ICE HOCKEY ARTICLES PUBLISHED ON THE WILDCATS WEBSITE AND/OR PROGRAMMES

The items are copyrighted, please contact site for permission to use any part    -    some date-related articles are removed when appropriate

Canadians! Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them - CATSTATS by Brother Bill

Part 2 - Can’t Live Without Them

Canadian players have always figured predominantly in British hockey and many have gone on to coach, most recently Steve Moria at Basingstoke, Nick Poole with the Lightning and Claude Dumas for a while last season with the Raiders. The Wildcats have had their fair share with the likes of Jason Cassells, Jon Sitko, Joel Petkoff in recent years.

Very few would question the greatest hockey player of all time was a Canadian, the unbelievable Wayne Gretzky who is one of those rare sports personalities that journalists, officials, players, coaches, commentators, pundits and fans are unanimous about, so hardly surprising he was nicknamed, quite deservedly, The Great One. But perhaps more on him in the future.

 The only other sportsman that comes to mind for such prolific achievements is darts champion Phil Taylor, although I suspect the physical aspect of his training regime isn't quite so tough.

 Anyway, last season eight of the ten teams in the EPL had at least one Canadian on the roster and playing regularly, and a total of sixteen played in the league. The next most represented nationality was the Czech Republic and Slovakia, both with ten players. To put this in numerical terms 255 players made at least one appearance last season of which 58 were imports, or 22.7% with Canadians making up over a quarter of that total. Other than Brits there were eleven nationalities represented in the EPL which ‘shared’ the other three-quarters of the total import quota.

Now here’s a silly one: If you put all the Canadians together who played at some time during the season there were enough to make a team. In fact, discounting netminders the team would have been the same size as Slough or Sheffield. The combined figures for this ‘team’ would have been 275 goals, 408 assists and 683 points with 949 penalty minutes. If you compare that to say Milton Keynes because they topped the league so presumably knew how to score a goal or two, they scored 218 goals with 344 assists giving 562 points with 1,112 penalty minutes. Also, Slough, because they won the playoff weekend, had figures of 251 goals, 403 assists for a total of 654 points with 858 penalty minutes.

So, it is clear our Canadian cousins make a significant contribution to the league. But they do have an edge because most Canadian children appear to be able to stand on skates about a month before they can stand without them. Nearly 2% of the population are registered players, that's 'registered' so doesn’t include casual or fun players. Let’s get that into perspective. The USA, which just happens to be next in the table has just 0.15%, which is a massive difference and why I would say the word ‘sport’ is a misnomer when it comes to Canadians where it is more a way of life; a sort of natural step in infant development between standing unassisted and chasing cats with a stick.

And it doesn't end there. At the other end of the age scale there are nearly 32,000 referees with the next nearest in that chart being Finland with a niggardly 2,000.

Need I say more?

24 - Canadians! Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them – CATSTATS by Brother Bill

Part 1 - Can’t Live With Them.

Let me explain. Can’t live with them because, quite simply, when it comes to ice hockey they win everything, don’t they? The national and Olympic teams have won more honours and medals than you can, well, shake a stick at, and pretty much always have done as well as having been consistently in the top echelon at all levels of the game.

To call hockey a sport in Canada is akin to calling Everest a bit of a hill, Hurricane Hilda an irritating draught or, shaking the head solemnly and forgiving Tony Blair for his military ‘adventure’. That is the nature of the beast.

Canadian hockey history is for another time, perhaps, but it is interesting to note there is documentary evidence from as early as 1825 referring to the game there, although it is certainly much older but the first set of rules was established by students at Montreal’s McGill University in 1879.

Today, regardless of US domination, the first game was not actually played there until 1893 although many people seem think ice hockey, and in particular the NHL, is and always was a totally US phenomenon. Not even close, and even today despite pressure from the US Toronto is still the NHL nerve centre where games are monitored on NASA-like screens and direct communication with game officials. Toronto is also the home of the Hockey Hall of Fame and hockey museum. Oh yes, and the Stanley Cup lives there.

