How to manage my 12 man rec hockey roster?

[hunterphfr 12]

How are you guys running the PK when one of your defensemen has to sit? Sending out 1D and dropping the center back? Or still rolling out 2D and sitting a forward? I've yet to come up with a good solution.

We tend to be flexible in this situation. It depends on what the lines are, how close the score is and who's been taking penalties Early in the game or in a close game, we'll usually roll 2 D and 2 forwards. More often than not it's our D who take the majority of our penalties. If our D is spending a lot of time in the box it can create 2 issues. If we have 4 D and they're drawing penalties fatigue becomes an issue for them and the other issue is forwards will become frustrated if they have to sit for penalties being repeatedly taken by the defense. In either of those situations we'll start dropping a forward back to cover for the 4th defenseman.

[akravetz 29]

Our team has 15 guys on the roster, and play three 23-minute periods with a running clock. We never have a full roster at any game but the first one so we average about 10 to 12 guys. For us, we tend to have two pairs of D and let the rest of the guys rotate in and out on offensive. Our least skilled guys tend to play wing. And what happens, at least for us, is people get tired and tend not to be jerks about playing time. We had a case over the summer on Defense where a guy was out there for five minutes and wouldn't sub but that is rare. Mostly, I find that if you just bring up, hey, I wanna play too. Guys are cool. Of course, I play defense so I tend to get in the game plenty.

Andy in Peoria.

[shotty 7]

i've been running a team and thus managing egos, i mean, managing rosters as well. i'm pretty organized in my business and personal life, so naturally i'm organized with this too, so i don't often get into a situation where i have an odd number of players, we all know there are 5 skaters on the ice, so my first question is 'why have a 12 man roster?' i always aim for 10 13 or 15 depending on what the numbers are looking like for attendance that game. my advice would be to save yourself from the stress and just shoot for 13 or 15 skaters at the beginning of the season, then make adjustments on a per game basis (bring in spares to get to your magic numbers).

alright so having an odd numbered bench is inevitable, chadd got it right. 3 sets of wingers and two centres. centremen need to be chosen wisely as they will be doing the most amount of skating per shift and also playing 1/2 the game. this system works for exactly the reason chadd stated: the wingers get routine and chemistry, they play on the PK and if you have good centreman playing, they will be in the zone and playing great (great players love playing lots). when you have a situation where you have 7 forwards, you may want to consider running 5 D.

[NOVECHKIN 3]

This year, we went with the 12 man roster because we were hoping for a 8 team league with 11 skaters per team. We ended up with 6 teams with 12 skaters . The extra guys were added to the rosters, rather than keep them on the waiting list . It seems our teams always lose a guy each week to family commitments, injuries, no-shows, etc.,.... We're trying to maintain a solid core of players, so we can keep our league going for a few extra years (if it comes down to that). As guys get older, its harder to keep them going!

[NOVECHKIN 3]

Well, it's taken four months for all 12 guys to show up at the same time. So this week, I had to manage a 12 man roster for our first playoff game. I went with 2 centers, 6 wingers, 4 defensemen. I told them what to expect in the dressing room beforehand as far as expectations, and called the wingers changes from the bench.The end result was a 4-2 victory and by far, our best game of the season!!....Like usual, the 12 man roster will only lasted one week, as i'm down 2 for the next game!!

[thejackal 46]

Well, it's taken four months for all 12 guys to show up at the same time. So this week, I had to manage a 12 man roster for our first playoff game. I went with 2 centers, 6 wingers, 4 defensemen. I told them what to expect in the dressing room beforehand as far as expectations, and called the wingers changes from the bench.The end result was a 4-2 victory and by far, our best game of the season!!....Like usual, the 12 man roster will only lasted one week, as i'm down 2 for the next game!!

dont fret too much. called to sub in a game and we were 6 skaters against a team of 10. somehow we ended up playing the most beautiful trap/counterattack game ever and tied them 2-2.

[NOVECHKIN 3]

The full 12 man roster showed up Sunday. 2 centers, 6 wingers, 4 defensemen and 1 goalie, like usual. I called the changes from the bench (like usual), to keep some order. Centers rested on the PK. Still had "that guy", whining about having to sit an extra 30 sec. Ended up winning 4-2 in our league semi. On to the final this weekend, with 11 guys. Over a season, I think the 2-6-4 split gives you the best chance to balance your roster and win. Thank you for the input this season everyone!! NOVI

[Chadd 916]

The full 12 man roster showed up Sunday. 2 centers, 6 wingers, 4 defensemen and 1 goalie, like usual. I called the changes from the bench (like usual), to keep some order. Centers rested on the PK. Still had "that guy", whining about having to sit an extra 30 sec. Ended up winning 4-2 in our league semi. On to the final this weekend, with 11 guys. Over a season, I think the 2-6-4 split gives you the best chance to balance your roster and win. Thank you for the input this season everyone!! NOVI

yep, you're always going to have that guy.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

You call line changes in a rec league?

[chippa13 1844]

We played against a team once that tried to match lines.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I've been on teams that go with one of two ways of handling lines:

a) They tell us our lines before the game starts and we try our best to maintain them for the game.

b) They tell us who we're paired with at a single position (eg "Chris and Derrick are RW") and you just swap with that guy without regard for who the other teammates on the ice are. If you have 3 lines then you just cycle through the three players at that position.

