Fighting In Hockey Research Paper

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Fighting in the everyday life is looked at as barbaric, wrong, and definitely dangerous. In the world of hockey though, it is more than just two guys throwing punches at each other. Fighting in the NHL is needed because it allows players a release to keep the game moving, and helps regulate game time roughness.
In the article “What Analytics Can Tell Us about the Role of Fighting in Hockey,” the use of fighting in the league is explained in many different ways. Fighters in the league are often called “enforcers” or the “police”. They protect their star players and keep the game from getting too violent. With the help of different researches, it was found that taking fighting out would actually cause more violence and injury than keeping it. …show more content…

A part of his article had a lot to do with respect. Not only respect in the game concept, but with fighting as well. He explained that fighting isn’t just something you do when upset. There’s more strategy to it than we perceive. Fighting can be used as a tactic when losing to shake the team and destroy their confidence. It’s also a way of life, many players are “enforcers” by profession. Sure they may have a hockey jersey on, but they aren’t out there to put points on the board, they get paychecks for fighting and hitting hard.
Smith, Bobby. "End to Fighting Would Not Make Hockey a Safer Game." The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail, 20 Mar. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2017. Bobby Smith not only played in the NHL for 15 years, he has also coached 5 years in the league and 13 years with Halifax in a lower league. He brings up two greats of the sport, Bobby Orr and Jarome Iginla, both saying the same thing. Bobby Orr, who has won several trophies as a defenseman and is said to be one of the greatest players of all time, says players are to be held responsible on the ice for the actions shown. Fighting is a good place for that to happen. Smith conducted an experiment if you will. He studied concussion injuries in 100 NHL games. Within every 100 games, there is roughly 8.8 head injuries.

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