Are All Elite Hockey Players Created Equal?

By Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS

Here’s the truth about the speed and skill level of elite women’s hockey players relative to the men’s game:  they are comparable in skill to elite male high school hockey players.  The women match up well with the boys, in terms of speed and skill, which is why both the US and Canadian National Women’s Teams will be playing against boys high school teams throughout their final preparations for the 2010 Olympics.

Inevitably, when hockey fans who are unfamiliar with the female game hear this, they snicker.  They immediately think of their favorite NHL team facing off against their local high school team and the ensuing goal-scoring onslaught.  But directly comparing the elite male and female versions of the game is unrealistic and in many ways unfair.

Even without body-checking, the boys’ relatively strength levels and more physical style of play start to make the male-to-female match-up unrealistic after the age of 16 or 17.  Back when I played in the National Women’s Hockey League, we played a lot of games against boys teams and I can attest to the fact that we matched up extremely well with the best midget boys teams in the city.  But if we had played one age group higher, we would have been in trouble. 

The absolute level of strength, speed and size seen in the elite men’s game will always be higher than the level in the elite levels of women’s hockey. This is simply a physiological reality - males are naturally stronger than women, which means that they are going to be stronger and faster on the ice.

However, this does not mean that the best female players in the world should be considered any less elite than their male counterparts.  Or that the games they play are any less exciting. And the level of commitment and dedication required to rise to the top of both the male and female side of the game is exactly the same.

In the days left until the puck drops at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the women will play just as often as the men.  The women in the US and Canadian women’s hockey residency programs will play between 70-80 games by the end of the year, which mirrors the standard 82-game NHL schedule.  The women train just as hard on and off the ice as the men, spending upwards of four hours per day working out, using a mix of on-ice drills, power skating, yoga and weight lifting.  The elite female hockey players pay just as much attention to their performance nutrition and devote as much time to the mental side of their game as the men do.  Being an elite athlete is the same, irrespective of whether you are female or male.  It is a full-time job that requires a full-time commitment.  Anything less than that would be reflected in the results. Elite hockey players are elite hockey players no matter if they are male or female.

© Total Female Hockey 2008

Kim McCullough, YCS, MSc, is a Athletic Development Specialist and founder of Total Female Hockey. In addition to training and coaching girls at all levels of hockey, from novice to the National team, Kim has also played at the highest level of women’s hockey in the world for the last decade. Kim’s female player development website features a state-of-the-art Complete Off-Season Training Program and her blog gives the coaches and parents of aspiring young players access to the most up-to-date tips and advice on how to help their players take their game to the next level. To learn more about female-specific player development, get your Free Report: The #1 Mistake Female Players Make in the Off-Season at http://www.totalfemalehockey.com