Bone-jarring collisions have long been a staple in the sport of ice hockey as players can legally lay the body on each other while skating at speeds up to 25 miles-per-hour. Body checking is a skill that may be on the wane these days, but it has been and always will be one of the most dramatic and entertaining aspects of hockey.
What Is the Body Checking in Hockey?
Body checking in ice hockey is using your body to physically stop or impede the progress of the opposing puck carrier by making contact with them. Not all parts of the body may be used while body checking however as the shoulder, upper body, and hips are legal, using your legs to body check are not.
5 Different Types of Checking in Hockey
Body checks vary in intent: some aim to separate players from the puck, while others slow opponents or block them along the boards or in front of the net. Body contact, a defensive move, uses stick checks, angling, and positioning without forceful body checking, it is more about placing your body in the opponent’s path. While body checking uses more of a forceful upper body (or hip) contact to separate the opponent from the puck.
Let’s take a look at the different types of body contact and body checking in hockey:
1. Shoulder Checking
An effective shoulder check means using your shoulder to make contact with an opponent’s side or chest. Be sure not to make contact with the player’s head region though as this is an illegal hit. Shoulder checking is the standard type of checking in hockey.
2. Hip Checking
Hip checking is the art of slightly lowering your body and using your hip to make clean contact with an opponent’s hip or waist. Usually a hip check is performed by angling off a player that is trying to speed around the defender, as you take away the players time and space, you lower your body into there waist area and flip them over. The puck carrier loses position of the puck and you or your teammates can gain position back.
Hip checking was one of my favorite checks as a defensemen, most people never saw it coming.
3. Stick Checking
Stick checking means trying to make the opposing puck carrier lose control of the puck by using your stick only. The most common types of stick checks include poke checking, sweep checking and lifting their stick with your stick to take the puck. Just be careful not to slash, hook, or spear the opponent as these are illegal stick plays.
4. Open Ice Body Check
An open-ice body check requires proper positioning and exact timing to execute. It’s all about using your body to deliver a legal hit to an opponent in the open areas of the ice rather than along the boards. An open ice hit happens when an opposing player is skating through open ice, usually breaking out of their own zone, cutting through the neutral zone, or speeding into the offensive zone.
The player getting hit often has their head down, either to pick up a pass, or to ensure they keep the puck on their stick as they cut into the middle of the ice gaining speed.
As soon as they start moving forward through the middle of the ice (away from the boards), the defensive player steps up before they know it they get shoulder checked extremely hard.
For fans, open ice hits are often the most celebrated when successfully executed. They also hurt the most on the receiving end, trust me.
5. Rubbing Out Check Along Boards
Taking a player out along the boards means angling your body to impede the opponent’s movement by physically pushing or steering him into the boards with your upper body. It’s more of a body contact play than a body check, however, they can still get pretty rough.
This type of check is a proper way to angle a player to remove their time and space with the puck. The better angle you do as a defender, theirs little to nowhere they can go, leaving you to rub them out on the boards to take away their puck possession.
Check out this video by Brendan Shanahan (former NHL Department of Player Safety). I think it explains what a legal check is nicely as you get to see some hard body checks throughout the video, along with some suspensions.
What is an Illegal Check in Hockey?
Illegal checks in hockey occur when players use their sticks or parts of their bodies to make contact with an opponent illegally. An illegal check will result in a minor, major, or game misconduct penalty depending on the severity and intent of the incident. Severe illegal checks often result in fines and/or suspensions from the league.
Below are some of the most common types of illegal checks in ice hockey and the specific NHL rules that deal with them.
Illegal Check to the Head:
If you make contact with an opponent’s head before any other part of his body when delivering a body check it will result in a penalty, often a five-minute major and game misconduct. This illegal check is covered by rule 48 of the NHL’s rule book.
Checking from Behind:
NHL Rule 43 deals with checking from behind and states that when a player is hit from behind on the back part of his body and isn’t able to protect himself it will result in a penalty. However if the player who his hit intentionally turns his back on the checker, no penalty is warranted.
Read all about checking from behind in the detailed guide here.
Cross-Checking:
Cross checking takes place when an opponent holds his stick with both hands and uses the shaft of the stick to forcefully make contact with an opponent, usually in the players back or midsection. This act is covered by rule 59.
Charging:
Rule 42 states that if you skate more than three strides to recklessly hit an opponent at a high speed it will typically result in a minor or major penalty for charging. Also, if you leave your feet while making contact a charging penalty will be called.
Boarding:
Rule 41 deals with the illegal act of boarding, which occurs when a player makes contact with a defenceless or vulnerable opponent or pushes him recklessly or violently into the boards. The length of the penalty handed out depends on the severity of impact the player makes with the boards.
