Every year hockey improves thanks to the efforts of the many volunteers, coaches and parents in amateur hockey. The innovations undertaken at the minor and amateur hockey levels are like a rock thrown into a pond, and those innovations are eventually felt at the very highest levels, as amateur athletes not only train harder, but most of all smarter. The Boston Junior Blackhawks, part of Hockey USA’s growing ‘American Development Model’ (ADM), are just one example of how new innovations in hockey are creating better and better players each year.
The Boston Junior Blackhawks were founded in 1995 by Richie Salsman in 1995, and are members of the International Junior Hockey League. The team plays out of Kasabuski Arena in Saugasa, Massachustts. The team is unique in that it is a college promotional team, specifically designed to develop and promote players to the collegiate and eventually professional level.
The team emphasizes the USA Hockey ‘ADM’ by practicing on a smaller ice surface and often play 3 on 3 games to develop elite skills. For instance the practice surface is only 115’ X 55’, which is half of the size of a regulation NHL rink. The idea is that the more players can touch and handle the puck and navigate each other in tight traffic, the higher their skill levels will be as they develop their games. Of course goalies also get a lot more work, as shots on goal dramatically increase in such a format, with players shooting often and taking chances they might not normally see in a controlled full ice format.
Like any great organization, the Boston Junior Blackhawks also give back to their community, and regularly host minor hockey teams, passing on their knowledge, and giving minor hockey kids a taste of practicing like a junior player within their innovative high touch high intensity development model.
Check out the Blackhawks’ Goalline powered site for more information on this great team.
