Hurling insults reaches a point where two sticks slide off to the side while an echo of a thud from gloves smacking the ice captivates the audience at an ice rink; a left hook soars directly into the jaw of a different player with blood dripping onto the ice as he tries to grab a hold of the other’s collar for stability. Throwing punches left and right until the fight comes to a close with the players heading to the penalty box. One player one suffers a broken nose and the other missing teeth. As hockey continues to evolve in popularity either in participation or spectating, a common theme known to all includes fighting. Fighting in hockey has become a strategy within the game, but provides complications later in life. Rule 56 allows fighting Some coaches exercise a specific tactic in their rotation with the belief of coming out on top--stage fighting. This concept appears the majority of the time in minor hockey leagues such as the United States Hockey League in the Midwest, yet the NHL can also see this trend occur. A coach will inform a player of his time has come to fight and will assign him a particular player on the other team who he will face up against. An individual may feel anxiety, discomfort, and lose sleep over the matter because of the meaning behind it. Other hockey players hold a different view about stage fighting. Noah Prokop, a member of the Green Bay Gamblers, recently notified me in an interview his thoughts on the matter. He explained, “If my coach told me [to fight], I would feel as if it was anything else he told me to do” meaning Prokop accepts the instructions to fight on the same level as drills in practice and a game. In addition, brawls help energize the teammates on the bench and the fans in attendance. An attempt to battle can signify a change in momentum within in a particular game. “If a team is not playing well or is down in a game, it can be used to have a team regroup and/or get excited about something; a change in attitude” (Prokop). However, a few NHL players even seek out opportunities to dual against an opponent for pure enjoyment. Connor McDavid jumps at every chance to fight in hockey where he leaves everything out on the ice. Resulting in numerous injuries, McDavid allows his emotions to control his behavior by taking advantage of the violence of the sport. Nevertheless, according to Tyler Spott, a Green Bay Gamblers, informed me in a recent interview that, “Sometimes coaches tell you not to fight so you don’t give the momentum to the other team.” The principles of hockey encourage a violent nature to the sport that coaches understand. No
To understand this phenomenon we must go back to March 13, 1955. On this date, the Montreal Canadians were playing a game in Boston against the Bruins. One of the opposing players, Hal Laycoe, high-sticked Maurice Richard, injuring him to the point of requiring eight stitches on his scalp. Richard retaliated by smashing his own stick over Laycoe's head and shoulders and slashed him with another player's stick until it splintered. Becoming annoyed with the official's interference in the fight, Richard then turned and punched him. Since hitting an official was the least honorable thing to do, Richard was expelled from the game (2000).
In “Its Time to Think About Visors,” Dryden exposes the fact that the stereotypes of risk in sport have pushed athletes to continue to compromise safety even with advancements in equipment worn. Dryden first explores this while talking about players from the minor leagues who have worn visors for all of their lives reaching the NHL and then stopping, stating, “Then most decide to play as they had never had before, with no facial protection at all.” This shows that even with athletes that have had this safety all of their lives they decide to stop when they reach the NHL because they see the stereotype created by the fans watching that push these players to risk their safety in order to bring a new excitement to the game. Even though the new rookies have been protected by visors the amount of influence of the huge fans of hockey pressure into danger that before they were safe from. In addition to this Dryden adds how there is appeal towards the dangers of life expressing, “People are attracted to risk. Near misses are thrilling.” This demonstrates that audiences don’t want to see players seriously injured but instead the close calls that come with sport and the smaller injuries that some equipment has gotten rid
face. Playing contact hockey can result in bruises, broken bones and concussions, which makes it
As long as there have been sports, there has been violence in them. Ice hockey, particularly due to its increasing popularity as a professional sport, has brought up several ethical issues regarding the act of fighting in hockey. There are strong arguments for both sides of this present problem in the world of hockey. Numerous male athletes, including children as young as nine years of age, have suffered injuries as an outcome of fighting and it should be considered if it should be part of a sport that very young people grow up with (Brust, Leonard, Pheley & Roberts, 1992).On the other hand, fights create excitement and the sport of hockey might grow in terms of popularity, making the problem of fighting in hockey complex and difficult to resolve (“Towards An Explanation Of Hockey Violence: A Reference Other Approach”). Even though hockey is known to be a very aggressive and fast-paced sport, the unsportsman-like action of fighting in hockey cannot longer be tolerated.
SOI-The purpose of this creative piece of writing is an entry from one of our hockey games from tournament. I have tried to use a connection to compare battle or war to hockey, to make the story become more brutal and realistic. I have written in first person to show that it is in my perspective and what I recollect from the game.
