2025 USA Hockey Rule Changes: What Parents and Coaches Need to Know 🏒

What do the latest USA Hockey rule changes mean for your young athlete's game?

In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, hosts Lee, Christie, and Mike break down the latest USA Hockey rule updates for the 2025 season. From team composition to equipment regulations, these changes are set to impact youth, girls, high school, and adult hockey leagues. Discover how these modifications aim to enhance safety, respect, and skill development on the ice.

🔥 Highlights Include:

• New team composition rules expanding rosters from 21 to 22 players 🏒
• Mandatory HECC or BNQ certified neck protectors for all youth players 🛡️
• Ban on electronic devices during games to maintain focus and integrity 📵
• Stricter penalties for abuse of officials to foster respect and sportsmanship ⚖️
• Reintroduction of icing while shorthanded for players 15 and older ❄️

Whether you're a parent, coach, or player, this episode is packed with essential insights and practical advice to navigate the evolving landscape of youth hockey.

🎧 Listen now to stay informed and ensure your young athlete is prepared for the upcoming seasons!

💬 Got questions? Share your thoughts with us at team@ourkidsplayhockey.com.

#USAHockey #YouthHockey #HockeySafety #OurKidsPlayHockey #HockeyParents #HockeyCoaches

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Transcript

Lee MJ Elias [0:07 - 0:37]: Hello, hockey friends and families around the world, and welcome back to another edition of our Kids Play Hockey. It's Lee with Christy and Mike today, and it is our annual updated rule change summary episode. We're gonna go over all the important rules today, but this episode feels like it needs more of a news intro. We just happen to have a major news anchor on the show, so. So I'm going to throw it to Christy so we can get more of a news like intro so we can get into the mode. All right, Christy, so I'm saucing the puck to you. 

Christie Casciano [0:37 - 1:05]: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Christy Casciano. We're following some breaking news from USA Hockey, where there have been some rule changes that will impact the way your kids play hockey. We have team coverage for you this afternoon with Lee Elias and Mike Benelli, our correspondents. Lee, let's start with you. Are these going to be subtle changes, or will we see some major changes with the rules for 2025? 

Lee MJ Elias [1:06 - 1:21]: Yeah, Christy, I got to tell you, all the audience listening before we get into this, she can just turn it on like that. I've been with her in person, and I've. I've seen you flip the switch. You know, I like to think I'm a broadcaster, but I remember sitting next to you one time, I was like, oh, my God, I didn't even have a script. 

Mike Bonelli [1:21 - 1:21]: I was just. 

Lee MJ Elias [1:21 - 1:28]: No script? Yeah. For those of you wondering, she just did that off the top of her head. She's that good at it. 

Mike Bonelli [1:28 - 1:30]: I'm at the edge of my seat waiting for the news. 

Lee MJ Elias [1:30 - 2:13]: Yeah, that's. That's why. That's why she is who she is. And I'm gonna say it again, if you're in Syracuse, you're used to it. The rest of the world that listens, that's what we. That's what. That's what we get to work with. I mean, it's a privilege. All right, Christy, to answer your question, yes, there are some. Some good rules here to go over. I'd say none of them are as massive as last year's rules. And let's just clarify who these rules are for. Okay, so USA Hockey released these. These go into effect August 1st of this year, 2025. The rules we'll be reviewing are for youth hockey, girls hockey, high school hockey, and adult hockey. And I chuckle because I think a lot of adult hockey players don't realize you follow the same rules as the kids. Sorry, reps. 

Mike Bonelli [2:13 - 2:14]: Right, right. 

Lee MJ Elias [2:14 - 3:05]: There's a tremendous amount of junior hockey rule changes. We Will not be going over those today. If your kid plays junior hockey, I. I highly suggest you look those up because there's a tremendous amount of rules. But, but the rules we're going to go over today kind of COVID things like protective equipment. There's a new one with electronic devices that makes me laugh. Abusive officials, face off, location, icing the puck. So some. Some rule changes. But let's start. Let's start here. Okay. Composition of teams. So, again, a lot of these, like we do on the show, are based on ages up and ages down. So if you're playing 15 or over, the rosters now are expanding to 22 players. It could be a lot of reasons for that. Right. Sometimes it's goaltending. It has been 21 for years. So they're expanding to 22 players. Mike, do you know why they would be doing that? I. I just might be. To get more people on the bench, maybe. 

Mike Bonelli [3:07 - 3:24]: Yeah. I think these teams are, these rostering. So many kids. I think it's just a matter of having them, you know, have that opportunity to, you know, not have so many kids sit in the stands, maybe. But yeah, it's. It's almost. It's almost like too many kids being rostered anyway. If you're, if you're on a team with 22 plus kids. 

Lee MJ Elias [3:24 - 3:24]: Yeah. 

