DANKOCHIK’S DRAFTINGS: Primary assists are king

As we celebrate Brandon Thiessen’s incredible accomplishment at becoming the Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League’s all time leading scorer, I’d like to advocate for something that will never change in hockey — getting rid of the secondary assist.

First, I need to acknowledge this is not a fight that is possible to be won, nor am I seriously advocating for a change this massive. This also isn’t to diminish the accomplishment. Thiessen played on a completely even playing field compared to his peers. This is something in hockey which just kind of bugs me.

Not all assists are created equal. Even in Thiessen’s record breaking game, he had four assists and a pair of goals. One of those assists was a beautiful saucer pass from behind the net, over a Landmark defender and right onto the stick of Rylan Penner in the slot, who one-timed it home.

Now that’s what I call an assist.

But in the third period, Thiessen was able to move the puck to Penner, who set up Ian Friesen for his second of the game. The spectacular assist and his point later in the game count exactly the same in the boxscore.

In soccer, it takes more than touching the ball in a goal sequence to earn an assist, and while changing how we track points overall would be too much of a historical change, I do think adding on more stats could help improve scorekeeping.

A great shot from the point from a defenseman on the powerplay, which is tipped home in front of the net by a forward is more noteworthy than the forward on the half-wall who passed the puck back to the D-man. Yes, that forward contributed to the play, but not to the same extent as the shooter or the player who tipped the puck.

Giving out soccer style assists and calling them something other than assists might be a bit too much for referees and scorekeepers, but leagues should at the very least track “primary assists,” on their stats page, so it’s easier for fans to see who is making those big time passing plays.