No more fighting in junior hockey?

[Bingo]

http://thejuniorhockeynews.com/?p=25644

TJHN has learned from multiple sources that USA Hockey is working in conjunction with Hockey Canada on a plan to remove fighting from Junior Hockey no later than the start of the 2015 – 2016 season.

[EldrickOnIce]

USHL and the Canadian Jr. A Leagues. I like it, I guess.
No way this will include the CHL

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

USHL and the Canadian Jr. A Leagues. I like it, I guess.
No way this will include the CHL

Depends on how much influence David Branch actually has over the WHL.

[Gunkle]

Also this....they won't be keeping score anymore, and everyone gets orange slices and a ribbon for playing!

[Dion]

Watch the stick work and cheap shots go up. Players will find other ways to get back at players.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Dion

Watch the stick work and cheap shots go up. Players will find other ways to get back at players.

Maybe. But NCAA hockey is not like that, nor is CIS.
I don't mind it in Jr A in Canada.
Would simply be the same as any amateur hockey - fight and you are kicked out of the game. It's not a ban, it's a game misconduct.

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by Dion

Watch the stick work and cheap shots go up. Players will find other ways to get back at players.

Why would they go up? People are delusional if they actually think banning fighting will lead to more " cheap" plays. It hasn't stopped cheap plays for 100 years so not sure why getting rid of fighting will increase cheap plays.

Nobody in their right mind thinks "better throw out a knee now that nobody will challenge me to a fight"

Suspensions for dirty plays have always been the deterent, not fighting.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Gunkle

Also this....they won't be keeping score anymore, and everyone gets orange slices and a ribbon for playing!

I hope they ban helmets, goalie masks, hell let's get rid of the glass around the boards. If you wanna watch hockey you should be as tuff as the players........

[Dion]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

Why would they go up? People are delusional if they actually think banning fighting will lead to more " cheap" plays. It hasn't stopped cheap plays for 100 years so not sure why getting rid of fighting will increase cheap plays.

Nobody in their right mind thinks "better throw out a knee now that nobody will challenge me to a fight"

Suspensions for dirty plays have always been the deterent, not fighting.

Fighting has always been a way for players to settle the score. If they can't fight, elbows, high sticks, slashes, etc will increase as another method.

[Vedder]

Originally Posted by Gunkle

Also this....they won't be keeping score anymore, and everyone gets orange slices and a ribbon for playing!

It's junior hockey, these are kids that aren't getting paid to make that sort of sacrifice. The vast majority of them will not make a living playing hockey and will need their health to do something else. No reason it should be part of the game at that level.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Dion

Fighting has always been a way for players to settle the score. If they can't fight, elbows, high sticks, slashes, etc will increase as another method.

It's also been a way to hurt the other team, change momentum, etc. Most fights are not too settle any score.

Sorry, but your second point is no more than massive speculation with nothing to back it up. Basketball players can't fight, there isn't rampant eye gouging there. I don't that would hold up to scrutiny

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

Why would they go up? People are delusional if they actually think banning fighting will lead to more " cheap" plays. It hasn't stopped cheap plays for 100 years so not sure why getting rid of fighting will increase cheap plays.

Nobody in their right mind thinks "better throw out a knee now that nobody will challenge me to a fight"

Suspensions for dirty plays have always been the deterent, not fighting.

Dion isn't talking about deterrence, but - for lack of a better word - vengeance.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Dion isn't talking about deterrence, but - for lack of a better word - vengeance.

So what purpose does it serve then?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Vedder

It's junior hockey, these are kids that aren't getting paid to make that sort of sacrifice. The vast majority of them will not make a living playing hockey and will need their health to do something else. No reason it should be part of the game at that level.

A player skates up and slashes your hand or runs you into the board. In both instances you feel the slash and the hit is unwarranted. The natural reaction is to go after the player, either by dropping the gloves or retaliating. Yet you would suggest the player skate away and do nothing?

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by Dion

Fighting has always been a way for players to settle the score. If they can't fight, elbows, high sticks, slashes, etc will increase as another method.

I can count on one hand where this was true for the Flames this season. Most NHL fights are staged goon fights with 0 purpose.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Vedder

It's junior hockey, these are kids that aren't getting paid to make that sort of sacrifice. The vast majority of them will not make a living playing hockey and will need their health to do something else. No reason it should be part of the game at that level.

Yep. It's bad enough teenagers play what is essentially professional hockey, for the amusement of beer-swilling fans, without being paid. The fact kids punching each other in the head is part of the entertainment package is grotesque. May as well goad kids at junior high schools to beat each other up and post the videos on youtube. I'm sure it would get millions of hits.

I'm not against fighting in the NHL. They're adults, they're professionals, and they have a union and insurance to back them up. But the fact a lot of fans consider 16-year-olds playing after school and on weekends to be the same as professional hockey shows just out of whack major junior hockey is in Canada.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

So what purpose does it serve then?

"Retribution" was the word I was trying to think of, btw. And fighting serves several purposes. Potential to change momentum. It does have a role as a deterrent (real and/or imagined, take your pick. The Flames players certainly believed it). And, it can serve as retribution following an incident. Sometimes dirty hit, sometimes clean but big. The path Dion was going down is that if you can't fight a guy following such an incident, it is probable that someone is going to jab the player with their stick instead - either immediately or later, after 'taking down the number'.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

I can count on one hand where this was true for the Flames this season. Most NHL fights are staged goon fights with 0 purpose.

Do you have a count for all the slashes, high sticks, elbows etc that happen?

[1stLand]

instead of resolving matters through fights, I propose that cheapshots be dealt with with lawsuits.

Each team has a team of lawyers and the offenders get sued.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Dion

A player skates up and slashes your hand or runs you into the board. In both instances you feel the slash and the hit is unwarranted. The natural reaction is to go after the player, either by dropping the gloves or retaliating. Yet you would suggest the player skate away and do nothing?

Actually yes?


What you describe in you post happens at all levels of hockey, I say it happen in Atom games this winter. At what level is it OK to attack and fight the other player.

Hockey has plenty of ways that are within the confines of the game to "get back" at the player.