The game of ice hockey has changed a lot from its original form throughout its history. No matter in what league you look, whether it’s in the NHL, AHL, ECHL, SPHL, FHL, KHL or any other league, you will see the absence of a certain role that was much beloved in the history of hockey. The enforcer role is nowhere to be found on many of the rosters you look at. There may be players that will fight on the roster, but there is no clear enforcer role on the rosters as of late.
To understand the decline of the enforcer to this point, we must first define what an enforcer is. An enforcer is a player whose primary job is to fight and intimidate the opposing team. The player is not necessarily on the ice to put up points, though points from them are always welcome.
They are on the ice for the purpose of fighting and upholding the “Unwritten Code.” An enforcer’s job is to deter and respond to dirty or violent play by the opposition. When such play occurs, the enforcer is expected to respond aggressively by fighting or checking the offender. Enforcers are expected to react particularly harshly to violence against star players or goalies.
The role of the enforcer can be called by many different nicknames. They include, but are not limited to policeman, tough guy and goon. The best enforcers have been given a nickname of their own. Derek Boogaard was known as “The Boogeyman”, Stu Grimson was known as “The Grim Reaper,” Joey Kocur and Bob Probert were known as “The Bruise Brothers,” and Dave Schultz was known as “The Hammer.” If you get a nickname as an enforcer, then you are among the best at your job.
Now let’s get into the history of them. Throughout the history of the NHL, most of the enforcers have not really done much but fight, but some have become household names. Players like Tie Domi, John Scott, Louie DeBrusk, Tanner Glass, Paul Bissonnette, Derek Boogaard, Craig Berube, Perry Anderson, Mel Angelstad, Ken Baumgartner, Dennis Bonvie, Ben Boughner, Donald Brashear, Dave Brown, Garrett Burnett, Kelly Chase, Patrick Cote, Shawn Cornin, Steve Durbano, Pierre- Luc Letourneau- Leblond, George Parros, Colton Orr, Rob Ray, Chris Thorburn, Shawn Thornton and many more have all made a name for themselves as enforcers.
There are current players that are classified as enforcers, but they are less prominent now and are mostly fourth line wingers. These players include Brendan Lemieux, Zack Kassian, Matt Martin, Ryan Reaves, Tom Wilson, Zac Rinaldo, Austin Watson and Garnet Hathaway are all listed as enforcers.
Most of the decline has been attributed to the changing of the game. Teams aren’t really looking to add someone who puts up a lot of penalty minutes, but very minimal points. They are trying to fill their roster with guys who can score and put up a good amount of points in a season. hockey has changed to a more speed and scoring athletic sport than a physical one. They went in a different direction with the sport and enforcers and just left with no way to cope without completely leaving their jobs behind score.
In addition, the fighting job has turned into a whole team job. Every player is expected to stand up for each other when necessary so the job of the specialized player to do this is not needed. Most of all most players have chosen a different route because of all of the bruises and injuries that enforcers and required to endure.
All these things have contributed to the decline of the enforcer role and it continues to become a lower list every season that passes as the players who do the job retire and leave nobody behind them to continue the enforcer league. Sooner, the role will be a relic of the past. We can only hope that it doesn’t leave a whole that can never be filled in teams.