This is not to say that the NHL condones violence. There is an unwritten law amongst the players and the officials regarding which aspects of fighting are acceptable and which are not. There are even rulings regarding who can and who cannot join in. You will be ejected from the game if you join a fight whilst sitting on the beach for example. Written rulings regarding hockey fights include the use of weapons. It is not allowed to use any form of weapon during a fight. This means that sticks must immediately be put down. The same applies to gloves. Gloves used in hockey are very hard and could easily cause damage a player if a blow were to be landed whilst wearing one. For this reason, they too must immediately be taken off if you are involved in a fight. If, once the players involved have been separated, the referee calls for an end to the fight, he must be obeyed. Failure to conform to these rulings will incur a penalty for misconduct and could result in a player’s suspension for forthcoming games.

These lenient rulings regarding hockey fights are only acceptable in the NHL, the North American Junior Leagues and some North American Professional minor leagues. The fighting is still illegal and is still punishable, but the lenient rulings regarding punishment will mean just a five minute major penalty… “five for fighting”. In all other games such as Peewee and College and European Leagues, anyone involved in fights will be ejected from the game. This stricter ruling also applies to all Olympic games and to all women’s hockey games.

In the games where hockey fights are more acceptable, especially NHL games, the team may have “enforcers”. These are players who will undertake the majority of the fighting. This is often to protect some of the top players and some enforcers are well known purely for their fighting rather than their hockey skills. There does seem to be a code of conduct which is unwritten and exists between players and officials known simply as “the code”. This is strictly adhered to and the fighting rarely gets out of control. The fights are nearly always just between the enforcers from each team and they will have agreed with each other whether to fight or not before hand. This means that neither will receive a penalty for being the instigator.

There have been calls to tighten the rulings regarding these fights in the NHL and Junior games but it would seem that the players and administrators are pro fighting. There are many other bodies which are very much anti fighting and it may not be long before hockey fights become punishable in the NHL, Junior League and all professional games as they are in many other leagues.

Robert Grazian is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about hockey visit Canadian Hockey Blog for current articles and discussions.

Thomas Vanek has six goals and Ales Kotalik has four. Derek Roy is not taking dives and skating all over the place. Patrick Kaletta is drawing penalties like crazy, infuriating the opposition and then playing turtle. The rest of the forwards are all contributing with Daniel Paille becoming the most improved forward on the team. Jason Pominville had not been scoring and Drew Stafford had been a big disappointment. Not much to complain about here.

Andrew Peters is throwing punches again instead of clutching and grabbing. You gotta love Adam Mair too, he just plays so hard every night. Even Max Afinogenov is showing signs of keeping his head up and making plays.

The real story on the team is the defense. A couple of years ago, Tallinder and Lydman were the big pair. Now it looks like they could be fighting for ice time. Spacek is continuing the excellent season he had last year. New captain Craig Rivet has been a very cool customer who contributes both ways. Teppo Numminen who was born when Nixon was elected president. He’s coming off heart surgery, and plays like a 30 year old. Paetsch and Sekera look like they have arrived.
Even though he’s only played one game, Patrick Lalime appears to be the refreshment that Ryan Miller needs to sustain himself as one of the best goalies in the NHL over the long haul.
Lets face it though, Lindy Ruff is the best coach in the NHL. Even with all the mishap last season, he still got the maximum from this team.

It’s a long season, and what a start. They have not given up a power play goal yet. With the Buffalo Bills at 4-1 and the Sabres 5-0, Buffalo fans have early dreams of Bowls and Cups. Who knows? Maybe this is the start of two miracle seasons.

The American Italian Baby Boomer http://iabbc.com/sports.html

There is nothing worth achieving that comes easy. Those players who have reached the highest levels of hockey have gotten there because of their willingness to challenge themselves today to be better than they were yesterday.

You have to push the envelope and put yourself out on the line each and every day in order to get better. That doesn’t mean that you need to be training every minute of every day, but you do need to be pushing yourself as hard as you possibly can when you are training on and off the ice in order to really improve.

You are going to have bad games. There are going to be years where you miss the playoffs. There are going to be times that you try out a new move and it fails miserably. There are going to be off-ice training sessions where you feel weak, tired and just plain uncoordinated. At some point in your hockey career, you are going to get cut. Hockey is a game of mistakes and failure is lurking around every corner.

You always have the choice to take the easy road or take the much more challenging path to success. Remember this quote, “If you do what you’ve always done, you are going to get what you’ve always had”. In order to get more out of yourself and take your game to the next level, you have to be willing to fail. Every time you fail, you have an great opportunity to learn from your mistakes and become a better player. You might fall flat on your face 9 times out of 10. But that one time where you succeed will be well worth it.

Don’t be scared of failing. Be scared of not improving. Be scared of being the exact same calibre of player this season as you were last year.

Are you willing to put yourself in a position where you might fail? Or are you happy to just do what you’ve always done and just go along for the ride? If you want to take your game to the next level and become the next great hockey player, you need to have a plan for how you are going to push the envelope, to put yourself out on a limb day after day and risk complete and utter failure. If you are willing to take the risk, the reward will be well worth it.

To learn more about how to take your game to the next level this season, visit: http://www.besthockeyseasonever.com Kim McCullough, M.Sc., YCS is a highly sought-after expert in the development of aspiring hockey players and has played at the highest level of women’s hockey in the world for the last decade. Kim’s player development website gives coaches and parents of aspiring young players access to programs, articles and advice on how to help their players take their game to the next level.