Mike Bonelli [3:24 - 3:26]: Then, you know, maybe look, look for. 

Christie Casciano [3:26 - 3:31]: Another team, what, 16, right. Isn't that the ideal size? 

Lee MJ Elias [3:31 - 3:31]: You know? 

Mike Bonelli [3:31 - 3:32]: Yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [3:32 - 3:40]: Three lines and a goal. Two goalies is usually ideal. Now, now, older kids will disagree. You want a fourth line, which I understand. 

Christie Casciano [3:40 - 3:41]: Sure. Right, right. 

Mike Bonelli [3:41 - 4:10]: And you got, you got to tie in the fact that in these, in these games, you know, kids are getting, you know, there's a higher prevalence of injury. The bench gets short with kids having to leave the game. So having those other players, you know, not sitting in the stands but available to you on the bench probably is a good, you know, a good setup for the rule. And obviously somebody brought that up because they probably found themselves in a situation where, you know, they had three, four, five kids kicked out of a game or something, and then all of a sudden they're left with, you know, the rest of their roster up in the stands. 

Lee MJ Elias [4:10 - 4:11]: Right. 

Christie Casciano [4:11 - 4:12]: Okay, that makes sense. 

Lee MJ Elias [4:12 - 5:28]: It does. Now, the. The abuse of this rule could be a cash grab to get one more player on your roster. I really hope teams choose not to do that. We're always talking that if you're going to bring in that. That extra player, make sure that we're trying to play them or utilize them, or as Mike said, Make sure that you're putting yourself in the right team. I don't think this is a bad rule. I'm just saying it opens it up for you to get one more paying player. Hopefully teams are not going to be utilizing it that way, but 22 players for, sorry, youth. Tier one, 15 and up. Okay. This is a tier one rule, not a tier two rule. The next one is interesting. We've got an update to the, the neck protectors. Okay. So what USA Hockey is saying is that every neck protector now needs to be HECC certified. HEX certified. So that's the same certification that we have on helmets. You're not allowed to play without that certification. Also, there's, there's a note for BNQ certified neck protectors. BNQ is Canada's version of hecc. So it says requires hec. HECC certified neck laceration protectors for all youth hockey players. Now, I don't know how many of the neck protectors that we use this season are HECC certified. I kind of wish they had put this in last year. 

Mike Bonelli [5:29 - 5:30]: Right. That's a good rule. 

Lee MJ Elias [5:30 - 5:54]: I wonder. It's one of two things. Either this is like they just wanted to wait a year to kind of implement it, or they're finding that a lot of these things are not certified. I do not know the process that these are going to have to go through to be HCC certified. I, I also highly doubt that a referee is going to come around and ask to see is this HECC certified? But parents, this probably a good one for you. They're just making sure that it's protective. 

Christie Casciano [5:54 - 5:55]: Right. 

Lee MJ Elias [5:55 - 6:06]: You're learning something official. All right. I can't, I can't imagine it's going to be too strict. Right. If you're, if you're wearing Kevlar or something or, or, you know, something like that, you should be. All right. But that, that is a rule. All right. Somebody could do that. 

Christie Casciano [6:06 - 6:08]: Well, why wouldn't you want the fast, you know? 

Lee MJ Elias [6:08 - 6:08]: Absolutely. 

Christie Casciano [6:09 - 6:09]: Yeah. 

Mike Bonelli [6:09 - 6:20]: Makes sense. I think it's because of the, the home remedy neck guards, you know, like the, the cut off turtlenecks and the Right. You know, the hockey stocks that the kids forgot. His neck guard so he wears a hockey sock around his neck. 

Christie Casciano [6:20 - 6:21]: I've seen that. 

Mike Bonelli [6:21 - 6:22]: Yeah. 

Christie Casciano [6:22 - 6:30]: Parents don't let your kid do that. I have seen that. Sometimes they just put a sock around their neck. It's not going to do anything for them. So. Yeah. 

Mike Bonelli [6:30 - 7:08]: And if, and if you're a real, you know, stickler to the rules, this also is for practices. So if you're on a USA Hockey team and you practice, that means you wear the neck protection in practice all the time. The neck protection in games. I would tell you that it's 90 of the teams I see, they do not have their kids wear their neck protection in practice because it's annoying, which I don't get. But just. Just so you know, it's. It is a rule. So when a kid gets hurt and they asked, well, where was his neck protection? And you say, well, wasn't my responsibility. It was a practice. You are correct. Right. 

Christie Casciano [7:08 - 7:13]: Because parents think about it. Why wouldn't your kid get hurt during practice? 

Mike Bonelli [7:13 - 7:18]: It's more likely. They're more likely to get hurt in practice or on the ice. 100 of the time, we don't let. 

Lee MJ Elias [7:18 - 7:21]: Our players skate without them in practice. It's a 20. 

