Ice hockey has long been regarded as one of the toughest sports in the world.

It stresses endurance, strength, power, speed, agility, flexibility, nerve, durability, and hand-eye coordination. In this sport, only the tough survive and, of those survivors, the most dangerous men rise to the top and step into a leadership position or, as they’ve come to be known, enforcers.

In professional hockey, each team has an enforcer. This player is a gladiator and doesn’t hesitate to drop gloves and go toe-to-toe with an opponent. The enforcer’s sole responsibility is to be the team’s defender, fighting when necessary.

Many people believe this position should be eliminated because of the physical and emotional toll it has been known to take on players. This debate really escalated in 2011 after the death of 28-year-old Derek Boogaard, left-winger and enforcer for the New York Rangers.

During his career Boogaard had fought his way to center ice as one of the NHL’s toughest competitors, but battling player after player took a toll on Boogaard. He was diagnosed with depression and became hooked on pain killers. It was a lethal combination of pain medication and alcohol that took Boogaard’s life in his apartment in 2011. An autopsy revealed that Boogaard had endured significant brain damage during his tough-guy days with the NHL.

Many argue that the level of brutality that enforcers endure and contribute to is excessive and dangerous. I say the ruthlessness of the position is part of what makes hockey such an incredible sport. When you see a fight in hockey it’s not thuggish, it’s honorable. There are not petty or unjustified fights in hockey, they typically occur as a form of retaliation or to settle a score. The team’s enforcer challenges another player when he feels his team is being disrespected, he defends the team’s honor.

Hockey fights are not mindless and hostile. They are controlled by an unspoken code: a code of honor meant to keep players honest, accountable and grounded.

The code forces players to think twice before carrying their sticks too high, making a cheap shot or unnecessarily checking a player. The code hinges on accountability and the enforcers are the ones who implement and defend it.

It is undeniable that enforcers have a difficult role to fulfill but they are consistently the most loved player by the fans and by teammates and it’s because every game they sacrifice themselves for the team, logo and for the honor of the game.

aachambe@mavs.coloradomesa.edu