Sweden blazes trail in women's hockey by allowing body checking and finds health, quality benefits
ÖRNSKÖLDSVIK, Sweden (AP) — Lauren Bellefontaine came off the ice after a game in Sweden's top women's hockey league and detailed the toll her body had just taken.
'I got a stick to the collarbone tonight and also a hit to the head. Definitely some bumps and bruises,' she said with a smile. 'But I'm feeling fine.'
Growing up in Canada, Bellefontaine kept hearing people ask why there was no hitting in women's hockey. It has taken a move to northern Sweden for her to discover the more physical side of the sport.
In 2022, Sweden became the first country to introduce body checking to its premier women's league, bringing its rule book closer to men's hockey even though hockey's world governing body does not formally allow the practice because of safety concerns. It has opened up a new world for women's players, who say they feel more empowered playing the game the way it was intended.
Swedish hockey officials say the results have been overwhelmingly positive: The women's game has become faster and more entertaining while concussions, which have been a scourge for the sport, have decreased.
Other countries are now looking to follow suit, with the PWHL — the professional women's league in North America with some of the world's top players — putting checking in the rules for its inaugural season last year.
'It has given us the opportunity to prove we're physical, we're strong and we can play just like the men's players,' Bellefontaine said. 'It allows us to show we can — and we will.'
Bellefontaine joined MoDo for the start of the 2023-24 season. It's a title-contending team from Örnsköldsvik, a sleepy coastal town some 530 kilometers (330 miles) north of Stockholm — and not far from the Arctic Circle — whose population of 30,000 lives and breathes hockey and whose most famous alumni include NHL greats Peter Forsberg, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and Markus Naslund.
Initially it was something of a culture shock to her.
'I had no prior experience of hitting at all,' the 25-year-old Bellefontaine said, 'and we went right into the season so it took me a while to get into it … it was tough but now it's just fun.'
Safer, too.
Benefits of body checking
Statistics supplied by the Swedish women's league show the number of concussions sustained by players has dropped since 2018, when its 'Project Zero Vision' was launched. There were 35 reported concussions in the 2018-19 regular season, 10 in 2022-23 and 15 in 2023-24. By Jan. 8 this year, which was approaching the end of the regular season, there had been six.
Preventing concussions was the main driver behind the introduction of checking, as counterintuitive as that may seem. It has forced players to skate with their heads up, increasing their ice awareness.
There have been other benefits of bringing back checking, which was part of the game in women's hockey in Europe and North America until the mid-1980s but isn't in the International Ice Hockey Federation's current rule book. Coaches, league officials and fans say the speed of the Swedish game has gotten quicker, as players make smarter and faster decisions.
For many, it restores the balance between skill and physicality that is important in making the sport an entertaining watch.
'It creates some tension in the game that you otherwise don't get,' said Luc de Keijzer, a 27-year-old student who is a regular at MoDo games.
One big hope is that increased physical play makes Sweden more competitive at the international level against traditional hockey powers like the United States, Canada and Finland. Sweden's women's team regularly goes deep in world championships and Olympic Games but hasn't won the gold medal at either tournament.
Closing the equality gap
For some female players, the biggest effect has been to make them feel more empowered. That's because they are essentially following the same rules as the men, except for one key difference: hits on open ice — when players are skating freely away from the boards — are forbidden in women's hockey.
'We're trying to close the gap between men's and women's hockey, so this is one way we are doing it — to have similar rules as they do,' said Alexie Guay, another Canadian playing for MoDo. 'It's not as intense and there are different rules still — I don't know if there will be fighting in women's hockey in the future — but we're definitely closing the gap and I think it's a cool thing.'
According to research by Lund University in Sweden, 88% of the 159 players from the league who responded to a questionnaire said they were in favor of checking.
Jared Cipparone, the coach of MoDo's women's team, said he hasn't encountered any resistance from his players about checking.
'Everyone was excited about it,' said Cipparone, who is also from Canada. 'The first year was trial and fire for many, but last year and this year you see the significance it's made in the game and I've only heard good things about it.'
At MoDo's home game against HV71 at Hagglunds Arena in early January, a MoDo player was almost knocked off her skates by a full-body hit. Many others were smashed into the boards but went on with the game. There were no roughing penalties and certainly no brawling.
The 5-foot-7 Bellefontaine, who describes herself as 'pretty small,' has had to adapt her game. She said she trains harder, watches what she eats to 'bulk up a little bit' and is making use of the sauna in her apartment for post-match recovery.
