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Kilrea, the former 67’s GM and coach was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2003, is having a hard time understanding why this stance has been taken. Yes, it’s better than the alternative, but he can’t begin to imagine what the game will look like without players finishing their checks.
“Well, over the years, I think I had a couple of teams that played that way,” the 86-year-old Kilrea cracked Saturday afternoon.
All jokes aside, Kilrea wonders how OHL general managers, coaches and players would make this work? You can’t just tell a player who’s been trained to play the game physically to stop finishing checks, especially in the defensive zone.
Kilrea believes OHL commissioner David Branch, who’s also the head of the Canadian Hockey League, is saying all the right things and “playing by the rules because right now he doesn’t have a choice.”
For now, Kilrea has more questions than answers.
“It’s going to be tough on the players, especially defencemen. The puck is in the corner and you’re racing for the puck … what do you do if the other guy’s ahead of you? Do you have to let him get the puck? It’s going to be very, very difficult,” Kilrea said. “Would it be more difficult if they didn’t play? I don’t know.”
If a player doesn’t make the right play physically, it usually results in a scoring chance for an opponent. Life will be pretty difficult for goalies, too, if they’re facing shots from every angle because teammates aren’t allowed to act physically.
