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Old 08-13-2017, 09:55 AM   #1
sureLoss
Some kinda newsbreaker!
 
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Join Date: May 2004
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Default USA Hockey introduces 'icing on PK" rule for 14 year olds and younger

Always thought something like this would gain more traction in the upcoming years:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/br...YGO/story.html

Quote:
That a team guilty of taking a penalty is then granted a green light to ice the puck is the definition of preposterous.

“How often in sports,” asked Ken Martel, technical director of USA Hockey’s American Development Model, “do you actually change your normal playing rules to benefit the team that was penalized?”

To that end, USA Hockey has introduced a new rule for players 14 and younger for 2017-18. Penalty-killing teams will no longer be free to slingshot the puck down the river. Referees will call icing on shorthanded teams, just as they do during even-strength play. Upon an icing, the faceoff will take place in the defensive zone, giving power plays another chance to try a set piece off the draw.

The aim is to encourage U-14 players to read opposing power-play setups, think about what to do, and execute skilled plays: a D-to-D pass, a soft chip off the boards, or a floater to a streaking teammate. It is a far better thing to hold on to the puck than give it away, even if a 200-foot clear allows players to get off for changes.

“We want our kids to play with and handle the puck,” Martel said. “Puck possession is a big thing in our sport. We don’t like to see rules that encourage kids to blindly grab it and throw it away. You work pretty hard to get it. This rule actually encourages that. You listen to the anxiety that sometimes parents and coaches create from the stands, whether it’s, ‘Get it out,’ ‘Get it deep,’ ‘Ice it.’ Players’ first instinct when they get ahold of the puck is to get the head up and perceive what’s going on around them. The [old] rule doesn’t necessarily encourage that.”
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