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Any Hockey Players?

10K views 52 replies 15 participants last post by  Turbology 
#1 ·
Like the title says, who here plays puck? I figure there is a probably a decent amount of hockey players here since most of us are pretty privileged.

I started playing when I as 5, played through high school (peak of my career :lol:) and now I play mens league with my dad on a team that he started years back.
 
#11 · (Edited)
The NHL is the only professional sports league worth watching imo here in the states. Players work insanely hard with games sometimes twice a week. Players are usually playing with injuries. The athletes rarely complain or seek the media lime light. I understand we could argue the fighting and physical style of play may take away from the sport compared to the European leagues others may argue it adds to the experience. Over all I think the NHL is still unlike any other professional sports league we have here in the states. This is all strictly my opinion so I don't mean to get anyone fired up. Regardless I can't wait to see USA play Canada tomorow afternoon.
 
#15 ·
The reason I don't like the NHL is because when I show up to the rink to coach my 11 yr olds, I have un-teach 2/3 of the crap they see on TV. I agree, the players in the NHL are remarkable, and as a pretty good hockey player myself, the speed at which they move/shoot/react is mind boggling.
But... the crap after the whistle, the lack of respect for one another etc doesn't do it for me or what I believe any sport should be.
 
#20 ·
The reason I don't like the NHL is because when I show up to the rink to coach my 11 yr olds, I have un-teach 2/3 of the crap they see on TV. I agree, the players in the NHL are remarkable, and as a pretty good hockey player myself, the speed at which they move/shoot/react is mind boggling.
But... the crap after the whistle, the lack of respect for one another etc doesn't do it for me or what I believe any sport should be.
I don't think it's a lack of respect. In fact I think most players have a great respect for each other and for the game. But I understand what you mean about un-teaching the kids.
 
#16 ·
It's not a lack of respect, it's competitiveness/testosterone/anger/etc/etc/etc. Fighting is part of the game. You can't expect people out on the ice to hit each other on the ass after every whistle and say good shift. Obviously it's different at the youth level, but juniors/college/pro, good luck.
 
#22 ·
Being Czech, my mom put me on skates as soon as I could walk haha.
:)

There are definitely certain players in the NHL who I really can't stand and shouldn't be allowed to play, Matt Cooke being at the forefront of that list. Of course there is a place for physical play, it's part of the game.

There is no place for purposeful harm and intentional injury. Head up and on a swivel is fundamental hockey, so if you get caught by a clean hit, that's a different story. No one does it better than Kronwall.

 
#27 ·
I agree... physical play is part of hockey and I encourage it. The reason there is body contact in hockey is to separate the player from the puck. Not to take someone's head off. I like a good clean hit as much as the next guy, trust me because I've been on both ends of those. But the fundamentals of the sport don't need the 'Cooke'esque' crap.

You can't even imagine how hard it was to coach the first few games/practices after the Bertuzzi incident a few years ago.
 
#29 ·
Guys like that make me sick. I'll never forget the time I saw Chris Simon two-handed hack Ryan Hollweg's face with his stick. Surprised he wasn't banned for life.



I grew up on the ice, as did my brothers. I played AAA for about 6 years, and other traveling and recreational leagues before, but haven't played since I had a career ending knee injury. I'll still get on the ice and skate every now and again or play pond hockey with my nieces, but I haven't geared up in over a decade. My brothers also got injured in the same season. One had his back broken in multiple places during a game (hit from behind), and one suffered too many concussions in a single season, and was not cleared to play again.
Same story for me. I played competitively since the age of 3 and during a juniors try-out I got a concussion and it's been beer leagues since. I suppose lots of people play with multiple concussions but it wasn't worth the risk to me.
:eek:hwell:
 
#28 ·
I grew up on the ice, as did my brothers. I played AAA for about 6 years, and other traveling and recreational leagues before, but haven't played since I had a career ending knee injury. I'll still get on the ice and skate every now and again or play pond hockey with my nieces, but I haven't geared up in over a decade. My brothers also got injured in the same season. One had his back broken in multiple places during a game (hit from behind), and one suffered too many concussions in a single season, and was not cleared to play again.
 
#30 ·
Back when my brother had his concussions, it wasn't well known just what kind of permanent damage could be caused by multiple concussions. A lot of people won't believe me when I tell them how many he had, so prepare to have your mind blown. In a 2.5-3 year span he suffered from 26 concussions, 10 of which put him in the hospital. After multiple concussions the likelihood of having another becomes greater, thus the reason why he suffered so many. He got to the point where he actually got a concussion just from falling asleep and hitting his head on his desk in school. He had to go through years of brain re-pattern therapy just to get most of his memory back. To this day, he still can't remember a damn thing. He'll walk 15 feet from the couch to the kitchen and completely forget what he went there for. I know that occurs with most people occasionally, but for him it's a daily battle.

My parents did take him out of hockey as soon as the doctors advised it, but unfortunately he was so prone to concussions at that point that it was almost unavoidable for him. After going several years without a concussion his "durability" is better, but the permanent damage has already been caused.

I personally have only had 6 concussions in my lifetime, and I even find that to be excessive. Luckily mine were spread out enough that I don't seem to have permanent memory issues. My 6 were spread out through a 16 or 17 year span, and only 3 were from hockey.
 
#31 ·
That is unbelievable, but the back story, symptoms and consequences make it very real and scary. I just remember reading about former NFL players who could not sit upright for long periods of time, read or be in brightly-lit rooms. Minor inconveniences compared to memory loss and chronic migraines, but none of those things sound particularly appealing or enjoyable to me.

I could skate, but the likelihood of going pro was very slim, so I made the decision to put my competitive aspirations to bed and just enjoy the sport I had loved since being able to walk. I have regretted it from time to time, but reading stories like this one about your brother makes me feel more confident about my decision, as difficult as it was to make at the time. Eric Lindros is the poster boy.
:eek:hwell:
 
#32 ·
Best sport on the planet. Started when I was 14. Had a pretty good run thru high school and travel teams. Haven't attempted to play in about 3 years. One thing that is amazing, Baseball players stub their toe on 2nd base and are out for a season. We could take a slap shot to the face and tell the coach, Its all good Ill go out next shift...
 
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