Watching hockey can be confusing for people who are new fans; with rules, regulations, and terminology that are intimidating to learn, it can seem like it is in a whole new language. Hockey is continually growing with a new National Hockey League (NHL) team joining the league in Seattle in the 2020-2021 season and more recently the Vegas Golden Knights playing their first season in 2017-2018. With continual growth, it’s better to go ahead and get a head start on learning the rules now.

Let’s start with some terms that may be confusing to new viewers.

Icing

• If you’re a beginner, icing is one of the more confusing hockey terms, but it’s easy to understand once you’ve got some general knowledge.
• You can’t shoot the puck  from your end of the ice to the other end in hockey. This is called “icing.” You’re in the clear when your player first touches the puck when it reaches the other end but if it is touched by the other team, it returns to your end for a face off.

Offside

• In hockey, you cannot stay in the area of the opponent waiting for the puck. If you do this, you’ll get called offsides by the referee. You are also offsides when you cross the opponent’s blue line before the puck crosses the same line.

Pulling The Goalie

• Sometimes, teams decide to pull their goalie if they are losing at the end of a game. You’ll also see teams pulling their goalie when the penalty is delayed.
•  Only six players can be on the ice at one time from each team, but there is no rule dictating what position they must be filling.
• Once the goalie leaves, they will be replaced by an offensive player. At this time, the team is actually playing 6 on 5.

Now that you have a basic understanding of some of the rules, let’s look at who the players on the ice are.

The Goaltender 

• Firstly and arguably most importantly, we have the goaltender, also known as the “goalie”. The goalie in hockey plays the same role a goalie plays in any other sport; keep the other team from scoring. 
• It sounds simple enough but a lot of the time, the only thing goalies can rely on are their hand-eye coordination or their instinct.

Two Defensemen 

• The role of the defensemen can be a bit more diverse than that of the other positions. There are essentially three different roles the defensemen can play: classic, offensive (it sounds contradictory, I know), and a hybrid version.
• The classic defensemen’s role is to stop players from the opposing team from scoring and to create some aggression and intimidation on the ice; they  rarely take any shots to the net and their first priority is to defend. 
• The offensive defensemen is someone who will act as an extra forward. They will handle the puck from their end of the ice and create scoring opportunities and even take shots on goal themselves. 
• The hybrid version is just that, a mix of the traditional style of play with the style of the offensive defensemen. They don’t shy away from big hits but are also there to help put points on the board.

The Right and Left Wings

• The right and left wings are both considered skill positions and they are the positions that cover the right and left sides of the ice, respectively. They are usually fast and are responsible for generating most of the goals.

The Center

• The center is the player who is responsible for creating scoring opportunities for their team. They are usually players who can read the game well and are able to steer the game in the direction they wish to take it; much like a quarterback of sorts.

Although these are just some of the basics involving hockey, you now have a general understanding of what is going on and that means you’re one step closer to enjoying this great sport without having to ask too many questions.

For a more in-depth look at hockey rules click here.