Mike Bonelli [7:21 - 7:23]: Many, many do more. More than not. 

Lee MJ Elias [7:23 - 7:24]: That's crazy. 

Christie Casciano [7:24 - 7:30]: Coaches would make that a mandate that during practice you have to wear your net guards, not just during a game. 

Lee MJ Elias [7:30 - 7:37]: Well, I'll say it as a coach. I don't know why you would ever want a kid to practice in a different situation than they play. 

Christie Casciano [7:37 - 7:38]: Right. 

Lee MJ Elias [7:38 - 7:45]: You want them to be exact. If I was a player, I'd want to feel exactly like I'm going to feel in a game. In fact, if I hated net guards, I'd be wearing them at practice just because I want to get the. 

Mike Bonelli [7:46 - 7:49]: The feeling we're seven different ones. And find out which one you like. 

Lee MJ Elias [7:49 - 7:51]: Yeah. And so just to clarify here. 

Christie Casciano [7:51 - 7:56]: That's right. Practice is the time to. To experiment a little bit and see which one feels best for you. 

Mike Bonelli [7:56 - 8:00]: Maybe you don't like the. You don't like the wool line neck guard. That's fine. And get a different one. 

Lee MJ Elias [8:01 - 8:45]: And just to clarify, to make sure people understand that this rule has been written three different ways. So it's. It's for goaltenders. Have to be. Have this now. Okay. Now, I. If you're playing goal and you're not wearing some form of neck and clavicle protector, what are you doing? First off, right, I don't care how good your chest protector is. So it's mandated for goaltenders. It's mandated for all youth players, girls players, high school players, adult. I'm sorry. And disabled players. It's not mandatory for. For adult. Okay. So that's, that's the big update to that rule. I will say a year later that this has not been a big problem, at least in my. In my area. Right. It was well accepted. Everybody's done it most of the kids don't forget them. I mean, if we do forget them, we have a backup. So I'd say that rule was implemented well last year. 

Christie Casciano [8:45 - 8:59]: Right. And let's remind parents of the serious injuries that can happen without them. That's why it's there. It's not just to, you know, one extra layer of protection. It's life saving. Let's not forget that. 

Lee MJ Elias [8:59 - 9:00]: Absolutely. 

Mike Bonelli [9:00 - 9:00]: 100. 

Lee MJ Elias [9:01 - 9:36]: All right, so that is the future. There's no changing that. All right, moving on this next one. This is an equipment measurement rule. You guys know how you look at, like, weird state laws that don't make sense? Like the ones like you're not allowed to walk an elephant down the road in the middle of rush hour or something like that? I always say those rules exist because someone did it. All right, so. So there's a couple on here today that are kind of like, who did? Who did it? Who did it? All right, this next rule. Equipment management mandates bench minor penalty for team who challenge a mouthpiece. And the challenge is not verified. 

Christie Casciano [9:36 - 9:37]: What? 

Lee MJ Elias [9:37 - 9:57]: So it means that there was enough people saying that kid doesn't have a mouth guard in. And they used it either to slow the game down or to do something to disrupt the game. If you. If you falsely challenge a mouth guard, you get a penalty. Now you get a benchmark. So. So who did it? Who did it? That's. It's a rule. 

Christie Casciano [9:57 - 10:02]: How do you officiate that? Because when you have to stop the game. 

Lee MJ Elias [10:02 - 10:13]: Yeah. That's how I would imagine it. You need a timeout, and you don't even know the timeout. You go, player number 47 doesn't have a mouth guard in. Gives you that extra 30 seconds. 

Christie Casciano [10:13 - 10:13]: Right. 

Lee MJ Elias [10:13 - 10:37]: Now you're going to get a penalty if you do that. So some. Something happened to have them do that. Okay, now this next one is along the same lines. This is rule 308A, electronic devices. I'm just going to read this one. This will make some of us laugh. This says, adds cameras and microphones to the list of devices prohibited to be worn by a player during games. Any violation results in a misconduct penalty. 

Christie Casciano [10:37 - 10:39]: So talking about the GoPros. 

Lee MJ Elias [10:39 - 10:40]: We're talking about. 

Christie Casciano [10:40 - 10:40]: Yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [10:41 - 10:50]: Social audience. You can no longer wear cameras or microphones while you play in the game. Somebody did it. Somebody posted it. 

Mike Bonelli [10:51 - 10:55]: No more cute mic videos of the kids talking on the ice, you know, and during the game. 

Lee MJ Elias [10:55 - 10:58]: Not during the game. Yeah, we're done. Done. 

Mike Bonelli [11:00 - 11:04]: They should eliminate microphones on live barn in the ring. So they should. 

Lee MJ Elias [11:04 - 11:09]: Well, too many people would not be arrested if we did that. So that's a good one. Okay. 

