Ice
Hockey and Inline
Is Inline Hockey Bad
For Ice Hockey? NO!
There is a common myth among some ice hockey
coaches and power skating coaches that inline
hockey detracts from developing good ice hockey
skills. There are a number of reasons why
this isn't true:
* The umbrella group for both ice and roller
hockey is USA
Hockey and they state that "Inline hockey
compliments the skill development for ice hockey
players."
* There are many power skating coaches in the area
who do NOT hold this view. Power skating
coach Kris Moran, who played for the U.S.
Women's Ice Hockey Team, actually coached the
Mad Dogs Mite inline hockey team and believes
the two sports compliment one another.
* Many of the top prep school and college ice
hockey players from this area all played inline
hockey. Corey Toy, for example, from Purcellville,
now plays Jr. A hockey and many consider him the
best hockey player ever from Northern Virginia.
He played ONLY inline hockey until age 12.
* Many professional ice players played inline
hockey. Joey Mullen, of the best American-born
NHL players ever, was recruited out of the New
York City roller hockey leagues in the 1960's.
Wayne Gretzky plays roller hockey and today owns
roller hockey rinks. Chris Chelios still
plays inline hockey in the off-season. Pavel
Bure actually runs inline hockey clinics.
* The former manager of the Statesmen Tier 1
club and now director of the Frederick Freeze
Jr. team, Paul Veillette, played professional
inline hockey for three years. The hockey
director of the Ashburn Xtreme, Troy MacCormick,
played professional inline hockey for two years.
The Executive Director of the Ashburn Xtreme,
Gary Pouliot, is a long time inline coach and
he coached the first Mad Dogs team to a national
championship. None of them holds this view.
* There are players who have played for both
the national Jr. Ice Hockey team and National
Jr. Inline team. Lee Sweat has played for
both teams.
*The stride is the same. Toe extension
is the goal. Despite what you may have heard,
even the stop is the same. Good inline players
do hockey stops on indoor floors that are made
for inline hockey.
* If you were to go down the rosters of all the
top Tier 1 and Junior teams in the region, invariably
the top players play inline hockey. Mad
Dogs inline players have played for
the Jr. Caps, Jr. Nationals, Frederick Freeze,
Team Maryland, Virginia Express, and Washington
Little Capital teams.
* Elsewhere on the Mad Dogs website is an article
by the coach of the of the top AAA Bantam ice
hockey teams in the world about why his team plays
roller hockey in the off season.
* In an interview with Frank Serratore, the coach
of the Division 1 Air Force Academy Ice Hockey
team, there was this exchange:
Q: Do your players play roller hockey also?
A: Many of them played roller hockey as
younger players. I have found that roller hockey
helps develop skill and hockey sense in younger
players, as there is not as much structure to
the 4 on 4 roller game, nor is there checking.
Q: Do you see any advantages or disadvantages
with players playing both roller and ice hockey?
A: I see no disadvantages, some of the top United
States born college players are converts from
roller hockey, two I can think of off the top
of my head are Brett Sterling and Lee Sweat
from Colorado College.
Father of Rhett Rakhshani
of the USA U18 National Ice Hockey Team talks
about the benefits of roller hockey!
Over the years, I've heard a lot of debates over
whether or not roller hockey helps or hurts ice
hockey development. Personally, I was never
really overly concerned, because my family was
playing for the love of the game. They were
having fun and staying out of trouble. I
didn't really care whether or not roller hockey
hurt ice hockey -- ice hockey achievement wasn't
some holy grail we were pursuing. I remember
just being happy that my kids were having fun
and staying out of trouble. Despite my nonchalance
over the debate, deep down, my wife and I had
confidence that roller hockey helped ice players
more than it hurt, because we began to witness
the skill level of the top players at NARCh --
the competition and talent was top notch.
Watching NARCh tournaments over the years was
an incredible experience for me. The passing,
skating, speed, and overall skill and creativity
were really off the charts.
Regarding the debate, let's just think this over:
Brett Sterling, Gabe Gauthier, and Robbie Earl
are three California roller players that dominated
college ice hockey. Brett and Gabe ended
up being 'All-American" players in college.
Robbie was an "ALL WCHA" player and
most recently was named the MVP in the Frozen
Four play-offs, where his university of Wisconsin
Badgers won a national title this past season.
Robbie just signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
So, when ice coaches tell you that roller hockey
hurts ice hockey development, just mention these
three for starters. Oh year, you can add
in T. J. Oshie, 2005 first-round NHL pick, University
of North Dakota Player, and a member of the past
year's USA World Junior team-yes, he's a former
roller hockey player.
