Not to mention they require a far higher situational awareness/decision making at speed than football et.al. demands.
No question. I can't think of a sport that demands more of its athletes than ice hockey and goalies are truly a breed apart.
I've heard that before and just isn't true...I've got 25 years of coaching behind me and a lot of time comparing notes in sports theory classes with hockey, baseball, basketball and other sports experts(Olympic and Professional), at elite levels there is no difference in time a player has to make a decision... it's incredibly short, decisions are made(and changed, and changed again)before the athlete even receives the puck or ball...anyone who thinks there is has never played the sport at a high level...
do the martial arts use ballistic armor? they can quite literally kill you with unprotected elbows, knees, feet and hands...I spent some time in kick boxing before it got the better of my knees, seeing people knocked out was routine event in competition...fractures and soft tissue injuries of many sorts...your forearm is like a 2x4 for strength and inflicting injuries...armor protects the wearer from pain it doesn't add any more to the impact, blunt force is blunt force... but that 200lb guy is also doing that in football...the difference here being many of those challenges are not legal in football but it doesn't mean they don't occur or always get called or penalized when they do... nope, I disagree...footballer has many more technical skills to master because more of the body is required for ball control, they need to start ridiculously young to do it and they need them mastered by age 12...let me know when you see a hockey player in full stride controlling a puck with his head, dropping it to his chest then thigh and with his shot curling it around the keeper all without the puck ever touching the ice.... football require excellent foot/chest/thigh/shin/head/eye coordination...hockey players are only allowed to kick the puck(not in the goal) in football the foot alone has 9 control surfaces fair enough, let's just agree to disagree
back to hockey! this series is done...if Vegas can do the impossible and win 3 it'll the hockey story of the century!...happy for Ovie, every great player deserves to win it all at least once....
I was not referring to the martial arts and a sport where the INTENT is to strike the other opponent with one's arms and legs. Its a false comparison. But blunt force is blunt force. Two things here. First, hitting is not a part of football rules. Contact happens but it is mostly illegal (called or not). IN hockey, hitting is an integral part of the game and is perfectly legal. NOt even in the same ballpark. SEcondly, the frequency of hits is far higher in hockey. I do agree that without pads a "hockey" hit in football can result in more serious damage, but then again its illegal. Smashing a guy over the head with ones stick would hurt even more, but its not a part of the game. Don't be ridiculous. OF COURSE different skills are required for each sport. Fact is a hockey player can play football anytime they want to and many of them do. They often kick a ball or hackeysack around a circle in off-ice warm ups. But by the very nature of the skill set required, a footballer has to learn how to skate (a skill that also takes years to master) and requires all kinds of muscle control. Okay we will continue to disagree.
I've waited 44 years for this... I couldn't be happier for Ovie - to watch him raise the Cup last night was just awesome...
Gotta love the passion and sheer joy of Ovie for the game, his team and most of all winning. He deserves it, big time. Kudos to Vegas for an unbelievable run.
He sure does. He's taken a lot of flak in DC for not winning the Cup, but now all of that is forgotten. Ovi really elevated his playoff game this year. In the past there were times when he seemed to vanish but I think that had more to do with his supporting cast, because teams could focus on him. This season they finally put so much talent around him no one could do that without getting burned by Kuznetsov or someone else. T.J. Oshie was a great addition, too. He was fantastic on the power play and he did all the little stuff and dirty work you have to do to win the Cup. No kidding - what a great run. I think the Caps won 8 games their first season ('74). My dad took me to two games that year and they got blown out in both. I can remember them giving up 7 goals in each tilt - they were horrible...
Hearty congratulations to the Washington Capitals! It was a hard-fought game, on top of a very energetic series. Both teams played very well, but the Capitals were definitely superior to all others in the NHL. We won't have to wait too long before the NHL Pre-season starts in mid-September! So, just three months from about now I'll have my Colorado Avalanche jersey back on, rooting for my very favorite team. The Avs made the playoffs this season, BTW, and all of us hockey fans here in Colorado were very proud of them. For us, achieving that after the last two seasons, which were horrible for the Avs, was our "Stanley Cup"! Again, congratulations to all the excellent players on the Washington Capitals, their coaches, their staff, and all their many exuberant, patient fans! I'm truly happy for all of you! And congratulations to you Vegas Golden Knights fans, too -- your team accomplished what no other team has managed to accomplish in its very first year -- absolutely amazing!
Here's a story from the keeper of the Stanley Cup about how special it is to win. There are 52 superbowls out there but there's only one Stanley cup, you don't win it, you borrow it with your name eternally etched in its history. https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/keeper-of-stanley-cup-stories