Read all about the boarding penalty here.
Interference:
According to rule 56, it’s only legal to body-check an opponent who is in possession of the puck. If you hit or impede an opponent who isn’t in possession of the puck with your body it will result in a two-minute minor penalty for interference.
Read all about the interference penalty here.
Clipping:
According to rule 44, clipping takes place when a player throws or lowers his body across or below an opponent’s knees from any direction on the ice. This is an illegal low hit which is rarely called as it rarely takes place in the sport of hockey.
Kneeing:
A kneeing penalty is called when a player makes contact with an opponent with his knee and is covered under rule 50.
Head Butting:
Head-butting is another rare penalty which is called when a player intentionally makes contact or attempts to make contact with an opponent by leading with his helmet or head. It’s dealt with by rule 47 of the book.
See/Download the 2023-24 NHL Rulebook here.
At What Age Does Body Checking in Hockey Begin?
The age that body checking is allowed in minor hockey depends on the area and country the sport is being played in. For example, Hockey Canada introduces body checking at the Under-15 division. However, the rules concerning body contact vary between the nation’s divisions and provinces.
In Ontario, body checking isn’t allowed at all in recreational hockey, but is legal in the Under-14 level in competitive (representative) divisions. In other areas of the nation, body checking starts at the age of 13 for males. According to USA Hockey, body checking is banned in all male divisions until the age of 13 and is banned for all female age divisions.
Is there Body Checking in Female Hockey?
For females that play in minor hockey, these are mixed male and female players, will have body contact at the under-15 level no matter your gender. However, female only minor hockey leagues do not have body checking, but may allow light body contact including minor rubbing out along the boards.
When I grew up playing hockey, the females on our all-star teams (competitive leagues) participated in body contact until they reached the age group that offered female only hockey teams. Of course, this can be different based on where one lives or plays hockey.
As far as adult female hockey is concerned, body checking in North America was allowed until the 1987 World Women’s Hockey Tournament. It was removed after that event due to the disparity in skill levels between different nations.
However, while body checking was removed, body contact was still allowed. In Sweden, body checking was introduced in the country’s professional SDHL female league in 2022/23, but open-ice hits aren’t allowed.
Will the NHL Always Have Body Checking?
Body checking has always been allowed in the NHL, but there’s no hiding the fact that it’s a bit of a dying art these days. The league is more focused on skill and speed in the modern era, and while hits per game are on the decline, goals per game are on the rise.
Although the league has cracked down on head contact, body checking will always remain a part of the NHL, but it’s just not as prevalent as it once was.
Do All Hockey Leagues Have Body Contact?
Not all hockey leagues allow body checking as it’s basically only legal in competitive, elite amateur, and professional leagues in most areas of the world. Most minor house and adult recreational leagues don’t allow body checking although some of them may allow incidental, non-intentional body contact.
Always discuss the rules before you play hockey in a new league or location as you do not want to be caught with your head own in a body contact league.
Is Body Checking Dangerous? (Should You Be Concerned as a Parent?)
According to the Canadian Paediatric Society, ice hockey is an excellent physical activity for children with many health benefits, but hockey-related injuries such as concussions are sometimes a problem, and most of these types of injuries are related to body checking. The Paediatric Society believes that body checking should be banned in non-competitive, recreational hockey for children of all ages and shouldn’t be allowed in competitive leagues until the age of 15.
Hockey Canada teaches body checking via a four-step skills development program. The organization and Paediatric Society state that children and players of all ages should wear a CSA-certified helmet every time they take to the ice, be it a practice or game of shinny. Children should also wear a mouthguard to help reduce the risk of concussion. It’s also recommended that children are taught about non-violence and fair play in sports and should report any injuries to their parent, coach or trainer. They should only return to the ice when fully healed.
Injuries will always be a part of sports as well as life, and the only way to be guaranteed your child will stay injury-free is to ban them from competing. That is a somewhat unrealistic expectation though, so the best way to protect your child from injury is to be sure they learn the proper technique of giving and receiving body checks on the ice.
In my opinion, someone who has played ice hockey with body checking since age 11, you need to learn how to safely body check at a reletively young age. Once you understand the fundamentals of taking and giving a body check it allows you to properly defend yourself as well as prevent injuring other players.
If you have any questions about body checking please leave a comment and I will make sure to get back to you!
Jamie is the founder of Hockey Response and he is the chief writer/ lead editor. Jamie has been playing hockey for over 20 years. He was the defenseman of the year in NL and has played Jr A level hockey. Jamie has coached several kids hockey camps and he was the assistant coach of the Western Kings.