International hockey competitions may move to NHL-sized ice: IIHF president

[Keduzin]

Big ice in NHL would kill hockey. Teams would just play like team Finland and games would be super boring. Just stuck five man unit in the middle of ice and stay there whole game. Winning board battles in corners would not matter at all, because they are too far from the net.

...WHAT ?

No other team forechecks as much as this team Finland.

 

[NinjaKick]

I'm not a fan of this... the IIHF doesn't need to cater to the NHL in this aspect... this tournament has been amazing on it's own

 

[Jakk123]

Seems like I'm the only European who likes this.

 

[BullLund]

Big ice in NHL would kill hockey. Teams would just play like team Finland and games would be super boring. Just stuck five man unit in the middle of ice and stay there whole game. Winning board battles in corners would not matter at all, because they are too far from the net.

Honestly the "board battles" are one of the most boring aspects of NHL to me. I see plenty of "shutdown" lines, whose job is to do nothing but keep the puck on the offensive zone and grind it against the boards, without generating any chances.

Being a big dude who's strong on the boards, makes you a competent enough NHLer, whereas on the big ice, those types of players get exposed for their lack of skill. Instead of using your body, you have to use your skills with the stick in order to protect the puck, or gain possession of it.

I think the big ice is a refreshing chance of pace because it allows the skilled players more space for creativity.

 

[KingJoffrey]

Honestly the "board battles" are one of the most boring aspects of NHL to me. I see plenty of "shutdown" lines, whose job is to do nothing but keep the puck on the offensive zone and grind it against the boards, without generating any chances.

Being a big dude who's strong on the boards, makes you a competent enough NHLer, whereas on the big ice, those types of players get exposed for their lack of skill. Instead of using your body, you have to use your skills with the stick in order to protect the puck, or gain possession of it.

I think the big ice is a refreshing chance of pace because it allows the skilled players more space for creativity.

I don't watch hockey to watch board battles either, but I wanna see goals and in big size it's very easy to defend snd skill won't matter as much.

In D-zone teams would just stuck the middle ground of the ice and let the opponent to stay in corners. In NHL winning a battle in corner will create a scoring chance, but in big size you're too far off and winning a board battle won't result anything.

Go tö watch how team Canada played in Sotshi. That would be future of hockey.

 

[canuck2010]

Count me as one who used to think that the bigger ice would be better but I've changed my opinion over the last 10 years or so. Smaller ice makes for a faster game, with quicker and more highly skilled players. Big ice is just wasted space really. You play a regular sized game and leave the perimeter alone. On big ice you play a four man box in front of your own net, it's relatively easy to defend. I don't find it very interesting to watch, Sochi was a bore, and certainly the 3rd period of the Canada- Finland game Sunday was. I'm happy that Finland won but sheeesh.

Have at it, just one opinion

 

[garbageteam]

Yeah I as well used to see the argument for bigger ice but am now favoring smaller ice more and more despite having less interested in watching the NHL as a league over the years. I hope these changes do come to action in the coming years.

 

[BalticWarrior]

Seems like I'm the only European who likes this.

Yeah im all for it aswell. The game would be much more high paced than it is now, lets be honest some games on the big ice can be a complete snooze fest of guys just cycling the puck around, especially when a stronger teams plays an underdog.

 

[Morokolli]

I like it, Finnish hockey leagues are going to NHL size also soon.

 

[Albatros]

I like it, Finnish hockey leagues are going to NHL size also soon.

Impossible, as some arenas are not large enough.

 

[BalticWarrior]

Count me as one who used to think that the bigger ice would be better but I've changed my opinion over the last 10 years or so. Smaller ice makes for a faster game, with quicker and more highly skilled players. Big ice is just wasted space really. You play a regular sized game and leave the perimeter alone. On big ice you play a four man box in front of your own net, it's relatively easy to defend. I don't find it very interesting to watch, Sochi was a bore, and certainly the 3rd period of the Canada- Finland game Sunday was. I'm happy that Finland won but sheeesh.

Have at it, just one opinion

I still maintain that Vancouver Olympics is probably among the best hockey i`ve ever seen in my life, part of the reason being it was played on the small ice.

 

[Morokolli]

Impossible, as some arenas are not large enough.

 

[Albatros]

For example in Lahti the rink is 58 meters long, and making it NHL size (61 meters) would require extending it by three meters, for which there does not appear to be any space without major structural changes:

 

[Jussi]

I like it, Finnish hockey leagues are going to NHL size also soon.

Kummola thinks most Liiga rinks will be 28 meters.

Kalervo Kummola paljastaa: Suomen MM-kisoissa astuu voimaan radikaali sääntömuutos – ”Ei tämä ole aiheuttanut hurraahuutoja”

Kalervo Kummolan mukaan Suomessa moni olisi 28 metrin kaukalon kannalla.
– Ei tämä 26 metriä ole aiheuttanut hurraahuutoja Suomessa. Tampereen halliin tullaan tekemään 28 ja 26 metrin kaukalot. Uskon, että SM-liiga tulee pelaamaan jatkossa 28-metrisessä kaukalossa, Kummola kertoo.

 

[Jussi]

For example in Lahti the rink is 58 meters long, and making it NHL size (61 meters) would require extending it by three meters, for which there does not appear to be any space without major structural changes:

We're talking width, not length here.

 

[OKOptimistic]

I wish NHL made it 3-6 feet wider. Not quite as wide as International (4 meters wider). But it would make a huge difference to the game. Players could utilize their skill and speed more.

 

[Albatros]

We're talking width, not length here.

Making a rink 58x26 does not make it NHL size any more than making it 61x30 would.

 

[Jussi]

Making a rink 58x26 does not make it NHL size any more than making it 61x30 would.

He meant 26 X 60 meters...

 

[Nino33]

Making a rink 58x26 does not make it NHL size any more than making it 61x30 would.

It was NHL size from 1929-1994 (Chicago Stadium). And Boston/Buffalo didn't used to be the full 61 meters either.

The issue doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me, certainly not "impossible"

 

[Albatros]

That's correct, but in the modern game with much tighter defensive systems it's worth considering the overall impact of such undersized rinks. The offensive zone is going to be much smaller than in the NHL.

 

[BalticWarrior]

That's correct, but in the modern game with much tighter defensive systems it's worth considering the overall impact of such undersized rinks. The offensive zone is going to be much smaller than in the NHL.

The change would probably benefit the weaker teams if anything. You can really clog up the neutral zone on the NHL ice. Not to mention suddenly strategy of "shoot the puck on net and see what happens" seems that much more viable.

 

[Nino33]

That's correct, but in the modern game with much tighter defensive systems it's worth considering the overall impact of such undersized rinks. The offensive zone is going to be much smaller than in the NHL.

Wouldn't they take it out of the neutral zone? I thought that was what they did with those NHL rinks, but maybe not

 

[Albatros]

This is how the Chicago ice looked like in the olden days:

Here's Lahti as it's now, I think the lines are relatively similar:

 

[Nino33]

This is how the Chicago ice looked like in the olden days:
Here's Lahti as it's now, I think the lines are relatively similar:

That camera lenses is really distorting things (the distance between blue lines is almost twice as long on the near side than the far side in the Chicago picture - if I had to say, looking at just the far side and comparing center to blue line with blue line to goal line, I think the neutral zone is reduced not the offensive zone)

That picture's from before my memory HaHa they replaced that old clock in 1975

 

[gwh]

Expected decision after NHL squads got booted at Worlds. Cuban can't take losing too well.

Insane change that requires structural changes to rinks that are specifically designed for the international standard rink.