Interestingly, various surveys in their many shapes and forms have been conducted over the years delving into how Canadians see themselves and always hockey comes out as a defining factor. And always in the top three.

So, no wonder ice hockey is the national sport and it is well to remember any achievements shown by the figures takes on an even greater significance when consider the size of the population, around 33,000,000. OK, so there are other countries with small populations that have achieved disproportionate success in international sports, but they are all smaller because Canada is the second largest country in the world with about 4 people per square mile of its 3.8 million square miles. To put this in practical terms, there are fewer people available as players, travelling time and distance is greater and so everything costs more. Luckily for Canadians, though, there are plenty of rinks. A cursory comparison with say Britain, where ice rinks are growing in popularity, would show something like a ratio of six-to-one, and that doesn't include outdoor rinks which would send the disparity through the roof even if compared to countries from Eastern Europe.  

Now for a fluffy tailpiece - some time ago I watched a documentary about a small town in Canada that wanted its own public rink. The town couldn’t afford it, so everyone, and I mean everyone, clubbed together and donated materials, time, machinery, tools and skills and they built the darn thing themselves!

Now that’s what I call serious about your sport.

23 - An Elite Leap In The Dark – CATSTATS by Brother Bill

Well, who would have thought it! This time last year with all the bickering and unrest in the Elite League, resulting in the departure of Manchester and Basingstoke, that it has expanded! By two teams, in fact.

Some six months ago Sheffield Steelers’ owner Bob Phillips complained the wage cap wasn’t being enforced and had contributed to their poor form. Now, as we all know, the Steelers crises has deepened with the GM and head coach walking out and Phillips putting the team up for sale. Meanwhile, of course, what was the Scimitars have had their own share of problems.

Then in April Nottingham Panthers’ owner Neil Black said he could see a 14-team league in three years, including a Manchester return plus Dublin but no teams south of Coventry, with the exception of possibly London. ‘We have no interest in a team like Guildford,’ he added. Hmmm.

It should be remembered the Elite League described itself as being formed to improve home-grown talent and if you look at the recent successes of the national team then there is certainly a case to be argued, but is that a beneficial by-product rather than a planned policy because it has also claimed it is not really there for the benefit of developing the sport in the UK or British players so much as playing a high level of hockey on British soil.

Double, hmmm. A bit contradictory, so what is going on? And as far as the EPL goes, does it have any repercussions? Could be because the Elite League has also increased it limit on imported players to eleven, and twelve for the smaller teams, which obviously makes it easier for teams to reduce the number of British players on their books and does nothing to improve the standard of British players as a whole. And, as Black pointed out, the ‘EPL are paying good money to tempt players to drop down.’ Does this mean, then, that although the Elite League has always manned the GB team, the EPL might be about to encroach on that domain as it picks up more ex-EIHL players? Well, look no further than Aaron Nell, who achieved a peripheral selection this year, a first for an EPL player, to see this might be coming. And although he played some games for Coventry in the EIHL, and is not ‘ex-EIHL‘, he was first and foremost an EPL player and opened that door. What I am getting at is, the door is ajar now so will former EIHL players wedge it open?

A further indication this door may be opening comes from several comments so far this summer, albeit controversial ones I am sure, to the effect the Elite League might well be more technical than the EPL, but also, um, boring! One former EIHL player ex- Vipers and now a Phoenix Dean Holland, for example, said: ‘It doesn’t bother me playing in the EPL, the hockey is just as good.’

But back to imports, and don’t get me wrong, we need foreign players they are an important part of developing the sport in the UK, but not necessarily at the current level in the EIHL never mind an increase. And even with the increase it may be ‘elite’ in name but it will still not be on a level with the top European leagues, so is the claim it plays a ‘high level of hockey on British soil’ actually justified? More importantly, will any British league ever reach that elite European standard? If that is doubtful, is this not just a cloaked attempt to have a foreign league on British soil with token British representation? So while the EPL might well pick up the odd future GB place or two, if the top level Brit is being squeezed out, what of the GB team then?

