But before he (or she) gets there, we’d best fix up the rink a bit.
Back in May,
Hockey Canada made some policy decisions about Minor hockey that will change the way the game is played and
how your local rink might look. From a change to the way the games are called by officials (much more like the NHL of today) to the actual dimensions of your hometown rink, the game is about to look a lot different than just a year ago.
The Daily News had local reaction to the mandated changes in two stories in yesterday’s paper. Focusing on how changes in the NHL have had an impact on local hockey associations’ right across Canada, including the Prince Rupert Minor Hockey Association.
And with change apparently comes expense. The necessary modification in rink dimensions at the
Jim Ciccone Civic Centre will cost more than 3,000 dollars, as room on the ice is created behind the net to increase the flow of play, just as the NHL has done. Of course NHL teams and owners probably can afford the modifications a little easier than the small rinks across the nation, but such is the cost of feeding the dreams and ambitions of those looking to make it to the big leagues.
While the city works on changing the dimensions of the rink, coaches will begin the process of changing the mindset of hockey players, suddenly thrown into a whole new way of playing the game. Those changes will provide some challenges for local players, which are explained in the two articles below.
Sing along with Tom, while you catch up on all the changes to the local rink.
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