Lucas Punkari
Over the last couple of years, the Fort Frances Minor Hockey Association has received many questions from parents about body checking at the PeeWee level, especially after it was removed in Quebec and in the United States.
Now, with Hockey Canada mandating the removal of checking in the PeeWee ranks across Canada for the 2013-14 season, FFMHA president Wayne Strachan believes many parents will be excited about the change.
“In the end, I think that there are many parents that are glad to see this happen,” he noted.
“Safety is a huge thing for us in Fort Frances Minor Hockey but for HNO [Hockey Northwestern Ontario], as well, and this may be a good thing for everyone, especially with all of the research out there with brains and how they develop,” Strachan added.
“That age is a very vulnerable one, and it’s one of the reasons that the changes are taking place.”
With no body checking taking place until players move into the Bantam ranks, what players will be working on as they move through the minor hockey levels will change a bit.
“Starting at Novice, they will be introduced to skating drills that will focus on their agility, and that will continue through Atom and PeeWee,” said Strachan.
“As they are graduating from Atom and moving into PeeWee, they will be working on their stick checking and positioning,” he added.
“And once they are in PeeWee, they will do what is called ‘body contact’ for battles with the pucks in one-on-one situations.
“But there will be no checking along the walls or in the middle of the ice as the players will be introduced to that when they get into Bantam and Midget,” Strachan stressed.
While Strachan believes the removal of body contact is good when it comes to player safety, he does feel there could be more work when it comes to players using their sticks instead of their bodies.
“I just think you will see a lot more high sticking and things like that, as we have seen that in the other places that have removed body contact,” he warned.
“But I think that the kids game will change to more of a skating game, which will be very good for the skill levels of those playing in PeeWee and it will help those players that progress from there.
“I just hope that it ends up being a game where there is a lot of skill, instead of people using their sticks to try and break things up,” Strachan said.
Coaches on every team in the FFMHA from Novice to Midget will need to be certified with the Hockey Canada checking clinic for the upcoming season, which is something that will be key for the annual coaches’ weekend here Sept. 13-15.
“There are some programs that are offered through the Hockey Canada website, and we encourage everyone to do those clinics on there prior to the weekend,” Strachan urged.
“There will be a lot of on-ice work and work through a practice plan during the weekend,” he noted.
“And for those clinics that we will offer that weekend, it’s important that people do the courses on the website beforehand.”
Heading into next season, three head coaches have been determined for the local ‘AA’ Canadians squads, with Ron MacKinnon (Atom), Brent Tookenay (Bantam), and Dave Egan (Midget) all set to take charge behind the bench.
The head coaching role for the ‘AA’ PeeWee team remains open, however, as the FFMHA has elected to reopen the application process from now until Friday, July 5.
“The board was at a stalemate when it came to selecting one of three original applicants for the job, so we decided to open it back up again,” Strachan explained.
“We encourage everyone who is interested to apply,” he added.
“But we do want to stress that only those who are short-listed for the position will be interviewed this time around.”
Application forms can be found on the FFMHA’s website at www.fortfranceshockey.com
