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Tough, and Tougherer – The Iceman

Everyone said, and is still saying, the EPL is a tough league this season.

 

Only a week or so ago Coach Nick Poole at the Lightning said, ‘Nobody can say it’s ‘only’ the Steeldogs anymore, or ‘only’ any other team. Everyone has improved.’ Coach Doug Sheppard at the Jets concurred with, ‘…there are no easy games.’

 

The facts are also showing this to be the case in all sorts of ways like the increase in the number of games going beyond normal time, as pointed out by Coach Gareth Cox at the Bees recently when he compared his then five such games to more than a ‘normal’ season’s total. Since he made that statement his side have added two further penalty shoot-outs to their tally.

 

There has also been an increase in the number of injury problems. By the mid-way point of last season about 25 injuries involving the loss of at least the remainder of the game in which they occurred or something of that magnitude had occurred, while this season the list is more than doubled for the same period.

 

Consider also the more serious penalties that have been dealt out, by which I mean a minimum of ‘game’. Again, a comparison with the same period last season shows occasions to have doubled, and while a purely numerical increase doesn’t prove much one way or the other, taken as a whole they are indicative  that something big has changed even if it is only that refs are calling more players to account.

 

So, does this all suggest individual player behaviour is less tolerant, more aggressive, simply harder, or what? Are players, whether individually or perhaps more of them, no longer behaving with the same, um, good manners and gentlemanly conduct we are used to, or are standards slipping? In any situation humans are apt to turn to more desperate action and devious means to achieve their ends as pressure is applied, and ice hockey is no more immune from this fundamental human trait than the more mundane concerns in life like finding a job or paying the mortgage.

 

So if things are getting tougher and more stressful and, indeed, if more violent, maybe it is time for improved control. And here I return to a previous rant that hockey should have an official in the stands. Firstly it is the ideal position which is why they put seats there for fans because obviously they are privileged with a bigger panorama, and it also explains why fans regularly become frustrated by things missed by an unsighted official, which does at least suggest the stands are an ideal observation point.

    

The cost wouldn’t be much different because the rules already allow for a two-official system for a game to take place, so a third off-ice official can only be an improvement and would also mean less people cluttering the ice. But the crucial point is it would provide better support for the ref with his backside being covered, so to speak, and therefore provide more consistency in decision-making. Yes, a simple communications system would be required, but we already rely on lights and hand-written notes, so in this digital world something more advanced than say pigeons or semaphore wouldn’t be a big problem.

 

So if things are getting tougher isn’t time to think about enhanced support for referees and by extension a stricter monitoring of player behaviour?

Big Fish In A Little Pond – The Iceman

 

Recently there was talk, as there periodically is, about whether or not the Elite League can sustain its current format, and it will be remembered the Newcastle Vipers folded prior to the 2011-12 season due to financial troubles.

 

The level of import players, heralded as a step forward for British hockey when it increased, was similarly vaunted when returned to ten per team so I doubt such bravado fooled many. The facts, if you care to look at the figures, don’t appear to offer much for British hockey but with the talk that both Coventry and Cardiff are struggling and rumours they may even apply for EPL membership next season, what, if anything, would be the effect on the EPL?

 

Not only that but you have to wonder if Fife and Dundee can also survive when so clearly adrift from the likes of the powerful Belfast, Nottingham and Sheffield sides.

 

However, if such applications were to be received by the EPL, it would undoubtedly resurrect some of the concerns expressed in some quarters at the time the Bison and Phoenix made the transition a couple of years ago, that they would become ‘big fish in a small pond’ and create unfair competition for existing clubs.  

 

While on the face of it such fears, unless you were a Bison or Phoenix supporter, perhaps, are understandable because few can want any team to dominate to the point of boredom and the futility for everyone else. And to be fair, I would image both new-comers would much prefer to win by hard-fought and exciting games rather than anything too one-sided.

 

So first under the microscope must be the Phoenix’s league success last season, their second stint in the EPL. In fact, of the three accolades awarded each season (play-off, league and cup) the Phoenix has won just one of a possible six. In the same period the Jets and Flames have both won cup and the play-offs while the Bison have fared no better or worse than the Phantoms, Lightning or Wildcats. Which all suggests both teams have slotted in well without benefit of the ‘big fish’ syndrome.

 

One of the reasons the passage was smooth was no doubt due to the big reduction in an import quota, having to now contend with the four-per-bench rule of the EPL. But it is also interesting to consider just how much Elite League experience the most productive players of both teams brought with them to this 2-year transition.

