Hundreds of minor hockey coaches and even more hockey parents will be in for a surprise this fall.
Many of them don't know, or are just finding out, that Hockey Canada has followed the NHL's lead in asking referees to crack down on obstruction and stick fouls this winter.
Hockey Canada made the decision at its annual general meeting in May.
The governing body of hockey recently launched an education campaign via a DVD and its website to get the word out to coaches and parents across the country in time for this season.
"From the coaches who have played games so far, every one I've spoken to is almost in shock at the radical change in the game," bantam double-A coach Jay Kyle said Wednesday from Stony Creek, Ont. "It's going to change how we teach the players and we have to rethink the game a little bit.
"I do believe there are a lot of coaches who aren't up to speed yet on it if they haven't had an exhibition game yet."
The NHL had its growing pains under the new rules last season as coaches and players adjusted to a different style of game.
And it was easier to get the 30 NHL head coaches up to speed on what the referees were going to call, than it will be to get the 75,000 coaches across Canada on board.
"Our concern is the coaches who don't go to clinics, but are certified," Hockey Canada vice-president Johnny Misely said. "In October, we expect a lot of negativity because it's just been introduced. We're asking for patience and the payoff is going to be that it's good for the game.
"We need the buy-in from coaches, so we can get the buy-in from the players."
The technical director of Hockey Nova Scotia is hoping the NHL coaches and players will set an example for minor hockey.
"When they introduced it in the NHL last year, you didn't see a lot of backtalk from players or angry comments from coaches, which is good," Kevin Mitchell said. "What we're trying to preach is acceptance and that it's good for the game."
Kyle, who coaches the Stony Creek Warriors, said in the one exhibition game his team has played so far, referees did a good job keeping the coaches informed on why so many penalties were called.
"But I could see from looking over my shoulder, the parents are having a hard time," Kyle said. "They don't understand and some of them haven't been informed of these changes yet."
Some referees in minor hockey games are only two or three years older than the teams they are officiating, said John Beck, who coaches the North Vancouver Storm atom double-A team.
"They don't have the confidence to make all the calls and the parents may get frustrated at the inconsistency," he said.
As it was in the NHL, power plays and penalty killing are about to become much more important parts of the game at the minor levels.
"We're going to have to spend an absolute ton of time on special teams," Calgary North Stars coach Keith Fagnan said.
In his midget triple-A team's intrasquad games, referees have been asked to raise their arm and blow their whistle when they see an infraction to let the players know when they've committed an infraction, but play continues in order not to have a stoppage every minute.
Beck, Kyle, Fagnan and Mitchell are all in favour of the crackdown because it will create more skilled players and thus a better game. But it's going to require time and patience for the desired result.
Unlike the NHL, minor hockey coaches have varying degrees of certification and training and the players have a wider range of talent and skill than at the pro level.
Even Misely said he caught himself during the summer teaching checking under the previous standards.
"I remembered you can't put your stick on the body," Misely said. "It is going to change coaches' lesson plans. They're going to have to know what they can and cannot do."
Beck says that when he teaches backchecking, the players will be told they have to skate hard to get into position and force the opposing player to the outside, rather than applying the stick to slow the opposing player down.
Also new for minor hockey this season, Hockey Canada is asking arenas to move the goal-lines closer to the boards and the blue-lines out to shrink the neutral zone, which mirrors the NHL in increasing the size of the attacking zone.
The size of goaltender equipment is also going to be standardized, but those rules won't come into effect until the 2008-09 season.
