脰RNSK脰LDSVIK, Sweden (AP) 鈥� Lauren Bellefontaine came off the ice after a game in Sweden鈥檚 top women鈥檚 hockey league and detailed the toll her body had just taken.
鈥淚 got a stick to the collarbone tonight and also a hit to the head. Definitely some bumps and bruises,鈥� she said with a smile. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 feeling fine.鈥�
Growing up in Canada, Bellefontaine kept hearing people ask why there was no hitting in women鈥檚 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鈥檚 league, bringing its rule book closer to men鈥檚 hockey even though hockey鈥檚 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鈥檚 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 鈥� the professional women鈥檚 league in North America with some of the world's top players 鈥� for its inaugural season last year.
鈥淚t has given us the opportunity to prove we鈥檙e physical, we鈥檙e strong and we can play just like the men鈥檚 players,鈥� Bellefontaine said. 鈥淚t allows us to show we can 鈥� and we will.鈥�
Bellefontaine joined MoDo for the start of the 2023-24 season. It鈥檚 a title-contending team from 脰rnsk枚ldsvik, a sleepy coastal town some 530 kilometers (330 miles) north of Stockholm 鈥� and not far from the Arctic Circle 鈥� 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.
鈥淚 had no prior experience of hitting at all,鈥� the 25-year-old Bellefontaine said, 鈥渁nd we went right into the season so it took me a while to get into it 鈥� it was tough but now it鈥檚 just fun.鈥�
Safer, too.
Benefits of body checking
Statistics supplied by the Swedish women鈥檚 league show the number of concussions sustained by players has dropped since 2018, when its 鈥淧roject Zero Vision鈥� 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鈥檚 hockey in Europe and North America until the mid-1980s but isn鈥檛 in the International Ice Hockey Federation鈥檚 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.
鈥淚t creates some tension in the game that you otherwise don鈥檛 get,鈥� 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鈥檚 because they are essentially following the same rules as the men, except for one key difference: hits on open ice 鈥� when players are skating freely away from the boards 鈥� are forbidden in women鈥檚 hockey.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to close the gap between men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 hockey, so this is one way we are doing it 鈥� to have similar rules as they do,鈥� said Alexie Guay, another Canadian playing for MoDo. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not as intense and there are different rules still 鈥� I don鈥檛 know if there will be fighting in women鈥檚 hockey in the future 鈥� but we鈥檙e definitely closing the gap and I think it鈥檚 a cool thing.鈥�
According to 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鈥檚 women鈥檚 team, said he hasn鈥檛 encountered any resistance from his players about checking.
鈥淓veryone was excited about it,鈥� said Cipparone, who is also from Canada. 鈥淭he first year was trial and fire for many, but last year and this year you see the significance it鈥檚 made in the game and I鈥檝e only heard good things about it.鈥�
At MoDo鈥檚 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 鈥減retty small,鈥� has had to adapt her game. She said she trains harder, watches what she eats to 鈥渂ulk up a little bit鈥� and is making use of the sauna in her apartment for post-match recovery.
鈥淚鈥檓 definitely squeezing my core a little more,鈥� she said. 鈥淏efore, I wouldn鈥檛 even expect to be hit so now it鈥檚 head on a swivel, always looking, always watching, and just being ready to take a hit. You have to make sure you鈥檙e not in a position to jeopardize yourself.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely changed the way we play and made us better players.鈥�
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.
鈥淎ll parents are worried about their children getting injured,鈥� Johansson said, 鈥渂ut 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鈥檛 think because she鈥檚 a girl I鈥檝e been more worried than if she鈥檇 been a boy.鈥�
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鈥檚 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 鈥渄oes not prohibit competitive body contact between players鈥� but noted its staff was working with its membership "to clarify the interpretation of this part in women鈥檚 hockey.鈥�
As for the Swedes, they are happy to have made the bold step that others are starting to follow.
鈥淲e are kind of a trailblazer when it comes to women鈥檚 hockey in challenging the old structures that said, 鈥榃omen can鈥檛,鈥欌�� said Angelica Lindeberg, operations manager for the Swedish league. 鈥淣ow we say, of course they can. We are very proud of that.鈥�
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AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow contributed.
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AP women's hockey:
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
