It’s been a while, Oct. 17 to be exact, since we examined peewee hockey without body-checking. So a follow-up is in order with provincial playdowns underway and teams across Alberta driving for the playoffs.
Unlike data-rich educated conclusions, the findings on these pages are based solely on anecdotal evidence. Following a University of Calgary study stating concussions among young hockey players would be reduced when they aren’t whacked (imagine that), Hockey Alberta bumped full contact from the rule book for 11- 12-year-old players this season.
Hundreds of people play, coach, officiate and watch peewee hockey in Cochrane. Here are some of their observations of the first peewee season without withering open-ice hits and bone-breaking collisions in the corner.
Connor Bouchard, a 12-year-old forward with Cochrane Minor Hockey’s elite Bow Valley Timberwolves peewee AA program, relates: “It’s a lot easier, without hitting, to put on moves and stuff. But I’d rather have hitting because it makes the game have a faster pace. It definitely wouldn’t be as easy to get as many points (with hitting). Last year, I had to keep my head up.”
Hockey dad Gerald “Bouch” Bouchard, who also coaches the Timberwolves, says: “Definitely, it opens up the game. It makes the game a lot harder for defencemen, defensively. The scores of the games and the kids who are getting the numbers of points in the league, that wouldn’t happen if there was body contact.”
When asked if his players have suffered fewer injuries with the body-checking embargo, Bouch says: “Absolutely. It’s absolutely night and day when it comes to that. Nobody’s getting hurt.”
Yet, the peewee AA coach adds a note of caution as his 12-year-old players move up to bantam next season, where body-checking is encouraged: “We’re creating bad habits. Players know they can hang on to the puck because they aren’t going to get hit. My only concern is next year. There are bigger kids in bantam and I’m curious to see what the difference is now in bantam when these kids move up next year without that comfort zone to play in. I mean, who’s to say?”
On-ice official Kyle Chittick, a 16-year-old Cochrane High student in his third season officiating Cochrane minor hockey at peewee and other levels, observes: “Last year, I noticed it was mostly the most talented players on the team who were getting hurt all the time. As a referee, last year I would always have to penalize the big players constantly because they would chase down the skilled players. Last year, even just in something like peewee house, I probably had on average three or four kids go down a game from hits from behind and head shots and stuff. Now, I maybe have one a game, if that. Tonight (Jan. 23), no kids went down.
“It’s become a lot cleaner game. It’s more about the hockey.”
Simply, the game has moved to a level of skilled, individual play-making creativity formerly kept in check with hard body contact. Kids aren’t getting hurt and Connor Bouchard’s numbers this season are surreal. The second-year peewee, who played full-contact last season, has 50 goals and 48 assists in 28 games, 25 points ahead of where he finished after all 32 games last season. The last time I saw peewee numbers like this, Tyson Nash scored his 100th goal of the season for the Sherwood Park Jets at the ’89 Alberta peewee AAA championships in Medicine Hat before being protected by the Western League’s Kamloops Blazers at tournament’s end.
Bantam concerns aside, the early returns on no-contact peewee hockey are positive.
