Ontario’s minister of sports, Lisa MacLeod, announced in late October that the Ontario Hockey League will not have body checking this season. She claims that removing checking is necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19; “Not just in the OHL, not just in hockey in general, but in all sports,” MacLeod said. “We’re in a very serious game right now and the reality is we have to take those public health precautions.”

This announcement was met with outrage in the hockey community with current and former players voicing their displeasure. In a video posted on Twitter, former NHL enforcer John Scott said: “If you can’t hit, there’s no point in playing hockey.” He also called the move a “slippery slope” towards the “sissification” of hockey and the end of checking altogether. Scott argues that no hitting will result in fewer injuries, leading to a push to take it out of the game completely. In 286 career games, Scott was credited with 428 hits. Another former NHLer known for his physical play, Matthew Barnaby, also expressed his discontent on Twitter: “With OHL no contact rules in place… They should simply cancel [the] season,” he tweeted.

Current players also expressed their opinions. Islanders’ defenseman Scott Mayfield posed a question for those against checking “If you eliminate checking, won’t it create close contact puck battles in tight areas for longer amounts of time?” he tweeted. It’s an interesting point from a guy who spends a lot of time battling for pucks in tight areas. Being allowed to bump a guy off the puck decreases the amount of time you are near him. A quick hit usually ends a potential multiple-second, tight quarters battle.

Even OHL players, like Mississauga’s Thomas Harley, are concerned about how taking away checking will affect the game. “If there’s not body checking, I’m not sure we should even play… I wouldn’t,” the Dallas Stars 2019 first-round pick said. “We’ve been playing our whole lives with hitting. I wouldn’t know how to play.” Potentially sitting out an entire season of juniors could hurt Harley’s development, although a season without checking could do the same. NHL teams may be left scrambling to find other ways to develop their young talent. Many may pull their OHL prospects and re-assign them to European teams along with their young AHL players. The Islanders don’t currently have any OHL prospects in the system but have sent AHLers like Oliver Wahlstrom to play in Europe to continue development while North American hockey preps for return.

Checking is a fundamental part of hockey. Whether it’s separating a man from the puck or finishing a guy on the forecheck, hitting is necessary. This is coming from a 5′ 6″ 120lbs player who has been on the receiving end of some serious wallops. Without checking, defense will be nearly impossible to play, forechecks, like the Islanders’, will be ineffective and the game will turn into an up and down affair with little structure. Physicality is part of what makes hockey great and it helps to balance the teams with high skill. Without checking, hockey becomes basketball or soccer on ice.

John Smark