Mike Bonelli [11:09 - 11:10]: That's a good one. 

Lee MJ Elias [11:11 - 11:21]: I agree with that one. You, if you're out there, I can't think of a good reason right now why, why a hockey player would need to record or their voice or their, their play in that way. 

Christie Casciano [11:21 - 11:23]: Well, it's for their, it's for their social media. 

Mike Bonelli [11:24 - 11:30]: Yeah. Although I do, I do love the officials wearing the cameras in the junior games. 

Lee MJ Elias [11:30 - 11:42]: Well, that they've been. They're not on here, so the officials can still do that. But yeah, players, players cannot do it. I do agree with this rule. If you're doing that, it's probably not to better your hockey game. It's probably to share it on social media. 

Christie Casciano [11:42 - 11:45]: So I do agree with your followers. That's what that's about. 

Lee MJ Elias [11:46 - 12:40]: So just so you know, I'm, I'm skipping any rules that say they're clarifying a rule, which means that the language in the rule book has just changed. But the rule hasn't changed. But the next one I'm going to go to here is appointment of officials. It says this one makes sense. This is one of those, oh, we were accidentally hypocritical rules. Adds a new rule requiring all on ice officials under 18 of age to wear a net guard. That makes a lot of sense. Right. Players under 18 have to wear it, so should the officials. That one's pretty self explanatory. Here's a good one, guys. This is, this might be the, one of the biggest rules on here for this year. Okay. I actually wish they would take this one a little further. This is under the abuse of officials and others misconduct rule. Mandates game misconduct penalty to players or coaches who use obscene, profane or abusive language to any person after the game. That's a great rule because I see that too often. 

Christie Casciano [12:41 - 12:55]: Yeah. I think officials are abused way too much and parents forget if they're not there, your kids are not there on the ice. So let's not forget that and treat them with some respect. So yeah, I'm all for that role. How about you? 

Mike Bonelli [12:55 - 13:10]: Yeah, yeah, it's just a common sense rule. I mean it's hopefully just eliminates, you know, maybe somebody in the back of their head thinks about it. That's their expletives at the end of the game, in between the lobby. 

Lee MJ Elias [13:10 - 13:59]: Yeah, well it's not even the lobby. Right. It's as soon as the game ends if you tell them something. Yeah. At any point you can now get a game misconduct for your team which I agree with a hundred percent because I. I have seen coaches wait and then after the game, they go off and it's like, no, you can't do it then either. The game's over. We're shaking hands, for Pete's sake. I actually wish that. And a lot of people are gonna agree with me on this. I wish they would actually extend this to parents, too. That if not. No, and I understand why. I understand why. Because that would be very hard to gauge. It's just. It's just players or coaches. I wish they would take it to parents that if a parent is abusing a ref, that kid. That parents kid can get a penalty. I bet you you'd see that come down a lot if you did that. All right, so maybe that. That'll happen. 

Christie Casciano [13:59 - 14:01]: Okay, thanks for clarifying that. 

Lee MJ Elias [14:02 - 14:53]: Yeah, I. I wish that was. I wish they would do that. That would solve a lot of problems, I think. Okay, I made a little mistake. I am going to do one clarification because I think this is important. I'm not sure a lot of people realize this rule. There is a rule that clarifies any game report following a physical assault of a game official must be submitted within 24 hours following a game. So they're just saying if there is any physical altercation with a ref, you have 24 hours to file that. You know, with. With cameras. That one's a little weird, but it is what it is. All right, let's get into some more of the gameplay changes. Actually, not many left. So this next one is on delaying the game. This one's funny because I'll tell you why in a minute. It says, removes mandatory minor penalty to a goalkeeper who accidentally shoots the puck out of the playing area. I don't know many goalies under the age of 15 that can do that. Do it on purpose, I guess. I guess it's happened, so see it. 

Christie Casciano [14:53 - 14:56]: Happening on accident, but to do it on purpose. 

Lee MJ Elias [14:57 - 15:58]: So I've never seen it happen, but if you accidentally shoot the puck out of the playing area, you do not get a minor penalty. Which is weird because the kids don't get a minor penalty, to my knowledge, if they do it. So I don't know why there was. Yeah. And then we're talking youth hockey. So, goalies, hey, you go ahead. Give it your best shot. Or just. Or don't. Right? Just cover the pocket handle of practice. It's much later. All right, next one. Delay of the game. All right. Removes mandatory. I already said that one. Sorry. Face off locations. I apologize. Face Off Locations clarifies that stoppages caused by the attacking team in the attacking zone shall result in a neutral zone face off. So this is actually kind of an interesting one. They're saying if you're in the offensive zone on offense and you cause a. A stoppage, the puck moves out to the neutral zone. Okay. There could be a lot of ways that could happen. You could be laying on the puck, you know, you could stop movement. That's very rare. But you will be penalized now by the puck moving outside the neutral. Yeah. 

