Wednesday, January 18, 2012

A Few Much Less Serious Thoughts

To balance out my somewhat wandering ramble about rule standardization, discretionary enforcement, and the drawbacks of a volunteer organization, I present a brief roundup of my last few weeks.  Relevant publication links included.

A Thought on the Minnesota Rule Changes

In fallout to the injuries suffered by Jack Jablonski, the MSHSL (the league governing the game where the incident occurred) made several rule changes - minors have become mandatory majors for boarding, checking from behind, and head contact.  Along with the changes, several parties involved with the change have called out USA Hockey and suggested the changes should be implemented on a national level.

Note: After more research than I'd honestly intended to put into an off-the-cuff thoughts post, I still am unable to determine whether MSHSL hockey games are run via the USA Hockey rulebook or have a completely separate set of legislation (or USA Hockey + Supplement, which is how many leagues handle these things).  Given the enforcement standards cited in news articles relating to the rule change, the implication is that they operate independently of USA Hockey while many of their players maintain dual-affiliation.  Under USA Hockey's current rulebook, Checking from Behind is EITHER a 2 & 10 (minor plus misconduct) or a 5 & Game (major + game misconduct).  A Match Penalty can also be assessed.  It is not "only" a 2 & 10.

The intention behind the changes is good, and it's exactly the kind of reactionary legislation one might expect in the current situation.  "Someone got hurt because we left this on the table as an optional minor, or we had a gap in our rules, so let's make it clear to coaches and players that the act isn't worth the risk.  If we change the cost/benefit ratio, players will stop doing it."

The problem is that it's not going to work, at least not the way it's intended to, and those making noises in USA Hockey's direction seem to be missing the point that the USA Hockey system is designed to allow referees discretionary authority while still building in the stronger punishments.