Eye in the sky: How streaming of local hockey has changed the game

From its perch in the centre of the wall in Harold Latrace Arena, the automated eye that surveys the ice surface below follows a hockey goalie take several long strides away from their net and toward the opposing team's bench.

It watches the player, wielding their goalie stick, take two swipes at the opposing team, striking the opposing coach before the stick is pulled from their glove and the refs escort the player away.

Before subscription services like LiveBarn and HomeTeam Live began streaming local sports at ice rinks and storing them for review, instances like this would have been another anecdote in locker rooms (unless someone had coincidentally recorded them on their phone or camcorder).

Instead, the short video circulated around the local hockey community.

A clip of the player attacking an opposing coach with their hockey stick. (LiveBarn)

The incident was reported to the Saskatoon Police Service, though police say the coach chose not to pursue charges. The player was suspended, but Hockey Saskatchewan general manager Kelly McClintock would not specify for how long.

"In that situation, you now have a pretty clear video of what [that player] did," he said.

"Nobody can question it, a parent can't question it because it's pretty hard to argue against what you see on a video."

McClintock said while the initial goal of these eye-in-the-sky streaming services was for entertainment, it's become more than that.

Careful what you do — or say

Cameras planted predominantly in local rinks in Canada and the United States capture the video and audio of ice time. They provide distant families a chance to watch their kids and grandkids play sports and allow people to save clips to share with others.

It also gives people the chance to watch, replay and analyze the minute aspects of amateur sports and question the calls of referees or hold players and coaches accountable by submitting a clip of what they think goes against the rules.

"It certainly has added a lot more work and a lot more scrutiny to how games are called and what calls are made and then subsequent discipline afterwards," McClintock said.

Before the video submission reaches Hockey Saskatchewan, it has to be greenlit by the team representative — typically the coach — and the league they're a part of to ensure Hockey Saskatchewan is not inundated with videos.

Despite that, McClintock said their discipline co-ordinator still receives around 20 submissions some weeks, from some teams more than others.

Hockey Saskatchewan's video policy lays out submissions as solely used for player safety — like penalties that deserve more serious repercussions or suspensions — rather than reviewing offsides, goals and minor penalties.

He said the league typically sides with the on-ice call from the ref.

And while the review focuses on safety, there have been exceptions.

McClintock said there was a unique case where a hockey coach was caught stat-fixing by giving a player points that he had not earned.

"That's been happening for a long time, to be honest, but now you're able to catch it," he said.

While Saskatchewan hockey officials say ice rink streaming services began as a way for families to watch their relatives play sports from miles away — or within the same city during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions — it has become a way to police safety in the sport. (David Hutton/CBC)

Other times, coaches have been suspended for how they have treated players during practice, McClintock said.

"Especially in facilities that have LiveBarn, that's on pretty well 24/7 so if they're even exhibiting some inappropriate behaviour during practice time, that gets caught as well," McClintock said.

"That helps us in terms of maybe some maltreatment, abusive language and behaviour being used and can help in working with the minor hockey association as to whether that individual should be coaching or not."

Coaching and accountability

In and around Saskatoon, most of the rinks — if not all — have some sort of streaming service, according to the Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association.

"Just from the family dynamic, it's just been an absolute gamechanger," said Guy Sveinbjornson, a minor hockey coach in Saskatoon.

Sveinbjornson does not think that players consider the camera when they're playing, but that coaches should remember they're being watched.

"You're speaking to a player and then all of a sudden and you kind of take a look up and you're like, there's a microphone right behind us; let's make sure this is in a positive manner because there's a grandma and a grandpa watching somewhere, there's a mom watching or a dad watching," he said.

"It's just another layer of accountability for coaches out there that they've got to pay attention to how they're treating the kids on the ice … I absolutely love it."

Guy Sveinbjornson, a minor hockey coach, favours both the entertainment and accountability aspects of ice rink streaming services. (Dayne Patterson/Zoom)

Sveinbjornson hasn't been sent any clips to forward up the chain of command to Hockey Saskatchewan.

But, streaming has saved one of his players from sitting out multiple games after the referee had accused them of using explicit language in their goal celebration. He was absolved by showing the ref a LiveBarn record of it before the suspension paperwork was even started.

For players, it provides a new way to learn: a live replay of their shift for instruction, instead of recalling their play from marks on a whiteboard. In saying that, Sveinbjornson doesn't believe parents should be bringing the game home to replay a player's failures for them.

Though, for more elite players, it hasn't changed game tape that much, says longtime coach Danton Danielson.

Danielson has coached elite U15 and U18 teams.

He said elite teams have their own staff videotaping games, with angles they prefer and better quality — but for teams that aren't at that level, it's helpful for coaches and players. And it also gives coaches a chance to watch teams from other communities ahead of vital games.

While it seems to be a mostly positive addition to ice rinks, he's uncertain about whether there are privacy violations from it.

Is streaming games a privacy issue?

Saskatchewan's information and privacy commissioner Ron Kruzeniski said that while it's difficult to say if there are any breaches of privacy legislation, it is still a privacy issue because players may not be aware their performance is being streamed and possibly watched or saved by people around the world.

Whether it would be considered a privacy breach depends on who owns the rink and which jurisdiction it falls under, or if the league has signed consent forms.

McClintock doesn't think there's a privacy issue.

"It's happening in a public place whether somebody recorded it on their phone or whether people witnessed it," he said.

A public notice in a Saskatoon ice rink that informs readers the sports complex is "monitored by video cameras for commercial purposes, including the online broadcast of events herein. All participants and guests waive any claim relating to the capture or public transmission of their participation while at this sports complex." (David Hutton/CBC)