Roller Hockey: Is It Just a Fad or Is It Serious New Sport?

It’s largely played on empty tennis and basketball courts. It’s trendy, youthful and fast-paced.

But can roller hockey successfully become a spectator sport played in arenas and featured on national television?

NHL veteran Ralph Backstom, commissioner of the 12-team professional Roller Hockey International league, is betting on it.

“We’re certainly not a fad,” said Backstrom, who was with six Stanley Cup teams.

RHI is in its inaugural season, with teams in California, Canada, Oregon, Utah, Florida, Connecticut and Missouri. The league has three divisions and each team plays a brief 14-game season with playoffs in late August.

Another league, the World Roller Hockey League, consists of eight teams. Although the season is over, WRHL games were played in May at Disney-MGM Studios near Orlando, Fla., and can be seen on ESPN.

Of course, there’s no ice. Players for RHI’s Oakland Skates wear in-line skates to glide over the cement floor at Oakland Coliseum, home of the Golden State Warriors. A specially designed red puck slides across the surface.

Who will watch this sport? RHI organizers, who hope to draw 5,000 people per game in the next five years, say about 28,000 amateur roller hockey leagues already exist in the United States.

Josh Krulewitz, a spokesman for ESPN, said a recent nationwide survey showed about 10 million people had participated in in-line skating, making the idea of in-line hockey highly marketable.

“Obviously we think this has potential,” Krulewitz said. “It has a great deal of appeal, especially in the youth market.”

Former NHL all-star Garry Unger, coach of RHI’s Skates, shares those high hopes for roller hockey.

“I think it’s going to take a while, but it’s exciting, it’s very close to hockey, and it’s up-and-coming,” said Unger, who during the ice season coaches the Tulsa Oilers in the Central Hockey League. “The only obstacle I see right now is that I think initially people will throw it into a category like roller derby. But that will change when they see it.”

Former NHL stars give in-line hockey added appeal. Former Boston Bruins right wing Lyndon Byers plays for RHI’s San Diego Barracudas, while Tiger Williams, who holds the NHL record for penalty minutes with 3,966 in 14 seasons, is a player and coach for RHI’s Vancouver VooDoo.

Likewise, the WRHL has some former NHL stars. Ron Dugay of the Express is a 12-year NHL veteran. Pierre LaRouche, who played for several NHL teams in his 14-year career, serves as WRHL’s director of player development.

Both leagues also boast players with ice hockey backgrounds, and they held tryouts to capture untapped talent.

Shaun Coulston, a center for the CHL’s Oilers and a Skates player-assistant, thinks roller hockey provides excellent off-season training for ice hockey players. But, he says, it might take hockey players “a couple of days on each end of the season” to adjust from ice to concrete.

In the RHI league, there are no blue lines, there are five players per side instead of ice hockey’s six. Additionally, there are four 10-minute quarters instead of three periods, and high-sticking and fighting are not allowed.

There are some kinks to work out. During the Skates’ opener against the Los Angeles Blades, one player asked if there was icing in roller hockey. Players quickly found out that rule applies.

In the two-division WRHL, there are three 14-minute periods and games are played on a special plastic rink designed for roller hockey. Like RHI, there are five players on each team and a lack of blue lines.

“We want to make sure a family of four or five can come out to our games for $25,” RHI chief executive officer Larry King said. “We want to make it a fun and inexpensive night out for the family. That’s our goal.”