Mike Bonelli [15:58 - 16:01]: If you're the initial player freezing the puck in the corner because you're waiting for help. 

Lee MJ Elias [16:01 - 17:07]: Yes. Yeah, that's. That's actually a good rule. All right. It means the gameplay must flow on. And Mike makes a great point there. Right. There's those plays where the puck is not moving and the. The ref has to blow the whistle. If you are the attacker and they. They deem that you did that, the puck now moves out to the neutral zone. No free face offs for anybody. All right. The next two are icing the puck. This is the big one. I think everybody has been waiting for Mike and Christy. So again, this is youth 15 and up. If you're under 15, this. This is not for you. They. They changed this. This year allows teams at the youth 15 only and above, girls 16U and above, to ice the puck while playing shorthanded. So they've re instituted. You can now ice the puck if you're shorthanded, which makes a lot of sense. I understand why they don't do this at the younger levels, but this is a good one. Back in. It also says that requires center ice face off location if the game officials err in calling icing. So if that's most mistakes, most official mistakes will move the puck back to center ice. But I think they're just adding that back in because this is new one. So now you can ice the puck again on a shorthanded. 

Christie Casciano [17:07 - 17:11]: So that means parents in the stands can now yell. I said. 

Lee MJ Elias [17:12 - 17:14]: I said yes. We can get back to that one. 

Christie Casciano [17:15 - 17:16]: We're clear to do that now. 

Lee MJ Elias [17:17 - 17:40]: I don't have a problem with this rule over 15. It makes sense to me. It mimics. It mimics the real game. Like, I mean, it's all the real game, but you know what I mean. The younger ages, by the way, the reasons that they don't do that is because they want the gameplay to. To sure, you know, continue in the zone. They want to give you power play time. They want to give you shorthand. The Idea is to get the kids working within a power player shorthanded system and not just throwing the puck down the ice. Yeah. 

Christie Casciano [17:40 - 17:43]: But you could see. Could be a bad habit for the kids early on. 

Lee MJ Elias [17:43 - 17:47]: Yeah. Imagine that they prioritize development at the younger ages. Huh? Huh? 

Christie Casciano [17:47 - 17:48]: Very good. 

Lee MJ Elias [17:48 - 18:13]: Weird. Huh? Weird stuff. All right, let's get to the next one. This is an important one. Kneeing. Don't see kneeing too much anymore, but it does happen. Adds a mandatory misconduct to any minor penalty assessed for kneeing an opponent. So if you knee someone, you're. You're getting kicked out of the game. Do you agree with this? Again, this is one of those. Someone must have done it. I don't know why kneeing has ever been a minor penalty. Right. It's kind of an intentional thing. 

Mike Bonelli [18:14 - 18:15]: Most of the time it is intentional. 

Lee MJ Elias [18:15 - 18:30]: Huh. So, you know, usually. Usually what I see, Mike, I'd love your thoughts on this too, is that if it's an accidental knee, and what I mean by that is usually you're in a stride and a kid falls over you, typically that becomes an interference call. 

Christie Casciano [18:31 - 18:31]: Sure. 

Lee MJ Elias [18:31 - 18:37]: Right. Or a tripping call. Like a. Kneeing is intent to knee an opponent. And I do agree that there should be a misconduct with that. 

Christie Casciano [18:37 - 18:39]: Right? Yeah. 

Mike Bonelli [18:39 - 18:56]: Yeah. I probably want to see. I probably want to see the video back up on the rule. Like, okay, you know, this is. Give me. Give me examples of what you're looking at, you know, when you talk about this rule so I can show my kids, like, this is the rule and this is what you. We're looking for. We're trying to eliminate, you know, kids getting their legs blown up. 

Lee MJ Elias [18:56 - 19:57]: Yeah, I agree with that. I. I think there could be. We need explanations on this. USA Hockey is usually pretty good about that. They'll do a video at this point. All right. The next two in line with icing the offsides. This is the other big gameplay. Same thing. 15 years old and up. This delay, tag up offsides is now back in the game. I'm not going to read the whole rule, but it's that it says, removes automatic whistle for shooting the puck into the attacking end zone. On net with attacking players still in the end zone. So delayed and tag up offsides. Back in the game. 15 and up again. Completely makes sense. Mimics. Mimics the game. You know, you got to teach offsides at the younger ages. This is why we don't do that. All right. I think this makes sense. Mike and Christy, like, again, they did it for one year. I think it was exhausting for the older players who have been playing with this rule most of their lives. And again, I, I would not want to go to college or juniors having not played with this at 15 and up. I mean, this is, this is a tactic. It's something you got to learn to do. 

