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Beyond the Byline: Sometimes there’s no time to think, only to act

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<p>Hockey players have a lot to think about during a game.</p><p>Factors such as the score, standings, individual opponents and situations on the ice all run through their heads.</p><p>But for players who don&#8217;t shy away from fighting, they have something else to think about now: Are they going to drop the gloves or not?</p><p>Since the AHL instituted new rules on fighting before the start of the season, players are forced to choose their spots wisely and even adapt their games. Per the new rules, any player who reaches 10 fighting majors will receive an automatic one-game suspension, which will continue to be assessed up to the 13th fighting major. If a player hits 14 fights in a season, an automatic two-game suspension will be triggered each time he drops the gloves.</p><p>Two weeks into the season, several players in the AHL are cautiously counting their majors.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s one more thing you have to think about,&#8221; said Syracuse Crunch forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, who played with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from 2013 to 2015. &#8220;I have to think about if I&#8217;m going to fight or not, which is tough because it&#8217;s such a fast sport.&#8221;</p><p>During his two seasons with the Penguins, Leblond, 31, accumulated 34 fighting majors, according to hockeyfights.com. He topped 10 fights six times in his AHL career, registering 13 as recently as the 2015-16 season.</p><p>While Leblond admits he&#8217;s gotten into his fair share of &#8220;staged&#8221; fights, those that occur right after a faceoff and are now penalized with an automatic game misconduct, he doesn&#8217;t have a problem with the league cracking down on that aspect.</p><p>But when it comes to a suspension for reaching the 10-fight mark, Leblond is uncertain about the impact. Last season, 22 players registered 10 or more regular season fights in the AHL.</p><p>While the new rule may not affect many players, Leblond said it&#8217;s still a major change.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re talking about changing the style of the game. We&#8217;re changing a lot,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;ll have to wait and see if it was the best decision or not.&#8221;</p><p>So what is a player who frequently fights supposed to do to remain employed in today&#8217;s AHL?</p><p>Adapt.</p><p>Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin Dennis Bonvie, who recorded six AHL seasons with 10 fights or more and is the most penalized player in professional hockey history, said tough guys today need to find another niche to survive.</p><p>&#8220;Become a pest, a high-energy guy who hits on the forecheck, ticks everybody off on the ice and plays between the whistles,&#8221; said Bonvie, who is a scout for the Boston Bruins. &#8220;You have to adapt your game. That&#8217;s just the way it is today. It&#8217;s a high-skill, high-pace game.&#8221;</p><p>And keep track of those instances where the gloves do come off.</p><p>Penguins forward Patrick McGrath burned two of his 10 fighting majors in the season opener, fighting Hartford&#8217;s Chris Brown in the first period and Tanner Glass in the third in retaliation for a hit on teammate Oskar Sundqvist. On Thursday, the AHL determined that McGrath&#8217;s fight against Brown, in which few punches were thrown, won&#8217;t count against his fight total for the season.</p><p>Still, with only nine fighting majors left and the season still in the early stages, McGrath insists he will go about his game like always and address situations as they occur.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s something I&#8217;m going to be able to live with this season,&#8221; McGrath said. &#8220;It&#8217;s kind of the way the game is now. Ten fights is pretty standard and I don&#8217;t think it will be a problem.&#8221;</p><p>Still, he wondered if the 10-fight rule will become an issue as the total rises for players, specifically tough guys on the verge of 10 fights being targeted by opposing teams.</p><p>&#8220;I could see that being an issue. When that happens maybe I&#8217;ll look at it differently,&#8221; McGrath said. &#8220;It will be tough. Hopefully it&#8217;s toward the end of the season when you have nine (majors).&#8221;</p><p>McGrath agreed that players will have to adapt their games and the new rule places more emphasis on team toughness, which is a good thing.</p><p>But when it comes to adapting, that&#8217;s not an easy option for everyone.</p><p>&#8220;The younger guys who were hoping to make a living this way, they&#8217;ll have to find another way,&#8221; Leblond said. &#8220;I&#8217;m an older guy and I don&#8217;t think I have enough time to change my game.&#8221;</p><p>While Leblond can live with the new rule, he doesn&#8217;t want to see it generate more players who want to become pests. That type of play, he said, results in injuries and isn&#8217;t good for the game.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;d rather have tough guys than pests,&#8221; Leblond said.</p><p>Dealing with new rules impacting fighting is nothing new for Leblond. The 12-year pro recalled the 2006-07 season when visors become mandatory in the AHL and there was a concern that may limit fighting.</p><p>Leblond was just beginning his pro career at the time, and the rule didn&#8217;t stop his path to becoming one of the toughest players in the league.</p><p>And he said the new 10-fight rule isn&#8217;t going to prevent him from doing his job, either.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m getting paid to do my job so if I have to do 12 or even 14 fights, so be it,&#8221; Leblond said. &#8220;If you&#8217;re a tough guy who has been doing this for years and you want to change your game, good luck.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin Patrick McGrath fights Springfield&#8217;s Eric Selleck in a game last season. Players are watching their fighting majors this season thanks to a new rule that imposes a suspension when a player reaches 10 fights. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_PensGame5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin Patrick McGrath fights Springfield&#8217;s Eric Selleck in a game last season. Players are watching their fighting majors this season thanks to a new rule that imposes a suspension when a player reaches 10 fights. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag file photo | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>1-game suspension after 10 fights</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

New AHL fight rule puts tough guys on notice