A Beginner’s Guide to Boardrunning

Written by Zelda

                One of the newest, hottest trends to hit the NHL is boardrunning. It’s a unique feature among sports, in which a coach can essentially move along the edge of the playing field, instructing their players from the entire length of the sideline. Because the plexiglass boards around a hockey rink are so thin and flexible, humans have been unable to do such a thing in hockey, and coaches had to shout instructions to their players from the bench. However, movement has now been made possible as animals from the Territory have become NHL boardrunners for select teams.

                The creature to invent this unique position was Zelda, who continues to boardrun for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. She developed the idea for boardrunning during team practices, where heated plays caused her to jump up on the thin rim of the plexiglass boards to cheer players on. Her idea of boardrunning was proposed to the top NHL administration staff, and a set of standards for the activity were drafted, which follow below. Boardrunning occurs on a set of plexiglass shelves that rest on top of the rim of the boards. Like the boards themselves, they are segmented into sections to allow for flexibility, and are higher around the ends of the ice to prevent pucks from shooting into the crowd. Since the installation of nets behind each of the goals, the nets have stretched along the outside of these board shelves. The shelves cannot have any sort of traction or linkage between them, so boardrunners slipping or being knocked off balance causes the activity to be dangerous. But it is undoubtedly exciting to watch, and helpful to the players. The standards that govern boardrunning are as follows:

·         Boardrunning shelves are to be constructed of clear plexiglass, installed over the rim of each board section, and cut to allow for segmentation exactly in line with the boards they are attached to.

·         Boardrunning shelves may not be wider than three feet in diameter, and cannot extend over the ice by more than one inch.

·         Boardrunning shelves may not have any type of traction gridding or links installed between them, as this would hamper audience viewing and board flexibility.

·         Boardrunning shelves may only be installed over boards that a) are located on the side of the ice that is opposite to any non reverse-angle broadcast or recording cameras, and on the same side as the player benches. b) are behind the blue line but are not located in the line of any camera angles used by the officiating staff.

·         Boardrunning shelves must be maintained in the same manner as the boards are, for player and audience safety. They must be replaced immediately when cracked or broken.

·         Boardrunners will replace an assistant coach for their respective team. While a boardrunner is out in the arena space, an assistant coach cannot be present on the bench of the team the boardrunner acts for.

·         Boardrunners will not bodily interfere with the puck, players for either team, or the referees, while the puck is in play.

·         Boardrunners will not extend any part of their bodies over two feet over the ice surface while the puck is in play.

·         Boardrunners will not jump to a height any greater than two feet above the ground while the puck is in play, to preserve audience viewing quality.

·         Boardrunners will not bodily interfere with any player, coach, or staff member on the opposing team bench during any point of the game.

·         Boardrunners will be treated as coaching staff in the matters of verbal altercations with any staff member of an opposing team, or referee.

·         For violations of all of the above standards, the following shall be employed: for violations relating to board construction and structure, a 5 minute penalty will be levied on the boardrunner’s team, and the boards will be rendered unusable for the length of the game. For violations relating to the actions of the boardrunner, a 2 minute to 5 minute penalty will be levied against the boardrunner’s team, to be decided by the referee. For verbal abuse of opposing players, staff, or referees, the NHL may also levy fines upon the boardrunner’s team. Boardrunners may not serve their own penalties, one of their team’s on-ice players must sit out the penalty time.

·         Players and staff members from the opposing team may not purposely interfere with a boardrunner in any way. All penalties that apply to on-ice players also apply to boardrunners, and referees will assess penalty time to violating teams and players in accordance with NHL rules on player conduct.

·         Fans may not purposely interfere with an away team boardrunner in any way. Obstruction of the boardrunner will be assessed as if fans were littering the ice with debris, and penalties shall be assessed to the home team as referees see fit.

Though the rules that govern boardrunning seem simple, the activity varies greatly depending on the team and the boardrunner. No two situations are alike. The only two boardrunners currently active in the NHL are Zelda, for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and Briarfoot for the New Jersey Devils.

Briarfoot is a young lion who has spent relatively little time with the team he boardruns for, and the team chooses to use him interchangeably with an on-bench assistant coach. He has learned a lot from the pioneering that Zelda has done in boardrunning, and uses her experience to help him and his team along. Briarfoot defers from coaching directly, but rather chooses to stop often at the bench for instructions, and relay them to specific players along the ice. He also functions as a meaningful cheerleader for the team, giving players a moral boost when needed.

Zelda’s role as a boardrunner is very different, mostly because of the structure of the Mighty Ducks team. They have no on-bench coach or assistant, so Zelda stays full time on the boards. She has had many years of experience with her team, and due to the fact that there are only six players, they have developed an excellent rapport between each other. Zelda can relay encouragement and instruction to her players with little more than a grunt or snort, and in doing so can keep the opposing team in the dark about her general line of instruction. Visual cues are also important to her, as she uses head and tail motions to direct the players. Because Zelda is a fulltime boardrunner, she often runs into problems with conserving energy, and can become exhausted and dehydrated if games drag on for too long, or if she runs the boards too much.  She prefers to take an aggressive role in boardrunning, using her influence to goad her players along, digging her heels in when play gets rough. She is also very defensive of her teammates, especially the goaltender, and will stay close to opposing players that she perceives as a threat, in hopes of throwing them off of their game.

While boardrunning is exciting and helpful to the players and the audience, it is also quite dangerous. The boardrunners themselves face many of the same dangers that the players do on the ice. They are hit by high sticks, clipped by flying pucks, and sometimes abused by opposing crowds. Since the boardrunning shelves shift with the moving boards, boardrunners can be sent flying into the crowd if they are jolted off of their shelf, or the shelf moves out from under them while they are running. They also slip off if they cannot stop short enough. Additionally, since the boards are located on two distinct levels, boardrunners must remember to jump up or down to meet the shift.

With its high energy and great level of intensity, boardrunning is a special element that fits in perfectly with the sport of hockey.

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