Christie Casciano [19:57 - 19:58]: That's right. 

Mike Bonelli [19:59 - 20:26]: Yeah. It really becomes part of the game. I mean, it's, it's, it's like the, you know, the, and it's hard because the officials usually that do those older games are doing the college games and the junior games. So their ability to read and react to, oh my God, what role are we playing here today? You know, becomes harder too. So I think this allows, you know, I don't know. I like, I don't, I don't like the free icing on penalty kills. So I think if you get a penalty, I think you should another punishment. But I do like this role. 

Lee MJ Elias [20:26 - 20:35]: Yeah, for sure. And I'll say it again, that, that when you look at skills at the different age groups at the younger ages, the reason they're not doing this, it teaches you to stay on sides. 

Christie Casciano [20:35 - 20:36]: Sure. 

Lee MJ Elias [20:36 - 20:51]: Right. And most of the time when kids are off sides at a young, young age, it's because they don't realize they're off sides. So if you think it's, it's hard teaching them to stay on sides, imagine trying to teach a young kid how to play touch up offsides and we'd be like, get out, get. No, go back in, go back, go back. 

Mike Bonelli [20:51 - 20:54]: Everybody yelling, everybody yelling, Go in, Go out, go out, go in. 

Lee MJ Elias [20:54 - 21:55]: Chaotic. You know, when you get up to 15, there's a lot more speed. It keeps the gameplay going. This rule just makes a lot of sense. You got to teach off sides before you can teach touch up offsides. I agree with this. It makes sense. Okay, only a couple left here. The next one is puck out of bounds or unplayable. Requires a face off located in the same zone the puck was located in. If the puck leaves the playing surface or becomes unplayable, that, that makes sense. Okay, so the face off again, located in the same zone the puck was located in. If the puck leaves the playing surface. So that, that, to me, that means that if you launch the puck out in the defensive zone and it leaves in the neutral zone, the face off val is still in the defensive zone. Which, which makes sense to me. I don't, I don't think you should. Like if I wanted to launch the puck out the other end of the rink first off, that, that you can't do that, but then the face off should be in the offensive zone because I threw it all the way out. No, that doesn't work for me. It's. Wherever the puck leaves or can't be played is where the Face off should be. I completely agree with that. 

Christie Casciano [21:56 - 21:58]: I mean, it's not that right now, apparently. 

Lee MJ Elias [21:58 - 22:25]: It wasn't. Yeah. Or. Or there was confusion. Confusion. Excuse me, again. So I'm thinking, Christy, like, if you're near the blue line, in your defensive zone, right, look it out. I could see how it would go out in the neutral zone, right? And sometimes I'm sure the face offs were taking place in neutrals. And no, it's not correct to me. If, if you flip it out, there's no penalty. Remember in youth hockey, the face off should be in the zone. You flick it out. That. That is correct to me. Okay, Mike, you agree? 

Mike Bonelli [22:25 - 22:35]: I, like, makes it. It makes it. I, I just, like I said, I didn't know. I guess I'd have to really look at the rule. But I mean, the bottom line is, I don't think that's, you know, something that people are freaking out about. 

Lee MJ Elias [22:35 - 22:36]: I think it's just. 

Mike Bonelli [22:36 - 22:43]: No, you know, you're. You're in the. You're in, you know, you're right inside the blue line. The puck leaves the arena. You. The face offs inside the blue line. 

Lee MJ Elias [22:43 - 23:26]: Yeah. To me, this rule was. This was most likely a common sense rule, but it wasn't written down. That would be my guess. So there might have been some refs that go, no, no, I flew out here, right? So somebody, Somebody complained, rightly. And. And it's an official. All right, two left. This next one is again, one of those who did it. It's the refusal to start play rule. Okay? That's what it's called. And it says it's. Sorry. Laughing. You now get a second warning if you. It says, adds a second warning to team before suspending the game for refusal to start play. So if you're in your locker room and you're stubborn and you're going, I'm not coming out right now. You get two warnings before they forfeit the game for you or the, or. 

Mike Bonelli [23:26 - 23:43]: The, or the in between period, you know, coach discussion. So they get long, right? So the ref comes over and says, coach, coach, gotta let it go. Let's go face off. And then all of a sudden you decide, oh, I'm gonna do it again. Hey, coach, Coach, that's your last warning right here. You gotta go. Because, you know, they take, they take a lot of liberty in that in that 32nd time out, in between periods. 

Lee MJ Elias [23:43 - 23:54]: Yeah, well, it says. It does say here. This is where I get my. My eyebrows raised. It says refusal to start play. Ah, so you almost got to define refusal, because. Refusal. 

Mike Bonelli [23:54 - 23:57]: Refusing to start play. If the official tells you to, there's a face off. 

