February 7, 2022 12:00 pm ET
Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you curious as to what size the hockey rinks at the Beijing Olympics are? We’re here to help.
International hockey is not the same hockey that most NHL fans are familiar with. Sure, the game is essentially the same — put the puck in the net with five players plus a goaltender on the ice — but there are some important nuances between the two.
In previous years, the biggest difference for NHL fans was the size of the hockey rink used for international competitions. Since the Olympics fall under the rules set by the International Ice Hockey Federation, the size of the rinks — among other technicalities — are under their discretion.
With the IIHF setting the rules for Beijing 2022, what size are these Olympic hockey rinks compared to the NHL? Let’s dive in.
What size will hockey rinks be for Beijing 2022?
The 2022 Winter Olympics will actually use NHL-sized ice for the men’s and women’s tournaments in Beijing! Announced by the IIHF in 2021, the Beijing Olympics will use NHL-sized ice of 85 feet wide by 200 feet long instead of the international ice usually found in tournaments outside of North America.
For NHL and women’s hockey fans, you’ll feel right at home watching the men’s and women’s tournaments on ice size you’re used to during these Winter Olympics.
What size are Olympic hockey rinks normally compared to the NHL?
(Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports)
In previous Olympics or other international competitions, hockey rinks are 100 feet wide by 200 feet long.
That means previously, there has been 15 feet of extra space laterally, which can pose a problem for defenders who aren’t used to that much more room for forwards to maneuver through. Even though 15 extra feet of width doesn’t sound like a lot, hockey becomes much more wide open on international rinks due to this extra space, as rinks go from 17,000 square feet in the NHL to 20,000 square feet at the Olympics.
If the Olympic hockey rink is usually larger, what did that mean for the red and blue lines?
(Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports)
In other Olympics, the lines actually did shift a bit because of that extra space! Instead of having 64 feet from the goal line to the blue line like players do in the NHL, previous Olympic rinks had a smaller offensive zone of 58 feet from goal line to the blue line.
Essentially, on previous Olympic rinks, the neutral zone was bigger, while the offensive zones were smaller, meaning goaltenders had less time to react to pucks shot from the top of the zones.
Below the goal line was also a bit different, as Olympic rinks had two more feet of space to work with at 13 feet from goal line to the boards compared to the NHL’s 11 feet.
Though these were not major changes that have impacted how fans viewed Olympic hockey, they were still adjustments that the players had to make mentally if they were more used to NHL rink dimensions than the international standard. Thankfully for the Beijing Olympics, players who are used to NHL-size rinks will not feel out of place.