The NHL needs fighting to keep the game safe. It is like an oxymoron and here’s
Millions of people are registered throughout North America for participation in Canada’s national sport and pastime, ice hockey. Most young hockey players have the dream of making it to the National Hockey League (NHL). Because of this incentive to keep striving towards their ultimate goal in their hockey career, they idolize the players in the NHL. Therefore, youth players may obtain certain habits from the elite, whether those habits are good or bad. Some cases are of bad influences, such as young players obtaining the dirty playing habits of the professionals. The primary action that influences the youthful population is body checking. With the thought of losing a game, it is no wonder why players have the urge to play rough and potentially hurt the opposing team in order to be victorious. For that reason, hockey is a strong collision sport that requires great skill and motivation. Although body checking is believed to be a useful tool in the winning of hockey games, it can be the cause that leads to injury among players. Because of the rougher play, lasting brain injuries are becoming a worry and too many players are exposed to the lasting effects of the head injury. According to Michael Cusimano July 22, 2003 the article entitled “Body Checking and Concussions” states, “With the rising incidence of traumatic brain injury in hockey, too many players are exposed to the lasting effects of such injuries, some of which are not fully realized until the brain completes its maturation.” For this reason, new equipment and regulations need to be devised for use in the near future.
It’s Saturday Night, the crowd gone wild with an epic hit on the opposing team. The occasional drunk sitting next to you, as your kids enjoy delicious Dipping Dots. Right as the momentum is swinging towards the home team, a penalty is called. A powerplay opportunity is awarded to the defending team. With the home team fighting with all their might to defend from a goal, down 4 on 5, they run around like chickens with their heads chopped off, trying to get the puck out of their zone. Then when everything seems to simmer down, a fight breaks between the bulkiest guys on each team, punches being thrown, blood spattering across the ice. In hockey today, there are two main leagues in the United states: the NHL, and USA Hockey. Just like in any game, there are basic rules that must be followed. In these two leagues there are similarities and differences in basic “golden” rules, benefits from playing, and the official’s code of conduct.
In 1994, the Canadian Federal government compromised and voted to make hockey Canada’s National Winter Sport and lacrosse Canada’s National Summer Sport. Which Sport should be named Canada’s true national sport? Hockey is in the blood of all Canadians. Millions can vividly remember the first time they put on a pair of skates and stepped onto the ice. Providing nation-wide entertainment, Canadians are overcome by emotional realization that “Canada is hockey.”- Mike Weir. Generations of Canadians were brought up listening to Hockey Night in Canada every Saturday evening on the radio. It is more than just a sport in Canada, it defines the culture. Look no further than the five-dollar bill. One will observe a group of children playing a game of hockey on a frozen pond. The sport is part of Canada’s national identity.
Sink M. (2002, January 31). HOCKEY; Youth Game Postponed After Fight by Parents. Retrieved November 1, 2010, from New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/01/sports/hockey-youth-game-postponed-after-fight-by-parents.html
Men also had greater magnitudes of contact compared to their female counterparts. Unfortunately most injuries in ice hockey are from blunt force or direct contact. Concussions are the most common injury in men’s and women’s collegiate hockey. Interestingly enough is that women’s hockey showed a higher rate of concussions than men’s hockey. The study pointed out various options for head-impact mechanisms in ice hockey. The playing area is solid ice and the boards surrounding the area consist of rigid boards. Pucks, when shot, can go over the speed of 80mph. Players can possibly exceed speeds of 30mph. Lastly, because ice hockey is a full contact sport, players are purposefully trying to collide with one another. All of these issues are reasonable mechanisms of head-injuries. This article also references another article which classifies concussion mechanisms in ice hockey into seven categories. These seven categories are: contact with another player, contact with the ice, contact with the boards or glass, contact with a stick, contact with the puck, contact with the goal, and no apparent contact. In this article's study about half of recorded
In October of 2015, a young man named Kenny Bui was killed as a result of a tackle playing football (BBC news, 2015). This tragedy is not an uncommon event in contact sport and it is ignorant to think that it is simply a fluke. This man as well as three other young men are only a few to have lost their lives from a severe concussion in American football (BBC news, 2015).The fatal consequences of playing a simple game are present in all contact sports. Particularly hockey and football which has been the focus of my research. These two sports embody a culture that is unique to hockey and football but similar to a warrior/military culture (R. Graham, F. Rivara, M. Ford, & C. Spicer, 2014, pg. 3). This is a culture which many athletes, students,
pucks, the rock hard ice floor and of Course the aggressive players. The helmet is the
My whole life I have played a sport. Whether that be soccer, or lacrosse, or field hockey. Playing a sport and being a part of a team was something I always knew how to do. I always knew how to play the sport as a team and not score on your own. My lacrosse team consisted of about 18-19 girls: 6 offenders, 6 defenders, 2 goalies, and the rest were mid-fielders. My favorite position was mid-fielder, I always enjoyed playing all the part that consisted of being on the team. I loved playing both defense and offense, I liked assisting with goals and I also loved stopping goals. My travel team taught me things that I did not learn anywhere else, my team taught me the true importance of teamwork, how to be a leader, or how winning is not always the most important thing.
Youth Hockey Growth in the United States is the main focus of this research. The sport of hockey has been around for nearly 200 years. The game was produced from a form of stick and ball games started by immigrants. These immigrants were British soldiers who brought their type of hockey to Canada. Paintings from the 1830’s depict the sport of ice-hockey taking off in Canada.(Garth, Vaughan) As the sport grew so did the age groups in which it was played. Many sports start their growth from the elders down to the youth. The same can be said for ice-hockey. Many gentlemen started to play the sport as a way to pass the time. This is when the children began to take a liking to the sport. Fathers began to teach their children the fundamentals and from there, the rest is history.