Hockey Canada New Head Contact Rule

[mdamson 0]

Hockey Canada has instituted a minimum double minor penalty for any head contact. This is their educational video:

My daughter's team experienced this last night. We are a USA Hockey team and were not fully aware of the new rule. Needless to say we were in for a lot of 5 on 3 hockey. Given the incidence of concussions, I think this is a good program and one that USA Hockey should adopt as well.

[twistoffate19 0]

I referee in the OMHA and Alliance Hockey, and I can say that this is the first big "rules alteration" that coaches are not giving us any grief over on the ice. The only part I'm not a fan of, as an official, is having to call 4 mins on someone if they toss a punch in say a post-whistle scrum. Granted, that punch has to hit the head, but I still believe that should just be roughing. I do like that a head check is no longer a 2 and 10. Putting a team down 4mins is (imo) a more effective method of punishment for a kid taking a head contact penalty.

So far from the games I've done, it's a welcome change that everyone is on board with....except for you know, Little Johnny's mom in the stands who feels the need to scream "HEAD SHOT!" whenever someone just grazes her superstar on the way by him.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

Hockey Canada has instituted a minimum double minor penalty for any head contact. This is their educational video:

My daughter's team experienced this last night. We are a USA Hockey team and were not fully aware of the new rule. Needless to say we were in for a lot of 5 on 3 hockey. Given the incidence of concussions, I think this is a good program and one that USA Hockey should adopt as well.

Just came back from playing the US NCAA school with our team and we are so used to playing with the rule now when they didnt call it the US ref's gave us grief. One was a total blindside hit from an Ontario player playing at Mercyhurst and she was bad up here and thinks I guess she cant take liberty's down there.

They really need this rule in the US!! Big time and NOW!Even more so in Girls Hockey!

[Jordan 13]

To be clear:

Incidental head contact: 2 minutes

Intentional contact: 4 minutes (ref can upgrade to 5 and a game depending upon how violent the hit is)

The idea and the intent is great. That said, the refs are having a very hard time calling it with any consistency. Some see intent every time there is the least bit of contact, some never see intent.

Many clean hits getting called as head contact.

It's a hard one, especially when tall hits small...the hit may be intentional, but some contact to the head may be impossible to avoid, and may be incidental. I am sure that it will get better as the season progresses, but my son's team has had several games ruined by excessive calls.

[oldtrainerguy28 478]

To be clear:

Incidental head contact: 2 minutes

Intentional contact: 4 minutes (ref can upgrade to 5 and a game depending upon how violent the hit is)

The idea and the intent is great. That said, the refs are having a very hard time calling it with any consistency. Some see intent every time there is the least bit of contact, some never see intent.

Many clean hits getting called as head contact.

It's a hard one, especially when tall hits small...the hit may be intentional, but some contact to the head may be impossble to avoid, and may be incidental. I am sure that it will get better as the season progresses, but my son's team has had several games ruined by excessive calls.

Jordan you are so very right. However so you know some refs havent had the actual meeting yet to fully explain and have just watched the video so it does leave it up to them. Atleast you dont have a daughter...they still cant call well because they cant keep up to the speed of the players.at the higher levels.

[Jason Harris 31]

It will be interesting to see how much this rule changes the game, because we currently see "face washes" ten times a game, but the video showed them as a four-minute minor. Overall, it should take a lot of the tension out of a game, although there are always those idiots who will slash a goalie, hoping the defenseman retaliates with a four-minute face wash.

Still, it definitely should help educate players they need to keep their contact below the shoulders.

[Powerfibers 8]

I think these rules are a good decision on their part.

The videos had me thinking that I am glad I am not a referee, I would have blown some of the calls. I kept thinking the non-examples were penalties. Those hits to the shoulder come awfully close to the head and it is hard to tell.

However, I am surprised they clearly showed player names during the violations.

[oldman 1]

The coaches have already started to take advantage of the rule to distort its true purpose. In Calgary some coaches in Peewee have started to tell their kids to get low so the defense have little option to hit a kid high when driving to the net. Saw a couple of examples of it last night in the game before my sons. I know one of the dads off of one of the other teams last night and they had a practice session where the forwards including his son were given "pointers" on the the new way to drive the net. He was not impressed.

[Apes44 7]

Its a great rule and long overdue in the US. The part i do disagree on is the post whistle face-wash and little scrums. Last gane i was by the net and there was some shoving like alway and i got bumped akwardly and i reached to grab a guy for balance and think i may have bumped someone in the head in the process...would/should that be 2 or 4 mins?

[oldman 1]

Its a great rule and long overdue in the US. The part i do disagree on is the post whistle face-wash and little scrums. Last gane i was by the net and there was some shoving like alway and i got bumped akwardly and i reached to grab a guy for balance and think i may have bumped someone in the head in the process...would/should that be 2 or 4 mins?

Would be 2 mins as you describe it but if the referee saw it as a deliberate strike to the head of the opposing player it would be minimum of 4 or possibly 5 and a game. Remember in a scrum hardly anything looks accidental.

[Jordan 13]

By the way, in the GTHL (the main minor hockey league in Toronto). If you get 5 and a game...it's also an automatic 3 game suspension...the first time. It escalates after that. Second suspension is 5 games, third is 10, fourth is the rest of the season.

[Chadd 916]

Its a great rule and long overdue in the US.

USAH has had a head contact rule for years, refs just choose not to call it. If the rule was changed to match this one, it would still be largely ignored.

[Apes44 7]

Would be 2 mins as you describe it but if the referee saw it as a deliberate strike to the head of the opposing player it would be minimum of 4 or possibly 5 and a game. Remember in a scrum hardly anything looks accidental.

i know what you mean...usually mine arent accidental but this one totally was, the other guy actually grabbed on to me cause he saw i was going over backwards and would have hit my head off crossbar pretty good and as i reached i bumped another guy with my arm.

And Chadd if its not enforced is it really a rule? I was more on the zero tolerance and incidental vs intentional penalties needs to happen and be enforced (even though i probably would have got at least two in my situation