There are a number of reasons why a player might be healthy scratch. The most common reason is simply that the coach feels that there are other players who deserve to be on the ice more than the healthy scratch. This could be because the player is not performing well, or because the coach wants to give other players a chance to prove themselves. Sometimes a player is healthy scratched because he is injured but not yet ready to return to game action. In other cases, a player might be scratched due to disciplinary reasons; for example, if he has been disruptive in the locker room or has been caught breaking team rules.