1. Pittsburgh - Malkin and Crosby are playing like …… Malkin and Crosby. Satan is really only a minus 2? Marc Andre Fleury is the most underrated goalie in the NHL. They are for real.
2. Detroit - They make you sick don’t they? Hossa and Datsuk lead the way and Zetterburg is just warming up. Osgood does not look like last season and goals against are not Red Wing - like. Powerplay is keeping them in business.
3. Washington - Yes they are good even without the temporary absence of Ovechkin, the best and most entertaining player in the NHL. Alexander Semin is an emerging top 10 player. Jose Theodore could do them in - he is very shaky.
4. Anaheim - Big Ducks are finding their form. Their goal against is terrible. Giggy is waking up though and the road record is impressive. Ryan Getzlaf is a great team leader and Selanne looks like he could play until Social Security.
5. Chicago - I still like these guys to go far. Patrick Kane is no fluke. Khabibulin has a good save percentage and the team is getting hotter all the time.
6. San Jose - I know, I know - how the heck does an undefeated at home team fit in at number 6. Especially a team with a goals for and against like them. Well I say Patrick Marleau, Devin Setoguchi, Ryane Clowe, and Evgeni Nabokov are all early flukes. They are barely .500 on the road. We will see.
7. Montreal - What a disappointment so far. Can’t blame Price this year. Tanguay lead them in scoring? Where is the vaunted power play?
8. Boston - I am not a Bruins fan but they have to be the most improved team in the NHL so far. They actually work hard and are consistent. A nice power play and Tim Thomas is playing like Cheevers.
9. NY Rangers - if not for Henrik Lundqvist they would be average. Nothing spectacular anywhere. Then again, maybe I just don’t like the hockey version of the Yankees.
10. Buffalo - Here’s thinking the Yo Yo Sabres will eventually play a little more consistant. Thomas Vanek has been intense and effective. Ryan Miller has been good, then bad, then good. Why they put up with Kotalik and lazy players like him is beyond me. They are deep and should make some trades.
11. Minnesota - Ok, Niklas Backstrom is awesome. It would be hard for anyone to fall asleep at a hockey game but the Wild could “trap” you into it. They remind me of baseballs “Boring Orioles”. Get some zip, will ya?
12. Vancouver - Could be the hardest working team in hockey. FIVE shutouts for Luongo? Are you kidding me? If the Rangers played this hard they would be undefeated. No stars other than Roberto, just teamwork.
13. Calgary - Iginla and Kiprusoff can’t do it alone. I still like them to go very far though. Need to play better on the road.
14. St. Louis - Here’s a ringer for ya’. Below .500 with and average goaltender. Their leading scorer (Andy McDonald) is a minus 12, so why so high? They are fun to watch. They fight and scrap. Go see the Blues. They might lose but they will not be intimidated.
15. Toronto - Oh my! Two average teams in a row rated higher than the standing show. Why the Leafs? They play hard, have a good power play, and you gotta love Stajan and Toskala. No more “slow Leafs slow”.
16. Nashville - Here’s hoping Shea Weber passes JP Dumont as the team’s leading scorer. A defenseman leading a team in scoring, how cool. Dan Ellis is underrated too. If they would just change the name if the team to the Nashville Cats and put a guitar on the jersey I would love them.
17. Columbus - Broussard looks like the real thing and Nash is healthy. Goaltending is decent but they are not deep and play like a bunch of stick artists. Would be runner ups to the Portland Pirates of the American League.
18. New Jersey - How important is a goalie to a team built for defense? Just watch. They simply don’t have it. Pathetic powerplay. Big Lou might even make some trades this year. They have a good core.
19. Phoenix - Bryzgalov, Doan, and Jokinen want a powerplay for Christmas. They could eventually be vastly improved but need to get some scoring touch.
20. Carolina - Cam Ward lifts this pathetic bunch to number 20. What’s funny is that on some nights they actually look decent. Maybe a coaching change? I couldn’t find and Hurricanes in the leading scorers - not even close.
21. Philadelphia - Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys. They have more cracks than the Liberty Bell. Last couple of years they were getting so cocky too. Marty Biron should sue for non-support.
22. Ottawa - Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys. Sorry I just can’t stand Murray. Come on, Heatly, Alfreddson, Spezza - Don Cherry may turn loose on all of them soon. Who needs a goalie when you can surround about six talented guys with cheap shots?
23. Colorado - Wish they would trade Stastny - I really like him. Cool uniforms and Budaj - that’s about it.
24. Edmonton - Can’t score, can’t play good defense, and lousy goaltending. Talk about bad moves. They went way backwards this year.
25. Atlanta - Brian Little and Kozlov are the only bright spots on injury riddled “Bird Team” They also play a little chippy and can’t really back it up.
26. Los Angeles - Goaltending is very good. Young Stars are good. There are not enough of them . Big market mishap here.
27. Dallas - Don’t blame Marty Turco for the NHL’s biggest team disappointment. They can’t seem to do anything consistently.
28. Florida - Another team much like LA. Good goaltending and not much more - Sure trade Jokinen - go ahead - make my day.
29. Tampa Bay - I rated them last because they are the laziest team in hockey. Lot’s of talent. Just lazy. Can’t blame goaltender Mike Smith for horrible power play. Some nights they wake up and then go to sleep for another week. It was not Barry Melrose - It’s the team leadership.
30. NY Islanders - Doug Weight is their leading scorer. DOUG WEIGHT!

The Boomer

Charles Priore

Italian American Baby Boomers Club

http://IABBC.com