I am not saying that all PeeWee teams are skating like Squirt teams, but most of them are. This year is not gonna be an issue I don't think. There was plenty of body contact and checking last year so this year's first year Bantams have been there, but, next year there will be. Go take a look at the upper level PeeWee teams, other than size they are exactly like squirts and in lots of cases they are not much bigger than squirts. Those kids who are the ones who are gonna get hurt. An issue to be considered too is that other than the cities associations most places don't have C teams and might only have one B teams so those low skill level kids will be playing against upper level kids which will get them exposed to the hitting. Those are the same kids who are targeted as they are slow and have their heads down so they make a nice thud when you blow them up with a hard hit.BadgerBob82 wrote:I totally agree the problem lies with the referees inability to call the rule book as it has been written for years. In fact, most or all of these "new rules" are not changes to the rule book, they are changes to the penalty time served and now suspensions.
I think your "blood bath is coming" prediction is wrong. There is plenty of passing and heads-up play at Pee-Wee hockey. So not sure what you're watching. AND there was plenty of body contact last year at PW. I think you are 100% wrong that Bantams will be a blood bath.
A and B1 hockey is generally played with a higher skill level than B2 and C. The lower skill levels are where I see more risk of injury. Both from poorly skilled hitters and poorly skilled hittees. I would be in favor of removing checking from the C level at all age groups.
I don't think that hitting should be removed from hockey. We have lots of rules on the books to protect the kids. I am also not bashing on 90% of the refs out there who are doing their best to enforce the rules uniformly at all times. Those guys and gals are good. But there are refs out there who are not. I have watched refs let head contact and back checking go in a game because they want to let them play. I have been in a penalty box and seen stuff let go against a team because the ref was mad at a coach. I have seen refs who are old/slow/fat/etc who can't keep up with upper level games so they are behind the play so they don't see stuff. Those same refs don't like to call stuff, they want to let them play. Have also seen refs not call stuff in the 3rd period of lopsided games because they don't want to stop the game, they want it to get over with. All of that stuff falls back on a few bad refs who need to be gotten rid of.
You are right about coaches needing to be educated too. They need to understand that there is a difference between being an advocate for your team and crossing a line and getting abusive towards a ref. You can just see the kids on the teams change attitude when that happens, those kids start to get stupid figuring that they have the upper hand.
All of this boils down to keeping a great game between kids under control, not so that they can all turn pro but so that they don't wind up with their number on a sticker on a helmet. Removing checking is not the answer, controlling it is.