According to Hockey Canada: Body Checking is defined
as an individual defensive tactic designed to legally separate the puck
carrier from the puck. This tactic is the result of a defensive player
applying extension of the body toward the puck carrier moving in an
opposite or parallel direction. The action of the defensive player is
deliberate and forceful in an opposite direction to which the offensive
player is moving and is not solely determined by the movement of the puck
carrier.
Therefore, when a defensive player decides to body
check an attacking player, he/she actually initiates the collision by
moving in an opposite direction, or by moving towards the attacking
player. What has happened in minor hockey is that many players tend to
focus on "body checking" and on how hard they can hit their
opponents than on scoring or on other less violent skills which can be
used to stop the attack. What we have to do now is place more emphasis on body
contact and less on body checking in order to solve many of the
issues in minor hockey.
For example, according to Hockey Canada: Body Contact is defined as
an individual defensive tactic designed to legally block or impede the
progress of an offensive puck carrier. This tactic is a result of movement
of a defensive player to restrict movement of the puck carrier anywhere on
the ice through skating, angling and positioning. The defensive player may
not hit the offensive by going in an opposite direction to that player or
by extending toward the offensive in an effort to initiate contact. There
must be no action where the puck carrier is pushed, hit or shoved into the
boards.
In other words, ‘body contact’ is the action of a defensive player
blocking an attacking player by simply "getting in the way" or
"getting in the path" of the attacking player. It is actually
the offensive player who is moving into the defensive player who usually
"rides the attacker" to the side and prevents him or her from
getting any closer to the net.
Body contact is taught at the entry level in minor hockey. It is
something that is permitted right from the beginning and is perfectly
acceptable to everyone involved.
Based on the definitions of body contact and body
checking, it would seem pretty clear that all we have to do is enforce the
body checking rule more consistently with respect to the "separation
of the attacking player from the puck". If the attacking player no
longer has the puck on his stick or in his skates, he should not be
subject to a body check.
Therefore, if a player gets rid of the puck prior to being
checked, the person doing the checking should be penalized. By
implementing this simple rule, it would stop the practice players have
developed in "running" at their opposition. Now, they don't
really care if the person they are checking has passed the puck off. If he
was the last one to touch the puck, he is fair game. Simply by following
the rule as it is currently written, we could clean up the game for good.
