Hockey: Call of pros strips men's league

The reserved, amateur status of men's hockey has been shattered somewhat and has cast an air of uncertainty over the national league as coaches contemplate a season without some of their leading players and a restrictive 16-player squad limit to help cut costs.

A number of top players have headed elsewhere to play professionally, leaving gaps in some teams ahead of the opening of the men's competition next weekend with double-headers in Wellington.

"I don't see it now as being a straight contest between the top four teams," said Canterbury coach Andrew Hastie. "I will not be surprised if one of the big four are rolled and miss out on the semifinals."

Despite earlier indications from national coach Kevin Towns that all Black Sticks would play the Lion Foundation NHL, that is not the case - Simon Towns, Phil Burrows, James Nation, Mitesh Patel, Casey Henwood and Dean Couzins are all missing.

The change of direction in part follows the early naming of the national side for next month's Oceania World Cup qualifiers.

Hockey New Zealand high performance manager Keith Gorringe said the early naming was done to give players longer notice and more time to prepare.

"But in not returning to play the NHL, players do put their future selection at risk," he said. "The NHL will have a big bearing on the selection of the national and development squads, which will be named within days of the league ending."

Wellington have been hard hit with key players Burrows, Nation, Patel and Hemant Lala missing.

Their absences have been covered somewhat with top Australian centre-half Brent Livermore returning. He will be joined by striker Michael McCann who has played more than 100 times for Australia, scoring 55 goals.

Canterbury will again contend as they try to go one better than the runner-up spot they took last season.

They will be well-served with former international Hayden Shaw back to provide his drag flick skills. After a good season of club hockey, Shaw will be a key player as he continues to juggle his hockey and cricket careers.

North Harbour will again be a force. With basically the same lineup that won last year's final, the Darren Smith-coached side will chase their third title in six years.

Smith has bolstered his defence by signing Australian Zac Hawes, who will join Daniel Shaw and captain Blair Hopping in a promising rearguard. Lloyd Stephenson returns from Australia to again take his place in the attack alongside David Kosoof, who was the league's leading scorer last year.

Auckland, beaten in a penalty stroke shootout by North Harbour in the semifinals last year, are well-placed to step up with key players Ryan Archibald, Gareth Brooks, Dion Gosling, captain Wayne McIndoe and goalkeeper Paul Woolford on hand.

The coaches are frustrated at being limited to 16 players, given the disruption caused by the Indian tournament. The women have 18.

"We had 12 at training this week," said Hastie. "Being limited to 16 makes it tough. There will definitely be weekends where you won't play with a full squad. I would prefer 18 as that gives the opportunity to include a couple of development players."

Under the contentious rule, associations must name 16 players. They can replace an injured player but that player, once recovered, cannot return.