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*FaraDian* · 05-03-2024, 02:54 PM

Option 2

Like with many things in the 21st century, I think refereeing has been hurt by pushing for more technology but then not using that technology in the right way. There are now four umpires on the ice (two referees and two linesmen) and with the speed of the players only increasing, it's just become more people to get in the way of the play while actually becoming harder for those umpires to keep up with and aware of the play happening all around them. But we've also overloaded the arena with a billion cameras which only come into play when occasionally the off-ice ref and more usually a bunch of people in a different city/country waste our time by trying to review them frame-by-frame, which manages to slow down the viewing experience of the game and actually creates more confusion and inconsistency by litigating the action after-the-fact and at a speed neither the human eye nor the rules can keep up with.

My fix would be to go back to just two on-ice referees who are there to handle face offs and blow the whistles and call really obvious crap. Move the two linesmen off the ice to create a three man (plus two goal judges) who are watching the game and a bunch of camera angles live from between the benches or whatever. One of them is just watching without himself having to move, while the other two are watching fixed video of the blue lines and the benches and the goal lines. They all have a button that either blows an automated whistle or signals the skating refs to blow a whistle. These off-ice refs are there to call offside, too many men, and anything happening behind the play where the on-ice refs aren't looking. Everything is reviewable but subject to just 1 minute of video replay at no slower than half speed. The five refs each get a vote, simple majority of 3 makes the final decision.

CementHands · 05-03-2024, 04:33 PM

Written Option 1:
I think I would be most interested in joining Finland. I liked my time on Karl with Sweden and they are a scandanavian competitor. They seem to always be pretty good always, every year being a serious threat and that's the ultimate goal, one day win a gold.
Another current team I would be interested in is France. When I was tamper able before I skated in international competition for Canada I had some pretty good chats with their management. It seems like it would be a pretty fun place to be a part of, as well as ample room to excel and carve out your spot in their history books.
The final team I would be very interested in playing a part of is Italy. I remember there being a bit of a meme many moons ago about recreating to Italy, and eventually with enough representation maybe they could get a team? I'd still be interested if this were an option.

echlyrica · 05-03-2024, 04:35 PM

As a native-born American living in Kelowna and playing in Calgary, Crystal McLeod would absolutely play for Canada if for some reason she could never play for USA again. Of course, she's always treasure the bling she earned in Red, White, and Blue, but if it came time to go elsewhere, the choice is obvious. As a dual-citizen thanks to her Canadian-born wife (an accomplished Canadian athlete in her own right on the soccer side), it simply makes sense to play there. Of course there's the epic rivalry (which lives on in their home), but at the end of the day, Crystal loves Canada and its people, and she would be honored to wear the black, red, and white if necessary. For Crystal, hockey has always been home, and western Canada has become another home for her. Of course, this all relies on Crystal getting called up to either national team, which... well to be blunt it isn't very common these days. But that's alright, it avoids arguments if Crystal bowls over her wife's friends.

***Possum Queen*** · 05-03-2024, 04:47 PM

Written Option 1

If he was forced to change his IIHF affiliation, Jaden would want to go to Ireland. That's where his grandfather played and won a gold medal. Jaden would love to try to continue that legacy, especially as Ireland is still a competitive team. Unfortunately, Team USA didn't do very well in the most recent tournament.

The problem is, of course, cracking the roster in Ireland. The defensemen on the team are all very skilled and it's unlikely Jaden would even get third pairing minutes if his eligibility switched. Of course, the same applied in the States, so it's probably a wash.

Ultimately, Tanner will likely stay with the United States, as there isn't much reason to switch other than his grandfather's legacy. That's just not enough to warrant the long, extensive process of getting one's eligibility changed from one nation to the other. He may not crack Team USA's roster in his career, but he can keep hoping.

***Ohtaay*** · 05-03-2024, 05:41 PM

option 1

Well I currently do not have an IIHF nation which means I am a free agent. I played last season for team World in the WJC. Which was a great experience and we came just short getting a silver medal. That being said I will have to declare for an actual IIHF nation in the upcoming seasons, and have a lot of different options to weigh. I obviously want to win like every player, but i also like supporting the smaller teams. Some of the big teams like Canada, USA, Finland and Sweden naturally get a lot of players without having to do much recruiting. Where the small nations have to work a lot harder for players, which makes their chance of winning a lot smaller. I would rather win in a small nation, versus winning in large nation. With all this being said there are a lot of options to pick from, however I have not settled on a team yet.
160+

Kyamprac · 05-03-2024, 07:12 PM

Prompt 1

Mia Lavoie literally just did this recently. Despite hailing from a small town in Quebec, she recently decided to leave Team Canada and join her partner Edouard Lavoie on a line in Team France. The two are pretty inseparable both on and off the ice and there are plenty of other amazing people involved in the team, so the move was a no brainer for her. Aside from having fun folks on the roster itself, France is a pretty sweet place with some pretty amazing food, like baguettes and ratatouille and bourguignon and other stuff that's probably coated in butter. Mia figures when she's not on the ice with her teammates she can go out enjoy all that and also places like.. I don't know.. the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe and art in the Louvre and maybe Disneyland Paris or something. And the Catacombs. And maybe in her free time she can also bring some Quebec to the team and put together a killer poutine for them to try.

