New rules a boon to scoring?
Juniors preview NHL interference ban
`It's up to us to adjust,' Tucker says
KEN CAMPBELL
SPORTS REPORTER
Fans of the Ontario Hockey League have already seen the parade to the penalty box that the NHL's new interference rules are bound to create, but they've also seen a parade of pucks to the back of the net.
Going into last night's pre-season games, the OHL was averaging a minor penalty almost every two minutes, but had also seen its goals per game jump by almost two over last year's pre-season. Through 33 games, officials in the OHL have whistled teams for an average of 28.1 minor penalties per game, up from just 17.2 during the pre-season in 2004-05. Conversely, teams are averaging 8.36 goals per game, up substantially from the 6.49 the league averaged in exhibition games last year.
"We've noticed that the penalties have decreased in the last little while," said OHL director of hockey operations and referee-in-chief Ted Baker. "A pessimist would say that the officials have stopped calling it and an optimist would say that the players have adjusted, but we've supervised all the games and we haven't seen any relaxing in the standard."
Somewhat to his surprise, Baker said he has received calls from coaches encouraging the league to keep the vigilance level high. Past crackdowns have decayed in large part because officials and the league's head office got worn down by the constant carping and ridicule from both management and players.
"The coaches have been teaching it in training camp and in practices," Baker said. "We've heard where coaches will make a player drop down and do 10 push-ups right on the spot if he gets a stick on another player in a scrimmage. It's a matter of changing the mindset and I think our coaches are doing that."
It would be hard to fathom Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn demanding Mats Sundin drop and give him 20, but the issue will have to be addressed soon. Through scrimmage games in the first days of camp, there have been almost no penalties called because the referees are not enforcing the standard, nor are they penalizing goalies for venturing out behind the net to play the puck.
"I'm sure there are going to be more penalties called, but it's up to us to adjust," said Leafs winger Darcy Tucker. "We're not dumb people. We know how to adjust to things and we're going to have to adjust this time because it's not going back to the way it was."
Leafs GM John Ferguson agrees, saying that while there will be a learning curve, coaches won't tolerate players who don't get the message.
"I think we're all going to learn a little bit," Ferguson said.
"Let's face it. How many times are you going to come back to the bench after taking a penalty and tell the coach, `That used to not be a penalty.' One or two times and Pavlov's dog figures it out."
Sundin figures that because the Leafs are so large at forward with the likes of himself, Eric Lindros, Jason Allison, Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky, they'll benefit from no longer having defencemen hang all over them.
"Some people say we're big and slow," Sundin said, "but I don't know how people are going to stop these guys if you can't put a hand on them or hook them or crosscheck them."
But Sundin also acknowledges that the crackdown works both ways and is a bit nervous about what the new enforcement will mean on the other side of the puck.
"It's a little worrying, but we'll see on Sunday when we play Ottawa," Sundin said. "They have a lot of speed and a lot of guys who skate well. Many times you worry because on the defensive side you're using a lot of tricks with the stick and kind of clutching and grabbing to stop guys. On the offensive part I'm excited, but in our own end, I'm not too excited."
