Is Suplexing Your Opponent During A Hockey Game Legal? Experts Confirm It's Hard To Say
You can call this a hold. You can call it a rough. You can call it interference. You can call it a whole slew of different calls. But what you can’t call this play right here is a lack of hustle, heart, and a dedication to finishing the play on the body. Dallas Gerads plays for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the United States Hockey League. Next year he’ll be taking his talents to Minnesota State University and let me tell you something right now, folks. The Minnesota State Mavericks just got a helluva lot tougher to play against. Because like I said, this hit may be “technically” against the “rules”. But it’s the thought process that goes into it that has me the most intrigued.
The way hockey is going these days, it’s more about speed and finesse. Coaches don’t place the same important on finishing your checks anymore because it slows down the game and could end up taking you out of position. But Dallas Gerads is a throwback. He’s a guy who isn’t just satisfied with making a play on the body which knocks the puck loose into the corner. If he’s going to hit you, he’s going to punish you. Whether that be with a hipcheck or a suplex, that’s usually a game time decision. But regardless, he’s going to do everything he can to put you through the ice any chance he gets. I can respect that. I can appreciate that in a world where so many kids are taught to play a prettier brand of hockey. So is suplexing your opponent during a hockey game legal? Well… maybe not so much. But it should certainly be encouraged regardless.