Lee MJ Elias [23:59 - 24:06]: Mike, you get two warnings now. Okay, so it's. Christy, it's clear to me that Mike is the reason this rule exists, since he's. He's so emphatic about it. 

Mike Bonelli [24:06 - 24:14]: What the hell these officials know anyway? They can't even take. They can't even rep the game. How are they going to tell time? So I think. I think it's. I think. I think it's a good. I think it's a good rule. 

Christie Casciano [24:14 - 24:17]: How often does that happen, though, Mike? Does that really happen? 

Mike Bonelli [24:17 - 24:24]: I've never. I've never. I've never seen a penalty for a coach extending the in between. Hold on. 

Lee MJ Elias [24:24 - 24:35]: Again, this is not a penalty. This is. This is them suspending the game. Like, this is a pretty harshly written rule. It's not a minor penalty. Here it says again, before suspending the game for refusal to play. 

Mike Bonelli [24:35 - 24:41]: Well, it's got to be like the towel rule then, or something. It's got to be something. You know, there's like, I'm boycotting this game right now. 

Lee MJ Elias [24:41 - 24:43]: You get two warnings. 

Mike Bonelli [24:44 - 24:53]: Maybe you got to rethink it. Then you gotta say, okay, I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I'm gonna give it to him. And then I'm gonna get a warning, and then I'm gonna. Then I'm gonna play with this and see how far I can take it. 

Lee MJ Elias [24:53 - 25:00]: Suspending the game. All right, joking aside, I could see a few scenarios where this might be needed. And again, they're adding. 

Mike Bonelli [25:00 - 25:14]: I think I saw it last weekend, actually, now that I'm thinking about it. The ref yelling at the coach. The dad up in the stands yelling at the ref. The coach yelling at the dad in the stands about yelling at the ref. The game's getting suspended. So let's, let's. Let's play on. Yeah, yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [25:14 - 25:15]: So it happens. Two warnings. 

Mike Bonelli [25:15 - 25:17]: It happens. Happened last weekend. 

Lee MJ Elias [25:17 - 26:48]: All right, the last, Last update. This is appendix. It's not a rule. It's just an appendix edition. USA Hockey has added disabled hockey playing rules to the general rulebook, which is great. It's all inclusive now. They don't get a separate rule book, so everyone's rules is now under the same rulebook. I will reiterate, if you're. If your kid plays junior hockey There are a ton of new rules in junior hockey. Again, we are not going to go over them on this show, but. But you definitely want to take a look at them. A lot of rules. A couple ones before we end this episode. I told you guys this would be a little shorter today. A couple rules I would like to see. I do love, and I don't know anyone who doesn't love this, the PWHL's jailbreak rule, which is if you are shorthanded and score a goal, your player comes out of the box. You were rewarded for scoring shorthanded. It's an interesting rule for youth hockey because I think there's plenty of shorthanded goals in youth hockey, but I just think that would add an element of fun at youth hockey. I think it also adds an element of urgency on special teams, which, you know, parents listening. As you get older, you want to find that urgency. You want to, you want to find that. That ability to get into that. And also special teams become extremely important as you get older. I mean, they're important all the time, but I mean, you could really live and die on special teams. So I kind of like that rule. You know, I could also see how this could go the other way. But I wanted to get your guys thoughts on the jailbreak role potentially in youth hockey or even NHL hockey. Now that we're mentioning. 

Christie Casciano [26:48 - 26:53]: I like it especially, you know, the team shorthanded and give them that bonus. Why not? 

Lee MJ Elias [26:53 - 26:54]: That's great. 

Mike Bonelli [26:55 - 27:06]: Yeah, I love it. I think it gives it just a, you know, then, now, now a lot of times now, now you're not just putting your utility players on the ice. You're putting your best player on the ice. Go score a goal early. Let's get this girl out of the box. 

Lee MJ Elias [27:06 - 27:07]: Yeah, let's get. 

Mike Bonelli [27:07 - 27:16]: Let's get ourselves back five on five. I love it. I think it's. I think it really brings. It makes the. It makes the defensive structure of penalty killing offensive. 

