Hockey Canada to shrink rink for kid players

Hockey Canada says it will make it mandatory that children being introduced to the game play on reduced-size ice surfaces instead of full-sized rinks.

The organization that governs amateur hockey has been recommending half-ice or cross-ice setups for its initiation programs for five- and six-year-olds for more than three decades.

A number of provincial amateur hockey bodies already require rinks be partitioned into smaller surfaces for games for their youngest players.

But Paul Carson, Hockey Canada’s vice-president of membership development, said there are still holdouts where beginners play their games on full-sized rinks.

“We know statistically, when you’re in a smaller playing area, it increases the number of puck touches, it increases the number of battles for loose pucks, it increases the number of shots on goal, it increases the number of passes and pass receptions,” said Carson as he explained how smaller ice surfaces improve skills development.

“We’ve coined the phrase, ‘Decrease the space, increase the pace.’ It does make all players better.”

The mandatory policy will take effect for the 2017-18 season.

Not everyone agrees reduced size is the best way to foster skill. Some online forums and blogs argue there are kids who are ready for full ice and it’s wrong to hold them back. They argue it’s important to learn icing and offsides.

Carson said Hockey Canada watched videos of little players on full-sized rinks, which he described as one breakaway after another by the strongest player on each team.

“The entire shift is puck control by two players and eight other players skating up and down the ice following the play and maybe even at some point deciding, ‘I might as well wait down here. It’s going to come back eventually,’ ” Carson said.