It would be nice to think that any expansion, if maintainable, has to be good for the sport in general if for no other reasons than it indicates increased popularity, financial investment, more players employed, and hopefully and most importantly more development in youth programmes. But I just wonder if this where this is all really heading long term?

22 - Golden Goalie Goals – by Brother Bill

How often do netminders score goals? I am sure you have wondered because it is the sort of question that keeps you awake at night, isn’t it? No? Oh, anyway the obvious answer, I suppose, is not very often. In fact, in the NHL, for example, because their records are fanatically composed, it has occurred only eleven times in its history with the first time as late as 1979.

One of the things that makes it so difficult, of course, is the rules prohibit certain plays for goaltenders and there are also tactical restrictions making scoring almost out of the question so is  bound to be a rarity and occur only under specific circumstances.

It will probably come as no surprise, then, to know that of those eleven occasions, six of the goals have been scored into an empty net, and in the other five the goalie was credited with the goal because he was the last player to touch the puck before the opponent scored an own-goal, a concept not acknowledge in ice hockey. In other words, somewhat bizarrely scoring a goal without taking a shot.   

The first netminder to be credited with a goal was Billy Smith of the New York Islanders who, when leaving the ice due to a delayed penalty was struck by the puck and the deflection off his chest protector was hit blind by an opponent and own-goaled. He is also the only netminder to lose a game in which he scored.

And now things become more rarified, because we can. Of this tiny number of scorers only two have actually scored twice in their careers. Firstly there was Ron Hextall of the Philadelphia Flyers a decade or so ago, the first to score intentionally, and with his second goal gaining the added distinction of being the only goalie to score a short-handed goal. Then there was the amazingly accomplished Canadian Martin Brodeur, still with New Jersey Devils, who also scored intentionally and is the only goalie to score a game-winning goal.

Only two others have scored goals in which they also had a shutout game, those being Damian Rhodes latterly with the Ottawa Senators and Jose Theodre of the Washington Capitals. But perhaps the most unusual is Evgeni Nabokov of the San Jose Sharks who was the first Russian NHL netminder to score a goal, and a powerplay goal at that with an intentional shot into an empty net.

Coming closer to home, not surprisingly then, no netminder in the EPL scored a goal last season and I cannot find a record of that happening, although several scored points. Bison Davey Lawrence topped the chart with three points in his 1,628 ice minutes, while teammate Tom Annetts scored two in a similar period. That gives the Bison the record for most goaltender points in the season.

Sheffield’s Ben Bowns also scored two points as did Phantoms’ Steve Wall while Bees’ Carl Ambler and Adam Marashi scored one apiece. Other single point scorers were Guildford’s Dean Skinns, Swindon’s Chris Douglas, Manchester’s Steve Fone and Greg Rockman of the Jets.

So to sum up, 36 EPL netminders took to the ice at some point during the season of which 14 were minor appearances of a game or two which means 22 had regular slots. Of those 22 ten scored a total of 15 points.

And now I am off to the bookies because at some point an EPL netminder is bound to get that magic golden goalie goal.

21 - Food for Thought - by Brother Bill

Hockey, and by that I mean the variety played in a field as well as that played on a frozen pond are closely related in the mists of time, and often overlapped.

Take, for instance, in 17th and 18th century England when whole villages played a version of hockey using a ball which was hit through the streets, along farm tracks and onto an opposing village green or common. Teams had no agreed size and could be as big as sixty or a hundred players, and often were. Games could last for days and injuries such as broken limbs were quite common with minor injuries a normal occurrence, and therefore expected and accepted. Umpires, yes unbelievably they had them then, were only allowed to intervene in the game if a player requested it. And in the winter these games were often played on frozen ponds and flooded meadows.

Much earlier, though, in 1527 hockey was actually banned for a while due to its excessive violence.

So, clearly hockey is rooted in turbulence, ferocity and aggression. And people loved it!