'I'm definitely squeezing my core a little more,' she said. 'Before, I wouldn't even expect to be hit so now it's head on a swivel, always looking, always watching, and just being ready to take a hit. You have to make sure you're not in a position to jeopardize yourself.
'It's definitely changed the way we play and made us better players.'
In Sweden, they start early
USA Hockey and Hockey Canada do not allow checking in girls and women's hockey. In Sweden, body checking is part of the rules for boys and girls starting at the age of 12. League officials say being educated so early prepares players for when they are older.
MoDo fan Marie Johansson said her 18-year-old daughter, Amanda, started with checking from age 12, initially while playing with boys.
'All parents are worried about their children getting injured,' Johansson said, 'but when they learn to do the checking, they train a lot, they learn how to hold their heads up high, and she learnt how to avoid injuries. I don't think because she's a girl I've been more worried than if she'd been a boy.'
Morgan Johansson, an official who helped to launch the Zero Vision project, said he has shared information with the IIHF and the PWHL about the effects the rule change has had on the Swedish league. Norwegian and Danish leagues have also contacted him.
Last year, the IIHF had PWHL officials in North America outline the league's rules on checking and officiating in a potential first step to modify its rulebook and provide a new standard at international competitions, league vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said.
Contacted by the AP, the IIHF said its rulebook 'does not prohibit competitive body contact between players' but noted its staff was working with its membership "to clarify the interpretation of this part in women's hockey.'
As for the Swedes, they are happy to have made the bold step that others are starting to follow.
'We are kind of a trailblazer when it comes to women's hockey in challenging the old structures that said, 'Women can't,'' said Angelica Lindeberg, operations manager for the Swedish league. 'Now we say, of course they can. We are very proud of that.'
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AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed.
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AP women's hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
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Kaltounková fits the pro mold and her physical style of play will likely benefit from the PWHL's rules. Gosling has been a top-pair defender at Clarkson alongside Winn, and one of the best defenders in college hockey over the last few seasons. She finished her college career as the highest-scoring defender in Clarkson Golden Knights history, and ranks second in points-per-game (.84) only behind 2024 PWHL Defender of the Year Erin Ambrose. The gap between Gosling and Winn isn't huge, as they're both elite two-way, point-producing defenders, but they go about the game a bit differently. Winn is the more dynamic skater, while Gosling plays a more cerebral, heads-up game and can control the pace of the game from the back end — similar to Ambrose. Gosling closes gaps well with her positioning and active stick, and can play with a bit of snarl and physicality when she's defending the net front or battling for pucks along the walls. She projects to be a good top-four defender in the PWHL. Guilday is an excellent defensive defender who projects to be a very good pro. As captain at Cornell last season, Guilday anchored the blue line on one of the best defensive teams in the nation (1.46 goals against). She also won three medals at women's worlds, including gold in 2024, as a member of Team USA. Guilday has good size and defends at an elite level. She plays good gaps, keeps stick-on-puck, and defends the rush well. She does well to take away time and space from opposing forwards and isn't afraid to play the body. Guilday doesn't offer a ton of offense, but moves pucks well enough and can contribute with a strong shot. Cherkowski is a versatile forward who can play center and both wings and was an impact player at Clarkson. She's a good penalty killer, could play the net front or flank on the power play and finished fifth in points among college players in this year's draft, with 45 in 40 games. Cherkowski's game does not lack dimension. She skates well and can get up and down the ice in transition. She's smart on and off the puck and can handle physicality in the tough areas of the ice. Cherkowski could be a Swiss Army Knife-type player for a PWHL team, with the ability to play a top-six role or be a reliable third-line checking center. Mlynkova is a gifted goal scorer with big-time international experience, having represented Czechia at six women's world championships and the 2022 Olympics. After four solid seasons at the University of Vermont, she transferred to the University of Minnesota for her fifth year of eligibility and proved herself at the WCHA level with 16 goals and 34 points — good for second and third on the Golden Gophers. Mlynkova and teammate Ella Huber are pretty close on the ranking, and will likely come down to a general manager's preference. Mlynkova is a talented goal scorer who is agile, slippery with the puck and can escape small areas. She's a smaller forward, but isn't afraid to go to the net and get bumped by larger defenders. She plays hard and smart off the puck and would fit well on a team that needs a top-six scoring winger. Huber is a versatile 200-foot forward and the third-highest scoring college player in the draft after scoring a career-high 48 points this season. She might not be a star herself but she can be a reliable center beside one, which she's shown over almost a decade playing beside Abbey Murphy. Huber has good speed and finish to her game and has no problem going to the dirty areas of the ice to gain possession and make plays. She's a smart player who reads the game at an advanced level and knows how to play off of her linemates. Huber is strong on faceoffs and should be able to play up and down the lineup in the PWHL. 