Alrighty then, let me brag about the OC Blades
'88s. They won 5 NARCh titles over the years
and the bulk of the players on this team played
roller and ice together. Their ice team,
The California Wave, really made a name for themselves
competing against the best AAA ice teams in Canada
and Detroit, where the toughest competition was
located. It was well known that a good percentage
of the Wave kids played roller hockey. Scouts
commented on the advanced stick skills and passing
ability of the Wave team. In their Bantam
year, they won Tier 1 nationals in Buffalo, NY
beating Shattuck St. Mary's, a prep school known
for producing great talent.
Today, I have great memories of our time at NARCh
and ice tournaments. I see the kids who
played roller together on the OC Blades and who
are excelling beyond our wildest dreams.
Cameron Cepek, Tim Kraus, Jonathon Blum, Tommy
Tartaglione and CJ Stretch are making a name for
themselves in the Western Hockey League, which
is Canada's version of Junior Hockey. My
son Rhett played for the last two years for the
US national Team Development program's under-17
and under-18 teams, following in the footsteps
of fellow roller hockey players and USNTDP player
Brett Sterling. Rhett was fortunate to play
on this team, which just won a gold medal in Sweden
for the SUA in the World Under-18 Championships.
Rhett will play this fall for the University of
Denver. Former wave player Kevin Crane has
earned a spot on Princeton's ice hockey team,
while Richie Leitner, Jason Krispel, Travis Stevens
and others are well on their way to earning scholarships
to play ice hockey at US universities.
There are many more roller players on other teams
who are excelling in ice and earning roster spots
to play in major programs all over North America.
Here's a partial list of inline players now playing
NHL, minor pro, a top Jr. team or for a Division
1 college. These are NOT kids who played
inline hockey in some recreational league, but
rather hard core inline players who played for
the nation's leading inline teams:
Player
NARCh Team
Ice Team
Ben Bishop
Midwest Fighting Saints
Maine U.
Jonathan Blum
OC
Blades
Vancouver Giants
David Booth
Honeybaked
Mich. State
Brendan Brooks
Mission Pro
Peoria Rivermen
Brad Boyes
Mississauga Rattlers
Boston Bruins
Cameran Cepek
OC Blades
Portland Winterhawks
Jason Chimera
Edmonton
Saronge
Columbus Blue Jackets
Noah Clarke
Beach Boys
Los Angeles Kings
Kevin Crane
OC Blades
Princeton
U.
Jason Deskins
Mission Pro
Miami of Ohio
John Dunphy
Mississauga Rattlers
Barrie Colts
Andrew Dwyer
Cold Shots
Western Michigan
Robbie Earl
Anaheim Bulldogs
Toronto Maple Leafs
Brian Eovaldi
Honeybaked
Mich. Tech
Gabe Gauthier
Team Sure Grip
U. of Denver
Bryan Genrich
Honeybaked
Michigan State
Derek Hahn
Buffalo
Wing
R.I.T.
Ernie Hartlieb
Honeybaked
Florida Everlades
TJ Hensick
Honeybaked
U. of Michigan
Ryan Hollweg
Team Sure Grip
New
York Rangers
Brent Hughes
Toronto Tigers
Brampton Battalion
Matt Hunwick
Honeybaked
U. of Michigan
David Inman
Rinkside
Rockets
Yale
Jeremy Jackson
Westcoast Warriors
Lethbridge Hurricanes
Derek Kern
Mission Snipers
Oswego State
Chad Kolari
Honeybaked U.
of Michigan
Tim Kraus
OC Blades
Vancouver Giants
Jason Krispel
OC
Blades
Topeka Roadrunners
Chad Larose
Honeybaked
Carolina Hurricanes
Jeff Lerg
Honeybaked
Michigan
State
Stefen Legein
Team Mission Detroit
Mississauga Ice Dogs
Rich Leitner
OC Blades
Alaska Avalanche
Raymond Macias
Anaheim Bulldogs
Kamloops Blazers
Peter Mannini
Team Mission Detroit
U. of Denver
Daryl Moore
Cold Shots
Western
Michigan
Justin Morrison
Beach Boys
Chicago Wolves
Sean Murphy
Big Willies
Brown U.