 

For the 2009-10 season Canadian Ed Courtney, a decent enough right-wing, came from EIHL Newcastle Vipers, so did not move across with the Phoenix but having done so then clocked up over 2-points a game average in that first Phoenix EPL season.

 

Tony Hand did make the move as the Phoenix player with just over a point a game in his last Elite League season, but has produced a blistering two seasons since in the EPL.

 

Fellow Scot Adam Walker moved with Hand bringing with him his half-a-point per game and although he only completed one season with the Phoenix before returning to the EHIL, almost touched two points per game in that single season.

 

Last season Sweden’s Marcus Kristoffersson, who came from an uneventful couple of years in Europe, erupted with more than 2-points per game, while Curtis Huppe came from five years in the Elite League with around half-a-point a game and an unspectacular half-season in the CHL before exploding in Manchester last season also with 2-points per game.

 

 

The Bison in 2009/10 acquired Slovakian Ondrej Lauko who with a decent record of a tad over a point a game in Poland and Slovakia, leapt up to 2-points a game in that first season in the EPL. Steve Moria, however, although with Elite League experience it was some five years previously and was already in the EPL with the Jets at over 2-points per game.

So, in fact, these two teams actually brought with them little in the way of big-fish potential and any achievement since is more the result of coaching ability, experience, savvy signings and the sorts of things existing EPL teams have at their disposal. So, it is hard not to conclude any additional new teams are likely to be no different, which can only be good news.  

 

Crosby Concussion Continues – The Iceman

 

I have written a couple of times about the tragic events engulfing the world’s greatest hockey player, Sydney Crosby. For those who may not know, about a year ago the Pittsburgh Penguins’ player was on the receiving end of two hits within a week, both of which were identified as causing symptoms of concussion although the earliest wasn’t at first considered serious enough to put him out of the game, the second definitely did.

 

As a result he was out of the game for over ten months and undertook all manner of evaluations and treatment, and was eventually declared fit to return. However, this season he played just eight games before his symptoms reappeared after taking an accidental elbow to the head by a Boston player and later in the same game colliding with a team-mate. Two days later he was on the injured list, and six weeks on coach Dan Bylsama said he was still suffering from ‘concussion-like symptoms.’ What the difference is between ‘concussion-like’ and concussion itself was not made clear, and when you have thousands of dollars being expended on his condition it is hard not to see that as a euphemistic slant on the situation.

 

Crosby himself says he is not symptom-free and that his balance and motion are still an issue, but added, ‘I’m allowed to lightly exert, and that’s a positive;’ a statement reminiscent of a year ago.

 

But perhaps the most worrying aspect of this recent setback is Boston’s David Krejci, who delivered the offending elbow, is not a particularly physical player, never mind dirty, and witnesses say Crosby more or less walked into the player while he was turning to shoot the puck along the boards. So was it a near miss that contact hadn’t been made with a player who meant business, which will definitely happen one day. What’s more, the collision with his team-mate Chris Kunitz was also not a violent or even a harsh blow and the sort of impact any normal healthy player would have simply skated away from.

    

Last summer Crosby received treatment from chiropractic neurologist Professor Edward Carrick at Life University in Atlanta, and it has been revealed he is returning to him for further treatment, so clearly an early return to the ice is not on the cards. Penguins General Manager Ray Shero said, ‘Obviously he won’t be back in the lineup until he is symptom free,’ again a statement we have all heard before.  

 

Still only 24 years of age and immensely fit, it is probably still too early to write Crosby off especially as a huge amount of money has been injected into the issue of concussion and hits to the head. But, a year on, there are plenty who are now asking if his days at the top of his profession are numbered; will he ever be without a caution that hinders his play, and, most importantly, will he survive the big hit that already has his name on if and when he returns.

 

As I have said before, hits taken by the head should not be acceptable and when you consider the latest impact Crosby suffered was neither intentional or vicious, and not forgetting concussion is often unrecognised and accumulative in affect, it is worth remembering the hit that puts you out of the sport might not even be one that worries you when it happens.

Shooting Gallery Fun Fair? – The Iceman

The penalty shoot-out to determine the outcome of a game has been around quite a while.

Some say it is unfair to a team which has appeared stronger during the regular time limit, while others say if such a team hasn’t produced the goods after sixty minutes then they clearly aren’t THAT strong.

