If you grew up in Canada, odds are you’ve spent quite a few cold winter nights out on the outdoor rink. A place where friends, family and sometimes rivals can bond over healthy competition and frozen fingers after playing just “one more game”.
For many, like myself, the ODR can sometimes become a little too competitive though. Where the lines between playing in the NHL and dangling around six-year-old kids can become blurred. But one thing the pros and the ODR have in common is that they’re certain things you do, and certain things you most certainly do not.
Here are my top three unwritten rules of any outdoor rink.
- Never shoot through someone: Listen. This is a very simple concept that can help avoid someone taking a frozen puck directly off the shin. If someone is in front of you, do not shoot the puck. Ever. Either pass it or turn the other way, because showing off for the one girl at the rink is not worth ripping one of your buddies shin. Learn.
- Do not backcheck: Another way to describe this rule is to simply not be a try hard. Listen kids, I can promise you there are no NHL scouts at your local ODR. So when you see a guy on a breakaway with 30 feet of cushion, don’t put the wheels on and try to strip him of the puck from behind.
- Always pass to the little ones: Every game of shinny at every ODR EVER has at least one little kid. So unless you want to look like a total loser, always pass to the little kid at least every three possessions. Let them feel involved. Give them the chance to shoot it on net once in a while. Because I can almost guarantee you that little kid will remember getting to play with the big boys longer than you’ll remember ripping one of the crossbar.
Next time you head to the local outdoor rink, always keep these rules in the back of your mind. Because not only will it help everyone have fun, it’ll more than likely save at least one lucky soul from hearing a “checkout this scar I got from the ODR” story.
