Playing Hockey Again

Well, as I let you know last week, I'm playing hockey again. I have come to the realization that it has been well over 6 years since I played in anything organized. Although, I have been pleasantly surprised how well I'm doing. I have unfortunately lost quite a bit of my defensive awareness and my offensive awareness is SO much worse than the little bit that I once had. I think the only aspect of my game that I have been successful at keeping is my skating ability. Mind you, when I say ability, I mean my speed and my ability to skate backwards. I don't claim to have much more than that. Enough about me right now, lets find out what I've been finding out about the participants in this league.

So, I have played in 2 open skate sessions and I have to say, these southerns have really surprised me. There are some very good players at this venue. Back in the day when I would play midnight Friday night hockey in Bridgeville and Saturday morning hockey up at Aiken, I had the pleasure of being exposed to a wide variety of skills. I mean everything from those that can barely skate to those that, (IMHO), have potential to play seriously. I knew guys that played in leagues as high as the A league down at Neville. So, I think I have some basis of comparison to be able to accurately rate the skill level of the guys down here.

Last Sunday was my first exposure to what the south has to offer me. Well, I was surprised to find that there are some guys that can play. Although, there was a wide array of skills. Once again, from the pick-up games in Pittsburgh, which I'd participated, there were guys that could barely skate and there were those that could move. I would say that in the AA bracket, I'm safely around the upper 1/3 and 1/4 zone for speed and ability. Overall, the AA rink was exactly what was advertised, recreational. The game play was quite a bit more lax then I have come to expect and the amount of trash talk was found to be absent. The amount of team playing was limited. Since skill levels range so much, passing the puck within the offensive zone is quite hampered. Quite often point passes were missed and lead to a 2-on-1 or breakaway situation. Thankfully these point passes were not ones that I had missed. Most of the offensive team play was mainly kept limited to fast breaks. Quite often after a shot was taken, that was the end of the offense. Rebounds were infrequent and when the did occur, the defense was typically there to take it back the other way. That being said, backchecking was also often absent. Most backchecking started at the red line.

(For those less hockey savvy, backchecking is not checking. It is putting pressure on the opposing team in their blue zone. You can think of it as aggressive defense.)

Last night, I decided that I would take on both rinks to see how I would fare. Therefore, I started out on the AA rink. I played there for about an hour when I decided it was time to test the A rink waters. The aspect that really turned the tide was after I had scored 2 goals. I don't know if it was because of the guys on the rink with me or if I kept letting myself get pulled out of position, but I ended up putting in more time on offense than defense. For those of you that know my team sport mentality, there is no reason for me to be on offense. I don't have the stick handling, the offensive awareness or the shooting ability to be very effective. Yet somehow, I managed to find the back of the net twice.

The first goal was a wrist shot that I put toward the top right corner. Well, as you can guess, the goalie was right there. Humorously enough, after hitting the goalie in the mask, the puck continued on and into the net. I guess as goals go for me, this one wasn't too bad. The second goal wasn't even a shot on goal. I was beside the net at the right of the goalie chasing the free puck. I attempted a centering pass. I guess I didn't notice the number of people between me and center because my pass ended up scoring. My pass hit the skate of a minimum of one player and bounced into the net. I was astonished and thought it a fluke. Although, based on the average skill level of the AA group, they congratulated me on my ill gotten goal. I'm not complaining, but it was a bad goal.

So, after an hour on the AA side of the house, I switched rinks and decided to try my hand with the A league guys. Well, if I had to wager a bet as to what league these guys belong in at Neville, it would be no lower than B. It was a completely different game from the AA to A rinks. The game play was faster, the skill level was higher, and of course, with that comes the trash talking. The trash talking wasn't anywhere close to the level that I'd seen at Bridgeville before, but it was present. These guys were good. They could skate, they had stick handling, they had game.

In my opinion, my skills lend me into the lower 1/4 of the skill levels present in this league. I felt more like a liability than an asset to those on my team. Even with my speed, I was unable to out sprint anyone. My defensive skills were lack luster under this light. These guys would skate right past me with as little of a thought as a car over a speed bump. Most importantly, the positional playing that these guys were playing was uncanny. Backchecking was strong, deking was strong, and stopping was just impressive. The top players on this rink could hockey stop on a dime. Their redirection skills were also a direct result of their ability to stop.

The A league certainly brings the team aspect back to the game. Like the AA league and the pick-up games I've become accustomed to, positional playing isn't a typical requirement. The expectation is to try to generally cover an area and play the puck. Well, these A league guys were flowing around the surface with a generally cohesive team mentality. Defensemen were expected to dive in the offensive zone as the offensemen shifted around the offensive area. However, I felt that the defensive side was either not a strong or was more forgiving. You were either trying to block a shot, block a pass, or take the puck from the offense. However, don't underestimate the requirement for defense. Since these guys have serious skating and stick handling abilities, the lack of a strong defense will quickly show on the scoreboard.

Angel had the rare opportunity to have a Sunday night off early enough to accompany me. Therefore, she had her first opportunity to see me play. Since she hasn't seen me play in the past and doesn't have a feel for what my skills once were, she was in the position to present an objective rating of my game play. I felt my performance on the A league rink was lackluster. In talking with Angel after the open skate about my performance, she didn't say I looked as bad as I felt. Although, she did say that she could tell that I had been out of the sport for about as long as I had been. She gave me the impression that I was able to appear that I was able to hold my own with these guys. I still have my doubts.

Next weekend is the last open skate until the beginning of the season. Therefore, I think I will be playing the entire time on the A league side. Therefore, I will be able to better judge where I belong once the league begins. If I had to decide today, I think I would opt for the A league. I feel the only way to improve as a player is to play with better players. I don't have any ill placed notions of playing hockey for a career, but I do want to be a better player. My biggest fear is that I will be a liability for a team on the A league. The AA league is the safe route, but when have I been known to play safe? I enjoy competition and want to be pushed to play harder and better. Therefore, I am currently thinking that I'll sign-up under the A league, but I won't make that call until next weekend.

I do have to say, playing with either league, I am getting dogged out there. I'm good for a shift or two, but eventually a fast break or quick burst is needed that will wind me pretty badly. Right now, it feels like a minimum of 10 minutes before I recover from being winded. Although, I found playing with the A league that I got winded less. I'm not sure why that is. There are only a couple of reasons that I can think of for this to occur. Either, the team works together better and therefore there are less coast to coast sprints or since I'm in a less forgiving environment I step it up (and/or ignore it). Whichever it is, I'm sure once the league play begins, the team pressure in either league will cause me to push through it and play harder, longer.

I think that is enough reflection for now. I will have another update for you next week which will include the determination of which league I'm going to register for. I also hope that I get home early enough next weekend to get there for the entire period. I have been getting home from drill lately between 6 and 8. Therefore, I'm hoping for something closer to the 6 side because the open skate starts at 7.