But what nearly everyone agrees on it is all a bit of a lottery, so, either way, is it right that a game should be decided in this way? Or to put it another way, what’s wrong with drawn games?

There are arguments for and against drawn games as well, of course, but as it is deemed the right way to conclude a game is by continuing the matter after the normal period, then whatever means is used should continue in at least a manner as fair as the preceding game itself.

Overtime is fair enough because obviously pretty much all the same rules apply so no team is handed an advantage that didn’t exist in the preceding sixty-minutes. If you look at the games decided in overtime so far this season and take into account relative league positions at the time the games were played, then there is a bias towards a higher team at home getting the result, but overall there is only about an eight percent difference between home and away wins, so any so-called home advantage is negligible.

But can the same be said for the penalty shoot-out? Of the twenty games that have resulted in a shoot-out so far half have gone to the home side, so clearly no home advantage there either. Perhaps surprisingly, though, only half of the wins have gone to the side higher in the table. So ‘lottery’ or random it certainly is as there doesn’t appear to be much in the way of a bias, so for those in favour of this form of settlement nothing could be fairer.

But one factor does stand out and that is the apparent anomaly for the two sides leading in overtime and penalty games: the Tigers and Bees. In both cases both have shown a strong bias in one direction, in the case of the Tigers they have won all their games, while the Bees have lost six from a staggering seven. But this, it can be argued, supports the case for the system being a fair means of deciding drawn games when you consider their respective positions, i.e. one lower team wins, and another lower team predominantly loses, and especially when compared to say the leading team the Flames who have both won and lost.

So, if a winner is necessary then the current system seems as good as any as a way of achieving this. There is, however, one interesting point in all this. Supposing the extra time and shoot-out was scrapped and teams equal after sixty minutes were simply awarded a point each; in other words the 2-points for a win was merely shared. On that basis if you deducted those extra points from this year’s table there is almost no difference in the standings. In fact, so far this season the top three teams would retain the position currently occupied, as would the bottom three, while the middle four simply swap; that is four for five, and six for seven, but only just. The top three spread is almost the same as is the middle spread, and apart from the Tigers, so is the bottom spread.  

So you have to wonder what the additional playing time achieves other than more entertainment for the fans, which I am not suggesting is wrong, but technically it makes little difference.

 

      

 

 

CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE – The Iceman

 

Recently the Steeldogs were been beaten by a Tigers’ side and Phantoms’ side who both played with more fire in their bellies than of late; a change in approach acknowledged by their respective coaches, and a view shared by Steeldogs’ Coach Andre Payette.

 

We all know a physical plan of attack is a constituent part of the sport and can sometimes be a good equaliser in the sense if you can’t match skill for skill, the least you can do is hinder the side that has more of it than you do.  

 

So does this mean that the change in attitude in Telford and Peterborough has been brought about because both of these lower teams have seen what the young Steeldogs side have achieved this season with an almost default physical approach?

 

There are other possible reasons, of course, but with Andre Payette currently boss at the Steeldogs and known for his physical ideology, it is clear this attitude has been instilled in his players. And why not? I am not condoning violent or unsportsmanlike behaviour, just saying there is enough leeway in the rules and interpretation and enforcement to allow for some pretty hard play and even some gamesmanship, while also not forgetting there are officials for determining what is or is not acceptable.

 

We should also not forget it is only in this second part of the season that the Steeldogs have signed a forth import, so their present position has been achieved short-handed, so to speak, and with a modest budget and few new faces. They are also, of course, in competition to some degree with their Elite League neighbours, so it is hard to believe Payette is only in his first full season in the driving seat and that he also clinched a play-off place last time out. Hardly surprising, then, he should have said recently, ‘This has been the most rewarding year of my career.’

 

But one thing is certain, whatever potion it is Payette ladles out from his cauldron on coven nights, love him or hate him – and it appears he is not a character many can feel neutral about - it works.

 

There are some who criticise his manner on the ice, and while he may not be the most adroit purveyor of the art that should not detract from some pretty impressive achievements in other departments. Remember, more is expected of a player-coach because of the two helmets they wear, and in that sense his record speaks for itself. The Steeldogs are the most improved side in the EPL, have a growing structure for developing youth and in particular local players, and have built cooperation with the Sheffield-sharing Steelers.

 

While Payette is passionate about his sport and an inspiration to his charges, less easy to quantify is the fact he is a ‘character’ and entertaining if for no other reason than to see him occasionally knocked on his bum. And all sports need characters.