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She also has a hard shot and is comfortable attacking past the first layer into the zone. Her feet could stand to be a little quicker, but she's an average skater who could be a sturdy depth defender. A star in Russia, Shokhina has led their top level in scoring six times, has been named league MVP once, and led their regular season and playoffs in scoring again this season with 30 goals and 73 points in 42 games. She's a bit tricky to evaluate due to the varied quality of the ZhHL and the PWHL, so there's a question about how her game might translate to North America. She also hasn't played at a best-on-best international event since Russia's last international competition at the 2022 Olympics. Shokhina played in three U18 worlds, racking up 14 goals and 19 points in 16 games and once led the tournament in goals as a 15-year-old. But that was also 12 years ago. All that said, Shokhina looks like a skilled attacking winger, who plays quickly, skates well, has great hands and can really shoot it. Drafting her comes with some risk but her talent level makes her a worthwhile late-round bet. After four years at Bemidji, Hunt transferred to Minnesota Duluth and led the Bulldogs in scoring with 18 goals and 34 points in 39 games in her fifth year of eligibility in 2023-24. She started 2024-25 on a tear with Lulea in the SDHL, ripping off five goals, 21 shots, and eight points before tearing both her ACL and MCL in just her sixth game to end her first pro season. Still, it wouldn't be surprising to see a team take a late-round flier on Hunt. She's a strong skater who can round corners quickly, attack into space, and really shoot the puck. She plays quickly and intentionally on offense and can push pace and challenge defenders. Hunt should be ready for next season and is worth a look as a potential up-and-down-the-lineup player who could be a shooter on a team's second power play and a potential contributor at five-on-five. Ahola has been Finland's No. 1 goalie at women's worlds the last few years and won back-to-back bronze medals. She looked human this year, but was unbelievable at 2024 worlds, making the third-most saves (169) in the tournament to get Finland back on the podium. She was named WCHA Goalie of the Year in 2023-24 after posting five shutouts and a .935 save percentage. Ahola had a down year at St. Cloud this season, with a .917 save percentage, but she leaves the program as its all-time wins leader and should be a solid pick for a team looking to shore up its goalie depth chart. Poniatovskaia's numbers on a low-scoring Yale team don't tell the full story of her skill level. She's an individually skilled defender who is confident with the puck on her stick, has slick hands, likes to take opposing players one-on-one, and can attack into the slot and make plays around the net. She's more of an individual playmaker than a facilitator, but she's got legit skill and offensive instincts. Defensively, she also has good size, breaks up her fair share of plays, and can move well. Her challenge at the pro level is going to come down to opportunity. She's probably not going to quarterback most teams' top power plays over the stars in the PWHL. And she's not a natural penalty-killing type, so she may just have to be a depth five-on-five defender who can make some plays with the puck. Bargman, Yale's captain this season, is a two-way forward who can be counted upon in all situations. She works, she's reliable defensively, she plays the net front well and scores a lot of goals right at the top of the crease. She doesn't have dynamic skill, playmaking or speed, but Bargman is a smart, well-rounded player who could play a bottom-six role. Segedi was captain of St. Lawrence as a fifth-year senior this season and has international experience playing for China at women's worlds and at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. She's an extremely smart center who makes her linemates better and is elite in the faceoff circle — she often took 20-25 faceoffs a game in college and won upwards of 60 percent of them. She has good hands and touch on the puck. And while she lacks size, Segedi uses her smarts to anticipate and support the play at a high level off the puck. She warrants draft consideration. After four seasons and two national championships at Wisconsin, Wheeler played her fifth year of eligibility at Ohio State and lost in the national championship to her old school. Her production in college doesn't leap off the page at you, but she has been an important player on deep teams and still finished her NCAA career with four consecutive seasons above 20 points. She played on both special teams for the Buckeyes and Badgers and was a consistent game-to-game contributor at five-on-five who logged 19-20 minutes per game as a forward. Wheeler is on the small side, but she's more skilled than her point totals indicate. She's got quick feet, she tracks pucks and she plays a smart, heady game. She could be a decent depth option worth a late-round pick. (Illustration: Will Tullos / The Athletic; photos: Chris Tanouye, Gil Talbot / Getty Images)
