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A rover was a position in
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...
used from its formation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. At the time ice hockey consisted of seven positions: along with the
goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
, two defencemen, and three forwards, positions which still remain. Unlike all the others, the rover did not have a set position, and roamed the ice at will, going where needed. As the skill level of players increased, the need to have a rover decreased. Shortly after it was formed in 1910, the National Hockey Association decided to exclude the rover. The league's successor, the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
, did the same in 1917. However, the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, formed in 1911, kept the rover. The Western Canada Hockey League also used a rover when it was founded in 1921. As the NHA and later NHL did not have a rover, but the PCHA did, a compromise was made during
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
matches, which, at the time, was a challenge cup. Games would alternate between the NHA/NHL rules and PCHA versions, allowing each team an advantage and disadvantage during games. The first Olympic ice hockey tournament in 1920 used a rover, but this position was eliminated for subsequent games. In 1923, both the PCHA and the WCHL decided to drop the rover position, as it was seen to be crowding the ice and therefore reducing the speed of play. With the decision to remove the rover, it disappeared from professional hockey forever.


Contemporary usage

The term is sometimes used to informally describe fast, rushing offensive defencemen, such as former NHL star Scott Niedermayer, as they often roam the ice creating offensive pressure instead of being simply " blueliners". Other players who have been described as modern "rovers" include Tyson Barrie, Brent Burns, Dustin Byfuglien, Erik Karlsson, Paul Coffey, Cale Makar and
Sandis Ozolinsh Sandis is a Latvian masculine given name which may refer to: *Sandis Buškevics (born 1977), Latvian basketball player *Sandis Ģirģens (born 1980), Latvian politician *Sandis Ozoliņš (born 1972), Latvian hockey player, formerly in the Nationa ...
, due to their ability to either play forward and defense, or because of their strong puck handling skills. The term is also used to describe the extra attacker, who roams the ice instead of assuming one of the usual positions.


References


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External links

{{wikisource, Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game/Chapter IV
Rovers inducted in the HHOF
Ice hockey rules Ice hockey positions