WHL has new rules, new technology this season
Published 1:30 am Thursday, September 22, 2016
By Jesse Geleynse
Herald Writer
EVERETT — Everett Silvertips fans remember the controversial first goal scored by Seattle’s Josh Uhrich in the first period of a 2-1 Thunderbirds win in the fourth game of last April’s Western Conference semifinals.
The goal was waved off, and the call was confirmed by video replay because it was assumed Uhrich kicked the puck past Everett goalie Carter Hart.
But a second review reversed the decision and awarded Uhrich the goal because he hadn’t made “a kicking motion.”
Now, with the rule changes adopted in June at the Western Hockey League’s annual general meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, it’s a controversy that should cease. The new rule states that if skates are in the crease, the goal doesn’t count. If the skates are outside the crease, the goal counts whether there was a distinct kicking motion or not.
While Uhrich’s goal was legal — the officials decided there was no kicking motion and that, in fact, the puck went in off his shin guard — this new rule takes the human element out of the equation. In a perfect implementation this should take away some of the review time that adds length to games.
And when the review does get kicked upstairs? The replay officials will be using a new replay system produced by Hawk-Eye Innovations. All the WHL arenas will have the new technology in place prior to the beginning of the regular season. Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League use Hawk-Eye, which “will provide WHL video with improved capabilities in all video review situations,” per the release issued by the league.
Video replay is still a fairly new innovation in the WHL. The league used it in the conference finals in 2008 and 2009 before adopting it during the 2009-10 regular season. The league had waited until every team had the proper equipment in place before implementing it so as to keep the playing field as level as possible, The Herald reported in 2009.
The final new rule WHL fans will see this season is the adoption of the hybrid icing already in place in the NHL.
Under the hybrid icing rule, the linesman must first determine whether the puck would in fact cross the end line, then determine which player would have reached the puck first. The decision on who would have reached the puck first is now based on the skates of whichever player reaches the faceoff dot first.
If the defensive player is judged to reach the faceoff dot first, icing is called and the play results in a faceoff at the other end of the ice. But if an offensive player is judged to the reach the faceoff dot first, the icing call is waved off and play continues.
The NHL implemented the hybrid icing rule prior to the 2013-14 season with the goal of increasing player safety. The new rule decreases the chances of players running into the end boards at a high rate of speed and suffering a potential season- or career-ending injury.
