Making sure all players get equal ice time is one of my top priorities and I know parents are interested.
Here is what I am trying to accomplish on the bench.
Position Familiarity
You can really see when a player becomes familiar with a position. They are more confident and because of that they play better
Bench Management
It may look easy but when you have the boys on the bench, they need to know when to go on. Any confusion tends to distract the players then they lose confidence and they do not play as well
Continuity Through a Game
Players do get used to playing with each other and play better because of it. I will keep the same players playing with each other through the game, if possible. You may not see it in the stands but the players get very excited for each other when a line mate gets a goal or makes a great play. I like the players to build on this excitement and really start cheering for each other.
Keeping Track And Evening Out Ice Time Over Several Games
With an odd number of players on the bench Continuity Through a Game is almost impossible to do while keeping equal ice time each game.
What you will see me do is then try to balance out the ice time over several games.
How I Will Manage Odd Player Numbers
Interestingly enough, Alliance Hockey, WMH governing body, has laid out the parameters that I can work within in the Rec League Rules
Rec League Rules
Here are the ice time rules
Rule #11: "Fair Ice-Time"
Recreational Hockey strives to provide all players with approximately equal Ice-Time throughout an entire game regardless of skill levels. Injuries and penalties are an obvious exception to this rule; also, changing "on the fly" with younger inexperienced players can occasionally lead inadvertently to unequal ice-times. Coaches must try to rectify any accidental inequalities. Coaches, however, may use a "Power Play" during the last two (2) minutes of a game which is the only other exception to this rule. The following table should be adhered to as ice-time for all players. If a team wishes to use two goalies they are to be given Fair Ice-Time and the balance of the team will follow these guidelines for the balance of the players:
9 Players 1 Goalie 5 Forwards 3 Defense;
10 Players 1 Goalie 2 Forward Lines 3 Defense;
11 Players 1 Goalie 2 Forward Lines 2 Defensive Lines;
12 Players 1 Goalie 2 Forward Lines 5 Defense; OR
12 Players 1 Goalie 7 Forwards 4 Defense;
13 Players 1 Goalie 7 Forwards 5 Defense; OR
13 Players 1 Goalie 8 Forwards 4 Defense;
14 Players 1 Goalie 3 Forward Lines 2 Defensive Lines;
15 Players 1 Goalie 3 Forward Lines 5 Defense;
16 Players 1 Goalie 3 Forward Lines 3 Defensive Lines;
17 Players 1 Goalie 3 Forward Lines 7 Defense.
You can see at 14 - 15 players I have no options and I must follow the rules.
Our team will most likely have 12 or 13 players per game, I have some options
Here is what Our team will do.
14 Skaters
Our full team is 14 skaters and 1 goalie.
We will go with 9 forwards (3 forward lines) and 5 defense.
The defense will get slightly more ice time but not enough to worry about
We have not had a full team out yet and it seems it will be rare that we get the full team.
13 Skaters
At 13 players I will always go with 4 defense and 8 forwards
I will always have 2 center and 6 wingers. This will lead to an “equal ice time” problem because the defense and centers will get more ice time.
In order to keep as much position familiarity as possible, I will bring one of the wingers to the center position for one shift then put them back on wing. I will do this two or three times per period. This will reduce confusion, give the winger some extra shifts and add to accomplishing our goal of equal ice.
The problem is the defense get more ice time.
When we go for a stretch of games with 13 players, you will see me play our regular defense in the forward position for one full game. That means a forward will get the extra ice the defence get.
We will not play enough games with 13 players to cycle all the forwards back to defense and frankly some forwards do no want to play D at all. We will work through that as a team. At least the parents can see the intension.
12 Skaters – the Swing Man (I do not know if Abbie will play this position or not. If she does, I will have to change the name:)
I will always go with 4 defense and 7 forwards
6 of the 7 forwards will be given a position to play the whole game.
One of the forwards will play all the positions, the Swing Man. The Swing Man will play right wing for the first period, centre for the second period and left wing in the third.
The swing man, as you can see, will be triple shifted while everybody else gets out every other time for two periods. I will compensate for this by making sure the Swing Man starts every period.
10 Or 11 Skaters
If we only have 10 or 11 skaters we will not have to worry as much about ice time as having very out of breath players on the bench
With 11 skaters I will likely play with 5 defense to make sure the forwards get the extra time when it is available buy depending on who is available I reserve the option to still play with 4 defense
I hope you now understand my position on ice time. We as coaches take it seriously and we will do our best to creat a situation where player get equal ice time over the season.
This is theory. When the team is changing on the fly, accidental long shifts, we get penalties, maybe some one gets hurt, all this changes. I know it will not be perfect but I will do the best I can.
Power Play
One thing I will not do change the player rotation for power plays or for penalty killing.
The fair play rules allow for me to put out a power play in the last two minutes of a game. I generally do not do this. Winning is just not that important to me. I like to challenge all the players to rise to the occasion and accomplish something special if they end up in that situation.
Ice Time Last week
Last week was a perfect example of everything in play.
We had 12 players for the first period and 13 for the second two periods
Jason used a combination of swing man and moving players. The defense got more ice time than the forwards.
For the first period we played with 3 left wingers, two centers and three right wingers. For the second period we went with 3 left, 3 right and 2 centers, and for the third period we went with 3 left wingers, 3 centers and 2 right wingers.
With all that confusion on the bench, Coach Jason did a great job managing the shifts.
The boys played very well against a very good team and won the game
Upcoming Practices
Keep an eye on our calendar. It is changing due to our tournament. We will now have three practices prior to our Bradford tournament. (And only one is at 7:00 AM:)
Gone are the days when you could write the schedule on the calendar or put it on the fridge for the year and forget about it.