Why are there so many officials on the ice??
Posted 11:24 AM ET | Comments 13
There's some sarcasm in the title. I know why there are so many officials but I no longer know why they are all on the ice. Maybe the NHL should consider putting an official either between the penalty boxes or between the benches.
What, why? If you watch as much hockey as me you've probably noticed how manytimes the officials get in the way of the play or can't believe the official furtherest from the play calls the penalty. More importantly it's all the times the officials get in the way of the play. The speed has increased in this game and the officials often don;t have a place to go. They are humans and sometimes as humans they panic seeing two guys speeding twoards and end up getting more in the way than before.
One way to resolv this is as I mentioned. Some other benefits would be not only the space on the ice but also a guy situated in such a way that he won't miss as much of the action. The short coming is he'll invariably be further away from the play. That's okay. Not only do we not need officials to deceide goals any longer, we now have goal judges, but as I mentioned earlier many times it's the official away from the play callling the penalty. Another negative is say the official is situated between the benches. Well that would entice the coaches or players to complain tot he official. No problem that can solved byt boxing him in. You could also add a few monitors in there for him to be able to see the play from different angles during game breaks. He might not be able to make a call but maybe he picks up on some plays he missed earlier and can now watch for. His vision will also remain steady. When you move even on a smooth surface like ice your line of sight will move and that effects your vision. Some people can process this information by their mind's ability for expectation, especially great atheletes. It's just like shooting. If you try to aim at a target while running you will notice your site going up and down.
In the end it's just a thought. Just looking for ways to improve the game. Any thoughts on this matter will be aprreciated.
What, why? If you watch as much hockey as me you've probably noticed how manytimes the officials get in the way of the play or can't believe the official furtherest from the play calls the penalty. More importantly it's all the times the officials get in the way of the play. The speed has increased in this game and the officials often don;t have a place to go. They are humans and sometimes as humans they panic seeing two guys speeding twoards and end up getting more in the way than before.
One way to resolv this is as I mentioned. Some other benefits would be not only the space on the ice but also a guy situated in such a way that he won't miss as much of the action. The short coming is he'll invariably be further away from the play. That's okay. Not only do we not need officials to deceide goals any longer, we now have goal judges, but as I mentioned earlier many times it's the official away from the play callling the penalty. Another negative is say the official is situated between the benches. Well that would entice the coaches or players to complain tot he official. No problem that can solved byt boxing him in. You could also add a few monitors in there for him to be able to see the play from different angles during game breaks. He might not be able to make a call but maybe he picks up on some plays he missed earlier and can now watch for. His vision will also remain steady. When you move even on a smooth surface like ice your line of sight will move and that effects your vision. Some people can process this information by their mind's ability for expectation, especially great atheletes. It's just like shooting. If you try to aim at a target while running you will notice your site going up and down.
In the end it's just a thought. Just looking for ways to improve the game. Any thoughts on this matter will be aprreciated.
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01 Notes on the final preseason game against chicago
01 Notes on the final preseason game against chicago
09 Blues Thus Far
13 So Far I'm wrong and Right
21 Saturday's game
22 It's Time
23 Isn't It Awesome to be Able to Nit Pick the Small Things?!?
24 Why the Ducks Should Be Watched WIth Close Eyes By NHL
26 Trade Likely to Come Soon
01 Notes on the final preseason game against chicago
09 Blues Thus Far
13 So Far I'm wrong and Right
21 Saturday's game
22 It's Time
23 Isn't It Awesome to be Able to Nit Pick the Small Things?!?
24 Why the Ducks Should Be Watched WIth Close Eyes By NHL
26 Trade Likely to Come Soon
25 What to Do: Fourth Line Questions to Ponder with the Rise
28 What did the Florida game tell us?
28 Why are there so many officials on the ice??
28 What did the Florida game tell us?
28 Why are there so many officials on the ice??
08 My Picks
I've always wondered why not experiment with taking the linesmen off the ice and placing them behind the boards. All they would call would be offsides. Leaving only the two referees on the ice.
I wouldn't mind seeing the linesmen sitting in the stands along the blue lines (one on each side). They should be able to see offside and icing from there.
I like the linesman being off the ice better. One problem is fights and brawls. You will still need to have a couple of large sized off ice officials standing near a door, with skates on, to jump on the ice during any scuffle to keep law and order.
That's a good point about the fights. Didn't think of that aspect. They could have a door and wearing skates at the ready I suppose.
But making a door at the blueline in each arena will be expensive. Plus they would need to build a box so fans dont harrass or distract them. And it is a bad angle if the puck at the near boards. It is easier for him to be obstructed because he cant move around to get better views. I think it would create more problems that it would solve. Get the calls right and if a bad bounce makes a difference once in a while, so be it. It all evens out in the long run.
as far as a referee goes, you need a guy who can move around the ice. I would, if anything, add a goal judge behind the net in the stands so refs can play attention the play without worrying about getting in position to see the puck cross the line.
Not only fights but, as a referee myself, there are many things linesmen do that people are not aware of. Yes they break up fights but few people realize how many fights and scrums don't start because of proper positioning by the linesmen. They also help to call highsticks, hand passes, and too many men on the ice calls. They also are free to identify players who need to return to the ice following icings. There most important reason for them to be on the ice is really just to have another set of eyes and opinions. The refs are a team out there and rely a lot on each other
My contention was really to get one of the officials off of the ice. Instead of the current two man system on the ice. Those are the ones that seem to get into the way. But you are correct the linesman keep the game flowing repairing the ice, dropping the pucks etc etc. But when they added the extra official on the ice it has created problems. The extra bounce isn't a good thing. That official would be better served in the center of the rink. The linesman idea wasn't horrible by the Ducksfan but it does make too many problems and solves less. So that one's out for now. But there does not need to be four officials on the ice. Just make it three. The main official and the one watching can switch if one gets tired. And the places where I'd like to see them would be cut off from the fans and would not be expensive to create.
The refs aren't just putting themselves in random positions. Most of the time they position themselves in the same areas for certain views. The players should be aware of where those areas are and play accordingly. I don't have a problem with the refs and linesmen on the ice at all.
Refs should ONLY be allowed to call penalties on things happening in their zone.. Divide it into three... away team blue line to goal, home team blue line to goal, and the neutral zone. If you're in one, you can't call on the other.
It doesn't matter if the players know where the refs are going to be the problem is that the speed of the game is increasing and often the refs, the puck and the players are ending up in the same place, which means the ref is out of position and not seeing all of the ice. All I'm saying is take an official off the ice and put him at the center line. There's more space and the official can see the play just as well as the back positioned official. It's not an emotional opinion it's just fact. There's only so much room on the ice.
Its a good idea but it might be difficult for the referee on the ice to go back and forth and make the appropriate calls.
remember they used to do it before. it wasn't too long ago you only a had one ref and two linesmen. it's just be nice to open some more of the ice up.maybe the NHL should look into expanding the ice surface just a tiny bit.