ADM Kids

As a player, Keith Tkachuk earned the reputation of a gritty power forward that rarely missed opportunities to engage physically with an opponent. Now retired from the NHL, he’s focused on coaching youth hockey and making it a great experience for kids. As part of that mission, he’s very much in-tune with the role of body contact in the game, particularly given his experience as a player who didn’t shy away from collisions.

So when USA Hockey eliminated body checking until the bantam level, Tkachuk wasn’t sure what to think.

“At first, I was like, ‘Wow, what are they doing?’” said Tkachuk, a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2011. “But now, being a coach and being around those levels, it’s so important that we’ve made those steps.”

Tkachuk now serves as coaching director for the St. Louis AAA Blues youth hockey program, so he’s seen the every-day benefits, challenges and questions related to body checking and body contact.

USA Hockey sat down with the 19-year NHL veteran who, in 1996-97, became the first American-born player to lead the NHL in goal scoring, for a conversation about the purpose of body contact in youth hockey and how coaches can teach their players the right way to play.

USA Hockey: Do you get the sense that there is still some confusion out there on the new checking rule and USA Hockey’s overall philosophy on body contact?

Keith Tkachuk: Yes. This is a really tough topic for me because I watch and coach a lot of youth hockey and there is a lot of confusion. There is a purpose to body contact. The purpose is not to go out and make a big hit for the sake of making a big hit. It’s not to get people yelling and clapping. The purpose of body contact is to separate the man from the puck. I think USA Hockey has done a great job in trying to eliminate that (malicious) mentality. It all starts with the coaches teaching kids the right way.

USA Hockey: You’re not telling players that they can’t battle for loose pucks or play hard or play physically …

Keith Tkachuk: No way. We do drills every week that teach players how to protect the puck. They teach defenders how to get good body position with good stick work, strength and good battles. You don’t want to tell the kids not to hit, but there has to be a purpose to every physical confrontation. I think our kids have gotten really good about this. I’m always yelling on the bench ‘Stick on puck, stick on puck.’

USA Hockey: How do you get that message across to your players?

Keith Tkachuk: There has to be an attempt to play the puck. That’s what we reiterate to our kids. Keep your stick on the ice. Get your stick on the puck when you go to make contact – because we want the puck back. You see some teams go out and make no attempt to touch the puck. That’s a problem. That’s not hockey. We want to teach these kids the most important parts of hockey – skating, stickhandling, passing. Once you do that, the players really learn that the purpose of a hockey game is to make plays. That’s the bottom line in youth hockey. It should be all skill work, all skating, all edgework, positioning, passing. We do our best to educate our players on the purpose of checking: to get the puck, not to hit somebody as hard as you can.

USA Hockey: How do you incorporate that into your practices?

Keith Tkachuk: We always try to find a way to incorporate small-area games in practice. We teach them to have their head up and their sticks on the ice. We teach body position to get open and what to do away from the puck. I think if you teach kids some of these things, you’ll eliminate the head injuries from some of these big hits. They learn how to keep their head up. They learn how to find areas to get open. They find good positioning to defend.

USA Hockey: There can be a lot of size disparities in youth hockey. Do you think players of all sizes at all levels can succeed in this game?

Keith Tkachuk: Absolutely. Eliminating body checking until the bantam age – I thought that was the best thing ever. At first, I was like, ‘Wow, what are they doing?’ But now, being a coach and being around those levels, it’s so important that we’ve made those steps. Kids do grow at different times. I see it all the time. But no matter how old or how big you are, we have to teach these kids the right way to play hockey.

USA Hockey: How do the parents fit in here?

Keith Tkachuk: Some of these parents need to be educated, too. I’m sitting at some of these games and tournaments and you hear people yell ‘Hit him, hit him, hit him!’ That’s not the best message to send. I think if we continue to educate coaches, parents and players that the purpose of hockey is teaching skill, then all the big hits will just take care of themselves. Who wants to get hit every game and get hurt? We don’t want to lose players. This is the greatest game in the world. We want to encourage all players to come out and learn the game without getting hurt. It’s our responsibility as coaches to teach these players how to play the game the right way.

USA Hockey: How should coaches work with parents on this subject?

Keith Tkachuk: Educate them as much as you can. We have a strict policy that they cheer and be positive. We aren’t going to have anybody yelling ‘Go get him!’ in the stands or anything like that. You want kids to learn team play and you want the coaches to be role models. When coaches get out of control, then the players will get out of control and then the parents are going to get out of control. That’s why you need good, responsible people helping your kids and teaching them the responsibility of being a good team player.