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
J.J. Spaun's path to U.S. Open title helped by a shot onto an umbrella
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — J.J. Spaun knows as well as anyone how one little shot can make such a huge difference, even if it's only 85 yards to a green in the shape of a red umbrella floating in the middle of a lake. It wasn't a shot that won the U.S. Open. Spaun will be remembered far more for the driver he hit onto the 17th green at Oakmont to take the lead, and for the 65-foot putt on the last hole to cap off his sensational birdie-birdie finish at golf's toughest test. This shot was five years ago at the Travelers Championship. It was no less important to Spaun, who has Type 1 diabetes but didn't know it at the time. 'It's crazy,' said Andy Bessette, the executive vice president and chief administrative officer at Travelers Insurance, and a familiar face behind the tournament. 'Not everything in life is for a reason, but at times you have to step back and think it's too weird it happened that way.' A 15-year tradition at the Travelers is 'The Umbrella at 15 1/2 Challenge,' where players during the pro-am hit an 85-yard shot at the umbrella that sits in the lake between the 15th and 16th holes at the TPC River Highland. The closest to the pin is given $10,000 to donate to charity. It was in 2020 when Spaun — who had been misdiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes some 18 months earlier — hit his lob wedge to 19 inches to win the challenge. The charity of his choice: The Junior Diabetes Research Foundation, now known as Breakthrough T1D. 'When Travelers got word of where I wanted that donation to go, Andy Bessette kind of broke down apparently and was touched very deeply because he's a very integral part of that charity and donates quite a lot of money, too,' Spaun said. 'So that initiated our connection.' Bessette's son, Chris, was was diagnosed with Type 1 in 2011 at age 18. They are deeply connected with Breakthrough T1D, and when he heard where Spaun directed his donation, the Bessette family immediately matched it. So began a relationship that became more valuable than Spaun could have imagined. Even after the initial diagnosis of Type 2 in the fall of 2018, Spaun kept losing weight and energy. Something wasn't right and he knew it. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, leading to little or no insulin. Type 2 is more common, mainly affect adults. The body doesn't make enough insulin and is often managed with lifestyle changes, such as diet. Once doctors got the diagnosis right in 2021, Spaun still struggled to find the right treatment for someone who spends five hours or more on the golf course. On one occasion, his close friend Harold Varner III noticed something off and encouraged to tap into Bessette's resources. 'We called him together, Harold and I, and I said, 'J.J., anything you need, you tell me.' He told me what was going on. It was about getting the right kind of care," Bessette said. In this case, it was a new product that allowed insulin to be inhaled instead of injections, far easier to manage on the course. Bessette also connected him with a doctor in Los Angeles who worked with athletes on how to handle blood sugar levels. 'He is very well connected with the diabetes community, so all these doctors were at my disposal,' Spaun said. A tough road is nothing new to Spaun. He was a walk-on at San Diego State. He spent three years on developmental circuits before reaching the PGA Tour. He had to go back to the Korn Ferry Tour, fell as low as No. 584 in the world ranking in 2021 and won for the first time a year later at the Texas Open. Spaun has dips in form, as most golfers do. He was worried a year ago about losing his card until he pulled it together late last year. He was getting closer, losing in a playoff at The Players Championship to Rory McIlroy, before his epic breakthrough at Oakmont. It resonated in some corners more than others. 'It was awesome to see him have the week he had,' said Eric Cole, who also has Type 1 diabetes and has risen from the mini-tours to play in six of the last seven majors. 'It's cool to see diabetes doesn't slow him down. He has a lot of extra stuff to deal with behind the scenes.' Imagine the thrill for Bessette when he watched Spaun overcome a misdiagnosis and manage Type 1 diabetes to handle the highest pressure in the game. Bessette can relate. He qualified as a hammer thrower for the 1980 Olympics that the U.S. boycotted. 'I think this is one of the most amazing achievements in sport for somebody who has Type 1, whose sugar levels are up and down, trying to keep them under control and win the U.S. Open,' Bessette said. 'Are you kidding me? It's brutal competition for four days. I told him, 'I'm amazed by what you did.'" Spaun returned to the Travelers Championship this year with an empty tank. He said blood sugar levels crashed hard after he won at Oakmont, from the battle on the back nine but more from the emotion and celebration and all the media obligations that followed. Five years after he hit an 85-yard shot onto a red umbrella, he returned with a big silver trophy as the U.S. Open champion. Bessette was beaming, and the connection wasn't lost on Spaun. 'He's kind of been there for me the whole way,' Spaun said. 'Even when I got my diagnosis corrected, I guess, it was even more so helpful to have JDRF and Andy on my side to kind of help me navigate another new territory.' ___