Coming more up to date it is perhaps surprising to know that even goalies didn’t use much in the way of protection at first although some shoved rolled newspaper into the socks as makeshift shin pads, and later borrowed batsmen’s pads from cricket to provide additional knee protection. No one even touched a mask until 1959, and it was not until 1979 they became compulsory for all players in North America, about the same time the Albion cricket helmet gained acceptance in Australia. Originally helmets were only used by players recovering from head injuries, although a few netminders claimed they wore them to hide their baldness!

So, by 2001, when all players were fully kitted out pretty much as they are today, on 9th February the Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers took part in what turned out to be the worst fight in British hockey history. In a bench-clearing brawl involving both teams, the ref cleared the rink for 45 minutes and sent everyone to the dressing rooms to cool down, and to give officials time to tot up the penalties. When the dust settled 36 players had been involved, and eight players and both coaches were sent off. Subsequently the League dished out 30 game suspensions to four players and the Steelers coach, and imposed £8,400 in fines.

Which still goes to show hockey is a tough sport, for those that hadn’t noticed. But, since the end of the nineteenth century there have been only about five deaths caused directly from the game throughout the world, and none of those would have involved a deliberate intent. As an aside, there has been one fatal injury to a ref hit by a puck earlier this year in Sweden.

Now, stepping into the minefield where intent to injure carries a different emphasis, as a comparison there have been around a thousand deaths directly caused by boxing in sixty countries over the same period, 80% from head injuries with the American Association of Neurological Surgeons estimating that as much as 40% of ex-boxers have some form of brain injury. And this does not include an unknown number of victims from unofficial or illegal bouts.

And my point? I don’t have one, just thought it food for thought.  

20 - A Trivial Matter - by Brother Bill

You know how it is, the season ended weeks ago and withdrawal symptoms start to creep in. You can always tell because you’ve watch the wife clean the car three times and, more worryingly, even gone shopping. In my own case I tried watching one of the European leagues on cable tv but the Belarusian commentary just wasn’t the same. So, in desperation I decided to trawl the internet for the most useless piece of ice hockey trivia I could find.

So, a-trawling I went.

Now one of the things that I have often wondered about, which I used as a starting point, was whether or not with the increased protection over the years this had produced more physical encounters, and consequently an increase in the level of injuries. Logic tells us this must be the case, but was there any proof? Well, the obvious place to turn to for that sort of thing is the NHL, and hardly surprisingly it did a study a few years ago which turned up some interesting, rather than trivial, stuff. OK, so there are some obvious differences between the game over there, and for us Europeans, but being a physical sport it still has its relevance.

As you might expect, the NHL monitor injuries and produces stats for type and patterns etc. The study which was based on these figures found injuries have increased over time but not as the result of a single causative factor. An injury was defined as an incident which occurs during a game and which results in a player to missing at least one game, which sounds like stiff criteria to me and must rule out thousands of minor but inconvenient injuries. However, ten factors were taken into consideration, which enabled fairly precise conclusions to be drawn and included collisions with other players, falling over, fighting and being hit by equipment such as pucks and goal posts. And while it won’t come as a great surprise, it was found that over a fifty-year period the trend is an increasing number of injuries and collisions with other players were the major cause.

But now it gets interesting. The average size of a player at the commencement of the NHL was 5'9" (1.725m) and 12stones, and is now 6'1" (1.825m) and 14stn 6lbs. Draw you own conclusions from that! But, not only that but they are stronger and faster, the strengthometer said so, and have an increased body mass index (weight to height ratio) of 2.3kg/m2. All of which tells us that if this larger mass is being propelled at a greater speed due to increased strength and power, then the force of impact is probably going to produce more injuries more often, and that growth will be exponential rather than linear unless protection increased accordingly.

Now where did all this research fit in with my quest for that useless piece of trivia which I had set out to find? Well, it did, actually, because I discovered from the study a forward spends on average 5% of his time skating backwards, while for a defenseman that is 20%. Now how did survive not knowing that?