 

Despite what some detractors claim, he is not an old-style ‘enforcer’ because he does a lot more than simply brawl. But enforce and brawl he can, and can even do nonchalant if needs be. But if his presence on the ice makes some opponents at least cautious, then that in itself is also an achievement. Yes, a few more players seem prepared to face up to him, and while good in several ways this doesn’t really diminish the effectiveness of this feature of Payette’s play because with his reluctance in backing off from confrontation -  he probably doesn’t have the gene that triggers the flight in the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism - any new antagonists simply means more opponents spending time in the box, or worse. What doesn’t happen is Payette feeling intimidated enough to modify his behaviour and while playing for him is demanding, as any success should be, it must be a comfort knowing his ‘big brother’ figure is watching your back, something the Phantoms’ fans almost cried about as lacking until recently.

 

Oh yes, he also scores points, more than about eighty per cent of all other rostered players, in fact.  

 

However, while some assign derogatory appellations to his style, which in itself is a form of recognition for his achievements, praise has also come and recently from his former boss at the Phoenix and new GB team coach Tony Hand, who said:

 

‘People think that because of his reputation as a player he wouldn’t work as a coach. But you have to remember he has played at a very high level. He’s won some trophies including a Calder Cup in the AHL, and with Coventry and Newcastle over here. It doesn’t surprise me at all how well Sheffield are doing because Andre has put together a really good team. He’s got a lot of British players and he’s got them playing really well. They’ll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.’

 

Payette for his part also recently said, ‘I’ve a plan to win this league, not necessarily this year, not necessarily next season but perhaps the year after.’

 

Hard to argue with that as things stand at the moment.   

 

TIGERS’ TORMENT – The Iceman

 

Recently Swedish forward Henrik Sahlin walked out on the Tigers after just thirteen games. Coach Watkins was understandably miffed not specifically because he had lost a player, which goes without saying, but at the manner of the departure. He said, ‘Very unprofessional, left without even a phone call.’

 

Sahlin had only been with the club since December, having signed from the Bristol Pitbulls in the ENL and as the Bristol rink is to be closed he won’t be returning there although he has been reported to be returning to Norway from whence he came.

 

Unfortunately this isn’t the first time this has happened to the Tigers this season because last November British forward Andy McKinney quit to play in the Elite League. Again, while Watkins made it clear he had no wish to oppose any player furthering his career, he complained, ‘Right now I feel very let down. I am disappointed at the moment at the manner of his leaving, with no notice.’  

 

Players quitting without notice is not a new phenomenon of course but there is a difference between requesting a release and expecting it to be honoured, even at short notice, and simply walking out. Clearly there is little a club can do to either enforce contractual obligations or seek recompense, but a message costs nothing and maintains some semblance of professionalism and decency.  

 

Understandably a player might want out for a variety of reasons, and clubs aren’t famous for standing in their way, but surely any move without warning should not be solely to the detriment of the club concerned?

 

For any club it is bad enough that it should happen, but for Telford the effect is doubly injurious where the absence of an individual player has a greater negative impact than, say, for the Flames with five imports. And where are the Tigers going to find a suitable replacement at this time of the season, never mind another import? Sadly, it smacks of a case of hitting the victim when they are down and simply shouldn’t be allowed to happen without redress or punishment. While this might sound a bit unfair and drastic, let’s not forget we are only talking about expecting a simple message of warning and explanation and not the loss of a multi-million pound footballing contract.

 

So what is the answer if common-decency cannot be assumed? Without getting into the complexities of employment law, particularly if it spans international boundaries, perhaps a simple and relatively inexpensive step in the right direction would be for a departure notice to be made a condition whereby any player wishing to return to any team under the auspices of the EIHA has his application automatically made the subject of a EIHA discipline committee hearing. Bear in mind that even a family emergency can be communicated quite easily these days, so if it is established no warning was given for a previous departure a suspension could be imposed to take effect prior to playing. Things like unsportsmanlike conduct, making a travesty of the game, bringing the game into disrepute or not eating fish on a Friday come to mind as potential charges.

 

Interestingly, had such a procedure been in place then Jozef Kohut may not have slipped back into the Flames’ side as quickly and with such immediate impact having walked out on the Wildcats in October 2010 causing GM Steve Nell to comment the Wildcats are, ‘very disappointed Jozef has chosen to turn his back on the club, especially having committed for another year.’