*leviadan* · 05-03-2024, 08:32 PM

1) The easy answer is that I would return to Germany to play with Burlok's old nation and teammates, those people are lovely but I can spend a few words talking about a different nation as well! I think I'd love to have a player with Japan at some point. Non traditional hockey market, but a really successful program, and it would be an opportunity to learn a bit about a country of which I know very little. I always like to research a city that my player would have came from and a little bit of history, so doing that in a place I am so unfamiliar with would be a lot of fun. I have visited Germany a few times and that partially led to me choosing it for my first player, so maybe one day if I ever get around to Japan that would give me some more material to work with for next time around.

amjohnson636 · 05-03-2024, 09:02 PM

Option 2

I personally believe the refs have gone soft nowadays. They need to put away the whistle and let the players settle it on the ice. You touch my goalie? Damn right im going into the box for two minutes but I should have my opportunity to be an enforcer before the refs step in and break things up. It is up to the refs to determine the overall flow of the game and allowing for higher aggression comes along with that as holding back for one more second allows chirps and jabs to be thrown. It is a part of the sport for a reason and I am of the opinion that we should embrace it within reasonable boundaries of course, we dont want severe and permanent injuries but man the roughing calls this year have been horrendous. Free my boys and let us check people into the boards as much as we want - the goons

CreHuf8 · 05-04-2024, 08:44 AM

Option#2 [196 Words]

A Good Ref does not make mistakes, a good ref never tires, a good ref never sleeps. A good ref is a machine!
Introducing the brand new RoboRef, a life changing addition to next season of the SHL. Designed and manurfactured by Cyberdyne Systems, this new ref has many features to improve hockey accuracy. For one, super zoom eye sight, features a 150x optical zoom with 16k playback potental. This will allow no small penalty to be missed. For quick access to replay data a small screen has been fitted to RoboRefs chest. RoboRef also comes with a jetpack in order to dodge players if they come too close. The jetpack is powered by liquid nitrogen so the ice does not melt unpon liftoff. Fights are no problem for RoboRef, it comes fitted with extendable arms that can expand to create a wall between the two players. These arms are made of pure reinforced vibranium to ensure they can take any hit from a player. Tell your team to invest in a new RoboRef, only $17B plus shipping.
And keep an eye out for next years release, RoboNanny, for familys with a busy schedule.

Tylar · 05-04-2024, 09:26 AM

I would say first of all a good referee would have to have a lot of confidence. Being a referee in hockey is a tough job to be honest and as we all know. You get yelled at, criticized every game you ref, threatened and questions both on and off the ice. The Referee impacts the game whether they like it or not, so they have to be confident. Another trait would be decisive, as a referee you have to make split decisions and stick by them, so a good referee will see something on the ice and make the call. A referee who is constantly unsure or unconfident in their decision making will likely not be as good. A good referee would also need to be physically fit especially at the highest level to keep up with the players, and have good skating abilities obviously. Refereeing a a thankless job, and ultimately having confidence makes a good all around referee.

160 words

***RAmenAmen*** · 05-04-2024, 10:02 AM

Alright, let's talk about the state of officiating in the SHL, because I think we all know there are problems. Our referees call penalties like slashing, hooking, and tripping, all stick infractions, when the video evidence clearly shows that no player on the ice moves their stick at all! Our players skate in rigid, unmoving form, with stick held close to their side, all game long, so how can a slashing call possibly happen? And that's not all! The referees are awful, but can we talk for a moment about our linesmen? How many times have we watched plays in tight playoff games where a player was offside by a foot or more, but the play is allowed to go on, sometimes even leading to a goal? These linesmen also allow the weakest icing calls I've ever seen, with one or sometimes both defenders skating alongside the puck, clearly able to play it, without the call ever being waved off. Our officiating has to improve if we want to take ourselves seriously as a league.

*WithTheMoose* · 05-04-2024, 11:05 AM

Written Option 2: What makes a good referee in hockey? How do you think the refs in our league do? Do you think you could improve officiating in this or any other hockey league by making any specific changes? If so, what?

As bad as I hate to say it, I believe what makes a good ref is calling all penalties and fouls evenly. Distributing the rules and regulations evenly. I don't think it really even matters if they're reading the rule correctly or following the letter of the law or even if they're ignoring certain rules entirely. The rules are in place for a reason and I absolutely believe they should be enforced, but nobody can see everything and sometimes in the heat of the moment you can forget things or miss things. We're only human after all and we can't expect perfection from our refs. We can expect fairness and even application of what rules the do know and decide to enforce though. They can't be blatantly calling a foul again a specific player or specific team and then choose to ignore it when they see it in someone else. Even and fair application of what they know is the least we can expect and the fundamentals for a good ref.

***Toast*** · 05-04-2024, 11:07 AM

PBE

jsteele14 · 05-04-2024, 11:38 AM

PBE Affiliate

.Laser · 05-04-2024, 11:42 AM

If I was forced to leave the IIHF nation of Sweden, I would be quite sad, as I've had a good IIHF career with the Swedes and have I believe 4 total medals in my time there. Two golds, a silver, and a bronze is nothing to shake a stick at and is very good all things considered. However, if I was forced to leave and go somewhere else, I would choose the IIHF nation of Canada. The reason that I would choose the nation of Canada is because I know that one of my current GMs, CaleSalad, is heavily involved in the leadership of the Canadian nation. I am unsure if he is the GM of the squad or not, but I know that he has a lot of pull and would do right by me in the event that I have to leave my home country. I don't know how well Canada is currently doing, and they may for all I know be a bad IIHF squad for some reason or another, but I would still choose that familiarity and comraderie.

Thanks to EAB and sulovien for the sigs!

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