Sean Nappo
Detroit
Stars
Holy Cross
Brandon Naurato
Honeybaked
U. of Michigan
T.J. Oshie
Washington Jr. Stars
North
Dakota
Kevin Porter
Honeybaked
U. of Michigan
Rhett Rakhshani
OC Blades
US NTDP 18U
Bobby Ryan
Tour
87
Owen Sound Attack
Steve Rymsha
Honeybaked
Ritten Renon-Italy
Dave Rutherford
Oakville Coyotes
Vancouver
Giants
Micah Sanford
LV Tour Rebels
U. of Nebraska
Josh Sciba
Honeybaked
Notre Dame
Nathan Sigmund
Mission
Habs
Northern Michigan
Jason Sessa
Mission Snipers
Lake Superior State
Kenton Smith
Edmonton Saronge
Charlotte
Checkers
Brett Sterling
Anaheim Bulldogs
Colorado College
Paul Stastny
Team Mission Detroit
U. of Denver
Travis Stevens
OC
Blades
Alaska Avalanche
C.J. Stretch
OC Blades
Kamloops Blazers
Billy Sweatt
Team Mission Detroit Colorado
College
Lee Sweatt
Chicago Magic
Colorado College
Paul Szczechura
Cold Shots
Western Michigan
Travis Turnbull
Team Tour
U. of Michigan
Tommy Tartaglione
Pama Cyclones
Vancouver Giants
Mike Van Ryn
Team Rival
Florida
Panthers
Brent Walton
Cold Shots
Western Michigan
Nigel Williams
Team Mission Detroit
U. of Wisconsin
Justin Williams
Honeybaked
Carolina Hurricanes
Canadian's Perspective of Inline Hockey
A Canadian Ice Hockey Coaches perspective
on Roller Hockey
This was copied off the NARCH site, written by
Tom Baker, Coach of the Sudden Death Squirt Roller
Hockey Team. Here is another example of a very
successful ice hockey coach / team that has embraced
the benefits and fun of playing roller hockey:
Sudden Death Squirt Roller Hockey
Sudden Death has enjoyed many successes on the
ice, but what they really want is to be crowned
NARCH Platinum Champions.
Our team is comprised of players who play AAA
ice hockey together during the winter. Some of
our players have played together since they started
playing hockey.
Early into their hockey, some of the ice hockey
players discovered roller hockey. From the beginning,
these players have embraced roller hockey as their
favorite sport. For the last five years, our ice
hockey team has hung up their ice skates in April
so that our roller hockey players could give their
full time and attention to roller hockey from
April to August. No summer ice hockey for us!
In fact, it is often difficult during ice hockey
season to keep our minds on ice hockey and off
roller hockey. Our roller hockey players keep
saying, “I'd rather play roller hockey”!
It is easy to understand why they feel this way:
(1) Our roller hockey players have the highest
level of skill development as a result of the
dynamics of roller hockey, which allow an almost
unfettered opportunity to develop and play with
skill;
(2) Roller hockey provides the best opportunity
to practice, develop and display offensive skills,
primarily because the intimidating presence of
body checking and all that it brings with it is
absent from roller hockey. The absence of off-sides
and icing also provides great opportunity to develop
offensive skills, free from the space restrictions
of ice hockey. In hockey, space is time. With
only 4 instead of 5 skaters playing, roller hockey
provides more space and therefore the time for
players to develop these skills;
(3) Roller hockey teams are comprised of about
half the number of players as ice hockey teams.
Thus, a better practice and playing opportunity
is provided in roller hockey;
(4) Roller hockey tournaments are more competitive
and more fun, free from the doldrums of cold rinks
and weather and the omnipresent angst of the ice
hockey environment. The atmosphere of roller hockey
is more conducive than that of ice hockey to meeting
and befriending your competition. Players you
would not know existed in ice hockey are easily
met and befriended in roller hockey.
Without doubt, our roller hockey players would
prefer to play it all year. But, our cold reality
is that ice hockey beckons for almost eight months
a year, for it is dreams of an ice hockey career
which each of our players share. However, each
year, each of our hockey players goes back to
ice hockey with demonstrably improved skills gained
from the wonderful cross-training that practicing
and playing roller hockey has given them. The
proof must be in the pudding because every year
in Toronto, more and more of our ice hockey competitors
are turning to summer “ROLLER” hockey
to achieve the skills and competitive advantages
that it has provided our ice hockey team. There
really is no more sincere form of flattery!
Every ice hockey season, our team wins most if
not all of the major tournaments and championships.
In 2003-2004, our ice hockey team won the Pee
Wee Big Nickel, Bell Challenge, North American
Silver Stick and National tournaments and, for
the third consecutive season, the Carnation Cup,
which is the championship of the Greater Toronto
Hockey League. Always, our ice hockey team is
led by our roller hockey players, each of whom
constantly reminds us he would rather be playing
roller hockey!
Whew, at last, here we are again beginning another
roller hockey season, and even we coaches can't
wait to get started. In the past we have won U.S.A.
and Canadian national championships and the World
Cup of Roller Hockey. We have had players win
NARCH and other national and international skills
contests and have lost in overtime in the
NARCH Finals. Alas, we have never won a NARCH
Finals title. We are going to do our best this
season to remedy that.
We really are looking forward to once again meeting
and competing with all of our roller hockey friends.
Tom Baker,
Head Coach, 1991 Toronto Young Nationals
Head Coach, Sudden Death Squirt Roller Hockey
www.NARCH.com
