Quote:
Originally Posted by PR_Glen
a couple of things are different in the euro leagues... bigger rinks and less 'north/south' collisions.
There used to be a rule in the NHL, not sure if its still there and ignored or was taken out, that one can not check an opponent unless you are skating in the same direction as them or close to it. I watched hockey all through the eighties and 90's and north/south hitting almost never happened in games.. Sure if a winger tried to go to the outside on a defenseman he would get hammered into the boards but he wouldn't come across on a full out stride like a wrecking ball either. It's not considered charging because they didn't stride directly into them but if the speed is the same what's the difference?
Everyone makes the argument that players are bigger and stronger and faster now... but is that even true? Equipment hasn't improved that much and training has gotten more technical but I wouldn't say its enough to make this much of a difference in injuries. Scott Stevens was mostly known for his career ending hits, often resulting in head injuries.. yet he went 85% of his career before that dishing out hard hits and not injuring anyone before that.. at least not that brutally anyway. Why is that? Something changed in the league that allowed this style of play and it needs to be corrected.
also fix the damn helmets.. they wear those things like fuckin ball caps.
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Cherry is on his 21st edition of Rockem Sockem Hockey and each and every one of them is 30 straight minutes of north south hits, most of which he considers clean hits. He's a senile old fuck, but one of my favorite people, and he is absolutely right that shoulder and elbow pads are a big part of this.
#1 - Equipment has hard plastic in it not instead of tightly packed material. My elbow pads in PeeWee hockey were foam, when I got new ones, they had a plastic dome that covered your elbow that was as hard as a football helmet.
#2 - The players have absolutely no respect for each other any more, the NHL used to be a camaraderie, guys would pound the shit out of each other, while at the same time respecting each others health. I know that sounds a little ridiculous, but it is true, if a guy got crushed and you could tell he wasn't 100%, he wasn't getting hit again that night, in a fight, if you dazed a guy, you stopped punching him and waved to his wife in the crowd. The NHLPA has done an incredible job of teaching guys it's everyone for themselves, the association set up to represent players has taught them not to give a shit about each other.
#3 - They are way more aware of this shit, just as many people got concussions 20 years ago, and 30 years ago, but they didn't know, they called it a headache, sniffed some smelling salts and got back on the ice, now if you get hit in the head, your forced to go to the dressing room and get assessed (this isn't a bad idea, just different then before)
#4 - they make too much money, 30 years ago, if your career ended because you got hit in the head to many times, you had to go work construction, drive the Zamboni, open a bar, or go to speech school and try to become a commentator. Now, by the time an NHL player, making the league minimum is 24, he is a millionaire, if you are in the top 25% of players (the ones who get zeroed in on by big hitters) you are probably worth 20+ million by 24.
the game hasn't changed that much, people change.