Lee MJ Elias [27:17 - 29:52]: I, I agree. I, I think it would. I. I think when I think about this in youth hockey, it's just fun. It's a fun addition to the game. Now, now, again to do that. I'll say this again. This is a PWHL rule, okay? So this would be a massive change to the. The game as a whole if it was to be adopted. But I love that they're trying things. The other thing, this is not so much a rule for youth hockey, but I did want to bring it up. One of the greatest things the PWHL has done that I Actually think all major sports leagues should look at this. This rule is that if you are eliminated from the playoffs, I love this. The day you are eliminated, you start accruing points to earn a draft pick, right? So if you are eliminated first, every winner, loss, after that elimination, now you're starting in the draft pool points structure, right? So what it does is a stops any team from tanking to try and get a higher draft pick. It's also very fair. If you're the first team eliminated, you have an advantage to get the first draft pick. But if you don't play well and stop playing well, you don't get. Keeps every game competitive. You're also playing for something. Yes, it is very much a loser's bracket type thing, but the games have meaning. And I can tell you as a coach that when you're eliminated from anything, it can be tough to inspire your players to have these games that play meaning. But the truth is this, if you're ever going to win, like really win for real, you need to understand what it means to play meaningful games late in the season. Okay, Now a lot of youth hockey associations just tying this in have done different, different ratings. Like in my area, we have this crack score. That's what it's called, K R A C H. That is based on strength of schedule records head to heads. I mean, and, and the playoffs are based on that score. It's not based on your record. All right, so for example, I have a team right now with a below.500 record that will be in the upper playoffs because of their strength of schedule. Right? So, so that's interesting to me and it makes every game meaningful towards the end of the season. But I am for any rules that make meaningful hockey late in the season for every team. So I just, I love that rule. I'm trying to tell people about that rule. Again, you think of major professional sports. I don't like draft lotteries. I don't like. And they put those draft lotteries in for this reason of don't tank. But like, it's like you're telling me there's a chance. Can you imagine the NHL if the bottom half of the league was still fighting for draft positioning late? I mean, it would be incredible. And you earn it. You earn the top spot as a fan. I like that. Right. So what do you guys think of that? 

Christie Casciano [29:52 - 30:15]: I like that. I mean, you keep this. It is such a struggle, especially if you don't make the playoffs, to keep playing with Harp because. Okay, what's the set we didn't make it and you're ready to check out. But if you still have that little carrot waving carrot stick right in front of the team, they can certainly energize them and keep the season fun at the end. 

Lee MJ Elias [30:15 - 30:22]: Good for coaches too, like, and again, falling apart. You got to figure this out, Mike. 

Mike Bonelli [30:22 - 30:44]: I think, I think it's the, I think it's the level of program. Like, you know, if you're a pro hockey player, you're playing, you're, you're. Every day you go on the ice, you're, you're playing to win. I mean, you're not. I mean, the whole idea, when they talk about pros tanking seasons, nobody's tank. They just, it just doesn't happen. These, these players play now, can management say, hey, we're going to take this guy out of the lineup and move? That's. 

Lee MJ Elias [30:44 - 30:46]: And that's what I get worried about. Yeah, it's not the play. 

Mike Bonelli [30:46 - 31:02]: And that's why I think this rule is kind of cool. Because now a GM and an owner might say, hey, listen, we're gonna really actually bolster the team to a place where we know it doesn't mean anything as far as getting through the playoffs, but it actually means something for the future of our organization. 

Lee MJ Elias [31:02 - 31:02]: Right. 

Mike Bonelli [31:02 - 31:03]: And I like that. 

Lee MJ Elias [31:03 - 31:11]: I like that too. And, and again, if you can't rally around that, you know. Yeah. I don't know what else you can rally around. So. 

Mike Bonelli [31:11 - 31:11]: Yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [31:11 - 32:17]: Anyway, those are the 25 rule changes. Again, these are, these are written as 2025 through 2029. All right. So that they're in effect for at least a four year period unless they change them. These goes into effect August 1st of this year. Again, not, not as major as last year's updates. The last years were massive. Right. But the big ones, again, is make sure your neck laceration protector, as they call them, is, is certified. I imagine most of them are my friends, but I, again, we'll have to keep an eye on to see that, how that is. I don't know why you put your kid out there with flimsy neck guard, to be honest with you. If they have to wear it, you might as well make it a good one. Goalies always have them on. Yeah. Officials, you got to wear them if you're under 18. That makes a lot of sense. Again, just, just tag up offsides and icing back in the game for 15 and up. All rules we agree with. So yeah, those are your rules. Those are the changes for this season. Well, this season, next season depends on when you're listening to this, I guess seems so far away, but it's not. And that's the episode. Kristi, do you want to do like a news outro now or how should we end this one? 

Christie Casciano [32:17 - 32:34]: Thanks for joining us, everybody. So let's go over those rules one more time. Review them. If you have any questions, please reach out to us. We'd be happy to answer them. Maybe you have a few suggestions, too. We'd love to pass it along. Thanks for joining us. And skate off. 

Lee MJ Elias [32:35 - 33:02]: We hope you enjoyed this edition of Our Kids Play Hockey. Make sure to like and subscribe right now if you found value wherever you're listening, whether it's a podcast network, a social media network, or our website, our kids playhockey.com also make sure to check out our children's book, when hockey stops at when hockeystops.com it's a book that helps children deal with adversity in the game and in life. We're very proud of it. But thanks so much for listening to this edition of Our Kids Play Hockey, and we'll see you on the next episode.