From first shift to final buzzer: A scoping review of long-term psychosocial athlete development in ice hockey

Research on ice hockey player development has typically examined on-ice skills, with a physical development focus, often overlooking the psychosocial developmental components. The purpose of this PRISMA-based scoping review was to identify and analyze the research literature on psychosocial development in male ice hockey players over the last 20 years. Articles were screened for inclusion based on the following criteria: a) written in English and in full-text form, (b) focused on competitive male ice hockey players or mixed-sex samples, and (c) had a psychosocial development focus. The final dataset included 79 articles, examining 83 psychosocial variables in male ice hockey samples. Anxiety and motivation were the most prominent psychosocial variables identified across the field, specifically in adolescent and adult populations in North America. While the results of the present review categorize critical work already done in the field, the research is centred on only a few major hockey systems and is lacking a broader view on science and practice of developing hockey players from a global and holistic perspective. These findings have the potential to inform future research in male ice hockey players, as well as identify key factors affecting player behaviour both on and off the ice.