NHL Hockey: League to use Hybrid icing for 2013-14 season.

There is some really good new that emerged today. The NHL is going to use the hybrid icing, similar to the one that the NCAA uses for their games. This rule change should make the game safer, and hopefully would prevent more violent collisions into the end boards. The types of hits have the potential to cause major injury to the players. 

Former Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster ended up breaking his leg in one of these dangerous and violent collisions, into the end boards on March 19, 2008, during a game against the Sharks in San Jose.   

Related articles

• Hybrid icing approved for regular season (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• Hybrid Icing Approved by NHLPA, Will Go Into Effect for 2013-14 Season (nesn.com)

Time for the NHL to go to the hybrid icing like the NCAA

Time for the NHL to reconsider their stance on the touch up icing. This could be prevented if the NHL adopts the Hybrid Icing, like the NCAA currently has. I think it's a no-brainier. Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Joni Pitkanen hits leg first into the end boards racing for the puck, Pitkanen is then taken off the ice on a stretcher.

NHL changes coming?

Image via WikipediaThis week in Toronto, the NHL has been experimenting with some different things to tweak the NHL game. Apparently the dept of the nets is one thing that the NHL is experimenting with. The changes to the nets sizes in the NHL could come as early as this season.

TORONTO -- After using a shallower model over two days at the research and development camp, league executive Brendan Shanahan indicated that the new nets will likely find their way into NHL arenas soon.

"I think that the shallow nets are something that I'd really like to try in at least an exhibition game and see how players react to it," Shanahan said Thursday.

The new design is 40 inches deep as opposed to the traditional 44 inches. It also features a clear plastic strip along the top and thinner mesh -- changes intended to make video review decisions easier.

Shanahan also liked a new "verification line" that runs three inches behind the goal-line and can be used in video review to help determine if a puck completely entered the net.

The NHL Is also thinking about going to the hybrid icing rule, this is basically the same rule that the NCAA went to last season. Of course this rule change didn't go as smoothly as planned, there were a lot of calls where the play should have been called icing and wasn't, the WCHA officials had a tough time with this new rule change and I don't think it's an understatement to say that there was a lot of confusion with the Hybrid Icing rule. I would hope the NHL officials can do a better job calling this than the NCAA/WCHA officials because the NHL officials are full time officials.

The Globe and Mail ---- Under the hybrid rule, the linesmen will have to make a judgment call. When the puck is fired down the ice and icing is indicated, the closest linesman has to determine, by the time the first player reaches the faceoff dot, which player is going to win the race. If it is the attacking player, icing is waved off and the race for the puck continues. If it is the defending player, the whistle is blown to stop the play.

If the NHL adopts the hybrid icing rule you could see a lot less collisions at the end boards contesting icing and it could help prevent injuries like the one that where former Wild Defenseman Kurtis foster suffered when he was planted into the boards racing for an icing.

Related articles

• Prospects brighten sessions as NHL puts rules proposals to the test (aol.sportingnews.com)
• NHL experiments with penalty kill at camp (canada.com)
• NHL considering immediate change to nets (cbc.ca)
• 2011 NHL RDO Camp: Today's schedule, curved glass, faceoff tweaks and the green line (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• NHL will look at all angles of the game in Research, Development and Orientation camp (aol.sportingnews.com)

RDO camp will allow NHL to experiment with rules

Image via WikipediaNext week the NHL School will have another Research, Development and Orientation Camp so they can test potential rule changes, unfortunately there will be many of the same crappy rules the NCAA Division I ice hockey committee tried to ram down our throats last summer.

A few of the things I have noticed is that NHL wants to experiment with during their RDO camp; the NHL in their infinite wisdom wants to try the horrible No icing permitted while shorthanded, this is that rule where a team that is on penalty kill can’t ice the puck. The genius that came up with this rule should be rebuked and publicly scorned and the NHL should not enact this rule. The NHL also wants to go to a no-touch icing which is an awesome idea, because it would cut down on the amount of injuries that are suffered when two players rush to the end boards to contest an icing.

On the flip side, the NHL wants to experiment with the Hybrid icing rule as well. As college hockey fans saw last season there appeared to be no consistency in how that rule was called, you can only hope that the NHL officials can get that rule right if they decided to use it. Link to the Story on NHL.COM

Some of the rules that are being proposed

• No-touch icing
• No line change for team committing an offside
• Faceoff variations (penalty line for center committing an infraction; all faceoffs in circles; same linesman drops puck for all faceoffs)
• No icing permitted while shorthanded
• Verification line (additional line behind the goal line)
• Overtime variation (four minutes of 4-on-4 followed by three minutes of 3-on-3)
• Shootout variation (5-man shootout precedes sudden-death format)
• Shallow-back nets
• After offside, faceoff goes back to offending team's end
• Faceoff variations (both centers must come set on whistle; all faceoffs in circles; same linesman drops puck for all face-offs)
• Delayed penalty variation (offending team must exit zone in possession of puck to stop play)
• Changes only permitted on-the-fly (except after goals and upon manpower changes)
• Remove trapezoid
• Allow hand passes in all zones
• Overtime variation (switch ends)
• Shootout variation (5-man shootout with repeat players if tied after 5 shooters)
• Thin-netting nets
• 'Hybrid' icing
• Offside variation (offending team can't change and faceoff in its end zone)
• Faceoff variations (player encroaching can't replace thrown-out center, all faceoffs in circles; same linesman drops puck for all faceoffs)
• All penalties to be served in their entirety
• Strict enforcement of goaltenders covering puck outside crease (rule 63.2)
• Bear-hug rule
• Overtime variation (switch ends for four minutes of 4-on-4, followed by three minutes of 3-on-3)
• Shootout variation (3-man shoot out with repeat shooters if tied after 3 shooters)

Related articles

• NHL To Test Radical Rule Changes At Second Annual Research Camp (sbnation.com)
• What they'll be testing out at this summer's NHL Research & Development Camp (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• NHL rule changes (aol.sportingnews.com)