Elite League schedules: is Friday-Sunday the way ahead? We need to start a debate.
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Ice hockey is the toughest of sports in which bodies are put on the line every single night. Playing back to back over a weekend may be how it has been done for decades, but times have changed - so is it now time to adopt a new approach?
Tom Coolen, head coach, railed against the punishing impact the schedules had on his team last season. Fifty hours on the coach travelling up and down the M6 in just one week, and December’s relentless programme of train-play-travel gave him a clear insight into how things need to change. His advocacy of playing Friday and then Sunday, with a rest day in between, found favour with many fans - or, at least, started a debate.
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Hide AdThis week, American forward Spencer Naas, made the same case on social media. He too spoke from experience after a prolific season with Dundee Stars saw him deliver 59 points from 54 league games.
Now signed with EHC Freiburg in DEL2 in Germany, he suggested such a move could bring benefits to the EIHL.
On Twitter/X, he wrote: “Eventually I’d like to see the league switch to more of a Friday/Sunday game schedule. Back-to-backs with travel are especially tough on players. I think the change would lead to attracting and retaining more talent and ultimately a better product on the ice.
“I understand the possible economic implications of a schedule change. But I think the EIHL could grow to be one of the top leagues in Europe and I just wanted to share a player’s perspective on how I think it could improve.”
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Hide AdNaas and Coolen’s views need to be heard. We are a fair bit away from any change, and such a fundamental change wouldn’t be easy - there are many external factors which come into play - but that shouldn’t be a barrier to an initial discussion.


Playing back to back is tough. I recall Jimmy Nicholl, as manager of Raith Rovers, coming to a Flyers’ game and looking incredulous when he heard the team was off to Nottingham the next night. Three decades on and the sport is faster and the toll it takes on bodies is tougher than ever. The final buzzer may sound before 10:00pm on a Saturday, but it can be the early hours before a player gets home and the adrenalin dissipates. To have to get back to the rink and on the bus within hours and travel for the rest of the day before kitting up again is, on many levels, astonishing in modern-day professional sport. Try asking a Premiership football club to undertake that as standard ...
Flyers routinely don’t get home much before dawn on Mondays, and a midweek fixture simply eats into training and recovery time - and both are crucial for teams to stay focussed and healthy.
Hockey has changed, players have very different outlooks and expectations of how they want to be treated. Not like robots.
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Hide AdHockey has embraced sports science, and does significantly more work now off the ice with the same players they still expect to skate tired and leg weary from endless hours on a bus.


So, a what if?What if Fife simply said its preferred home night was Friday rather than Saturday? Could they make that unilateral decision? Probably not, but it would hone any debate for season 25-26 or further down the road, so, is there scope for a pilot project here?That, of course, would impact on popular ice discos which generate key revenue for the rink - there’s your first of several external challenge - and the club would have to be sure it’d work with its fanbase. Then there’s the not inconsiderable issue of the impact on ice time at a rink which operates from early morning to late night. All moving pieces which would come into play, and all with an “ah but, you cannae..” as an opening remark.
In the 1980s through to the early 2000s, Saturday night was hockey night, but a new generation of fans has grown up much less welded to that routine. Lockdown also had a profound impact on how we choose to spend our downtime. The old rules no longer apply quite so stringently.
It’s too late for this season, but the opportunity to have a rest/travel day built into all teams’ weekend schedules is something the league may have to address. Sooner or later.
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Hide AdAnd only by having that debate will we know if there is any appetite, among teams and fans, for a change, and, if so, how the logistics stack up.
Coolen and Naas both see merit in the issue, I suspect others will too. We need to hear their voices.
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