Hockey Canada decides to ban bodychecking in peewee division
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Hockey Night in Canada icon Don Cherry is not in favour of Hockey Canada’s recent decision to ban body checking at the peewee level.
During his Coaches Corner segment Saturday, Cherry disagreed with Hockey Canada’s decision to ban bodychecking for peewee players saying young players will be ill-prepared and unsafe when physical contact is introduced at higher levels.
“You [Hockey Canada] have good intentions, but hey listen, the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” he said on his Hockey Night in Canada segment. “You’re gonna be sorry. You watch and see, you will be sorry.”
The decision came during Hockey Canada’s 94th Annual General Meeting in Charlottetown P.E.I.
The meeting was attended by more than 250 delegates from across the country.
The new body-checking rule change approved at 2013 Hockey Canada Annual General Meeting reads:
• A modification to playing rule 6.2b was approved, removing body-checking from Peewee levels and below within leagues governed by Hockey Canada, starting in 2013-14.
* In addition to this rule change, a work group has been directed to build a mandatory national checking and instructional resource program to support the progressive implementation of checking skills at the Novice to Peewee levels to better prepare players for body-checking at the Bantam and Midget level.
