While hockey players are often viewed as toothless Neanderthals, the thought process that is in motion when players are on the ice is incredible. Hockey is known as a game that is made up of thousands of split-second decisions during every game. For example, hockey players have to make many more decisions during one shift on the ice than chess players make in an entire match. It is not only about skating down the ice, avoiding other players, and trying to score. It is about which way to turn to avoid the player, where to move the puck, when to stop, and when to pass.
According to the article "Keys to Great Hockey Sense," by Kim McCullough, the intelligence that players use is known as spatial intelligence. Spatial intelligence is the ability to know what is going on at a given time and anticipate what is going to happen next. In a sense, hockey players are always trying to look ahead to the future to make sure they are in the right position for whatever happens next. Also, it is not only one player that you have to anticipate, it is the whole team. A great hockey player must plan what they are going to do with the puck even before they have it on their stick. Overall, the sport is a contest of two teams pitting their players' spatial intelligences against one another; which seems a lot more intricate than two guys punching each other in the face and trying to get a rubber disc in the back of a net.
