A well-timed, hard hit in hockey is a work of art. A bad hit can end someone’s career. But what’s the difference?
As a general rule of thumb, a hit must target the shoulder or chest of the player and happen while he’s eligible to be hit.
Here’s what you can’t do:
- Hit someone who doesn’t have the puck — That’s interference.
- Hit from behind — That’s checking from behind.
- Hit with the head being the first point of contact — That’s an illegal check to the head.
- Hit someone who’s in a vulnerable position along the boards — That’s boarding.
- “Violently” check someone as a result of “distance traveled” — That’s charging.
- Jump to hit someone — That’s also classified as charging.
- Use your elbow in a hit — That’s elbowing.
- Use your stick in a hit — That’s cross-checking.
- Hit someone below the waist — That’s clipping.
- Hit with your knee — That’s kneeing.
You’ll notice that all these rules have to do with the safety of the player being hit. While injuries can happen on any hit, clean or dirty, they’re much less likely to occur when following these rules.
Examples of illegal hits in hockey
Here are some examples of illegal hits.
Illegal check to the head
In this one, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves had the chance to lay a clean, shoulder-to-shoulder hit on Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, but instead he aimed for the head.
Reaves received a five-game suspension, while Nurse missed three games due to injury.
Kneeing
This video is an example of kneeing. Former Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alex Edler got ready to hit former Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman, but rather than throwing his shoulder into Hyman’s chest, he stuck out his leg and hit him low.
Hyman would miss the rest of the regular season and the entire playoffs due to an injury on that play — a total of 18 games. Edler was suspended for two games.
Interference
This is an example of a late hit. It only warranted a two-minute interference penalty for Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson, though former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Mark Jankowski missed the next three games with an injury.
There’s no hard, fast rule regarding the amount of time between the release of the puck and hit eligibility to be hit, but it’s generally less than a second. If you have enough time to think about whether you’re allowed to hit the guy, you’re not.
Interference can also be much more minor than this example. Sometimes, it’s simply impeding an opponent’s path with physical force.
Boarding
This one makes you cringe.
Former Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk received a two-minute boarding penalty for this hit on former New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod because McLeod was not in a position to defend himself, given the distance he was from the boards and the speed at which Grzelcyk was traveling.
Boarding can be summarized like this: You can’t use the boards as a weapon.
Cross-checking
Cross-checking commonly happens in hockey. It’s not always dangerous enough to cause an injury, but it certainly hurts.
In this example, featuring Oilers forward Evander Kane and Calgary Flames for ward Nazem Kadri, Kane received a two-minute cross checking penalty because he used his stick to hit Kadri, rather than using his shoulder.