain suffers trauma/injury at that point of contact but that in addition to that, inertia of a body in motion (once in motion) being what it is, the brain then bounces off the opposite side of the skull thereby doubling the number of locations at which the trauma/injury is being experienced. In other words two injuries for the price of one.