Personally I prefer option b for lower leagues, especially since at our level where the skill level is so low it really doesn't matter who you're on the ice with. I can imagine option a is a lot better suited for upper divisions where line chemistry is actually something that is important.

Either way, I can't say I've ever seen somebody call lines before. Even the team in our league that actually has a coach doesn't do it (why they have a coach, I have no idea).

[bwhockey17 12]

Our coaches tell us what our lines are (generally the same throughout the year) and also controls who plays when. It's select, so we also have PK/PP lines and guys who are on their game play more than others.

[NOVECHKIN 3]

My team has close to 400 years of hockey experience. If no one tells them, who they should play with, where they should play, and how long to be on for.......I end up with 4 wingers and 1 defence, or 3 centers and 2 wings, on at the same time, it turns into a total gong show. If I can run with 6 wingers, it easy to manage. On the bench, I call the changes for the wings only. Keeps everything in order. I find line matching is way to tuff to do (almost impossible) for rec hockey. Balanced line up, play hard, have fun!!! Let's go!!! .....One more game to find out!!!!

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Our coaches tell us what our lines are (generally the same throughout the year) and also controls who plays when. It's select, so we also have PK/PP lines and guys who are on their game play more than others.

From the sounds of it you're not talking about the same thing as the rest of us, which is rec/beer league.

My team has close to 400 years of hockey experience. If no one tells them, who they should play with, where they should play, and how long to be on for.......I end up with 4 wingers and 1 defence, or 3 centers and 2 wings, on at the same time, it turns into a total gong show. If I can run with 6 wingers, it easy to manage. On the bench, I call the changes for the wings only. Keeps everything in order. I find line matching is way to tuff to do (almost impossible) for rec hockey. Balanced line up, play hard, have fun!!! Let's go!!! .....One more game to find out!!!!

Well yea, they need to be told their positions. But I've never seen anyone call line changes before. I've never seen it be a problem on any team before, so I'm not sure why it is for you.

[chk hrd 164]

400 years, that would be 20 players with 20 years each. On our beer league team I'm the oldest with 30+ years, we have at best 15 total. Thats 26 years for every other player, most of them are barely that old.

[Chadd 916]

I've been on teams that go with one of two ways of handling lines:

a) They tell us our lines before the game starts and we try our best to maintain them for the game.

b) They tell us who we're paired with at a single position (eg "Chris and Derrick are RW") and you just swap with that guy without regard for who the other teammates on the ice are. If you have 3 lines then you just cycle through the three players at that position.

Personally I prefer option b for lower leagues, especially since at our level where the skill level is so low it really doesn't matter who you're on the ice with. I can imagine option a is a lot better suited for upper divisions where line chemistry is actually something that is important.

Either way, I can't say I've ever seen somebody call lines before. Even the team in our league that actually has a coach doesn't do it (why they have a coach, I have no idea).

Changing with your line/partner/etc... helps with those guys that would stay out for five minutes without a whistle.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Changing with your line/partner/etc... helps with those guys that would stay out for five minutes without a whistle.

That's the nice thing about option B. If you stay out for five minutes, the only person you're screwing over is the other person playing that position (who can then also take 5 minute shifts, or bitch at you, whichever they choose). It has no effect on the rest of the team.

[Chadd 916]

That's the nice thing about option B. If you stay out for five minutes, the only person you're screwing over is the other person playing that position (who can then also take 5 minute shifts, or bitch at you, whichever they choose). It has no effect on the rest of the team.

There is no nice part about a five minute shift. That's just being a lazy douche.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Yup exactly!

[Hockeydog 8]

I can't stand when the winger I follow stays out too long, then comes in and says. "sorry I was out too long", or something to that effect, then repeats over and over. Our captain stresses shorter shifts and for the most part the team I am on does a pretty good job. It does screw up everyone else playing the same side/position. Our team will roll 2 centers - 3 wing pairs and 2 sets of blueliners when we have 12 skaters, so the one winger that sometimes takes a long shift is making 2 others wait. But that guy at least busts his butt the entire time. I really hate the lazy ass that can take a 3 -4 min shift because he is coasting. I enjoy the game a lot more when I bust tail for 1 min or so and get off. Knowing I'll be back on right about when I catch my breath is perfect. The other thing our team is pretty good about is not bitching about ice time taken by a captain's decision to play his best 5 in critical late game situations. If we are tied, up by one, or down by one with under 2 min. to go and get a whistle, we'll get our best 5 out there and everyone else is okay with it. We all want to win and will gladly give up a shift to a better player to give us the best chance. That requires a bit of honesty on everyone's part about how good their own game is, and we don't have any disillusioned players. I have been on teams in the past where a player who is clearly not very good will complain or not give up his shift in that type of critical situation. I have been that not good player at times, and while I paid just like everyone else, I didn't want to blow it for the team. I wanted to give those who worked to get us close or up in the game a chance to enjoy a win. We don't get paid to play, and we don't act like jerks just to win, but winning is still nice, and the goal of playing a sport.