The Winter Classic and Thin Ice

I know that this Blog is usually all about fun and all the great and humorous things about hockey but some weeks are tougher than others…….

This past weekend at our local rink I ran into Philadelphia Flyer legend Bob ‘The Hound’ Kelly. We were catching up and chatting about the upcoming Winter Classic Game being held at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as well as the Alumni game being held a day or two before it. All the while my 8 year old son Caden was listening and digesting the information. As we got into the car to go home after our Mite game, Cade asked me, “Dad, is that Classic game and the Alumni game being held on the ice outside?”
I said, “Yes of course, why?”
He responded, “Big trouble, I have seen how big the Alumni guys are…….they are going to fall thru the ice……”
Once again the little guy made me laugh harder and longer than I have in a long time. He also made me think….
With just under two months to go, we are in dire need of a Winter Classic. It is truly a great event that reminds us of how special the game of hockey is, played in its simplest form outside in a cold environment.
The way hockey was originally meant to be played. The NHL should be proud.
It hasn’t been a great time in Pennsylvania for sports recently. Our Phillies went out of playoffs much too early. Our Eagles have been less than ‘a Dream Team’ and of course the horrifying story that has come out of Penn State University concerning a football coach and his alleged sexual abuse of young children that he was supposed to be helping.
Now I know that no one has been found guilty of anything but typically a grand jury and twelve accusers don’t come forward after a three year investigation with over 70 charges of misconduct against an innocent person and the cover up that followed unless they have a lot of evidence.  It is just so hard to comprehend but it is also a story that gives us all a wakeup call and a lesson about trust and parenting.
In my current job I deal with a lot of parents and young players in search of the dream of playing hockey at a very high level. Along the way young players leave home very early and also travel with people to showcase events and tournaments that parents and families trust, sometimes blindly. Canadian hockey has had some very tragic and storied incidents of sexual abuse of young children and players. It is important that we teach the basic rules of life to our children and equip them with the necessary skills that are needed to survive and thrive in this environment.  We need to teach our kids about confidence, what is right, what is inappropriate and keep a very open line of communication so that they are not afraid to tell us about anything. Good and bad. 

As hockey grows at an incredibly rapid rate in the United States we should be aware of what we are doing in the search of 'the dream' concerning our kids. Get to know your coaches. Get to know your billets. Trust that hockey is a great game but also question the credentials and worthiness of our coaches, billets and chaperones.

The good news is that 99 percent of the people your child comes in contact with, (teachers, coaches, mentors and fellow parents), will be good people who want to help your child grow and become a better player and person.  But reality has told us to arm our children with the tools they need to “thwart” that 1 percent that intends evil.  We have to for our kids' sake.

We can’t let them fall thru the ice……..

Great Lines!

This weekend I got to spend some time with Bill Underwood a longtime hockey person and scout for the Ontario Hockey League. We got telling some old stories and talking about some of the funny hockey quotes we had heard over the years. Some of them obviously are not for print…. But some are great and so I had our research team look for some of the more memorable hockey quotes. Enjoy!

We’ll start with two of my favorites.

“Guys…..Guys…..settle down…….we are not that bad!!!! We are not that bad!!!!!......we just play in a really good league.” Doug Smail, addressing his teammates from the expansion days Ottawa Senators after falling behind to the Boston Bruins 6-0 after one period.

Harry Neale on the broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada from Los Angeles when the camera panned the crowd and showed Sylvester Stallone sitting in between two attractive blond ladies. “now there is Sly Stallone with the only two good wingers in the place……..”

"Half the game is mental; the other half is being mental." Jim McKenny.

"By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game 1 of the NHL playoff series." Steve Rushin.

"I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out." Rodney Dangerfield.

"We get nose jobs all the time in the NHL, and we don't even have to go to the hospital." Brad Park.

"We take the shortest route to the puck and arrive in ill humor." Bobby Clarke.

“We can’t win at home…..we can’t win on the road…..we are running out of places to play…..” Harry Neale.

"One road trip we were stuck on the runway for seven hours. The plane kept driving and driving until we arrived at the rink and I realized we were on a bus." Glenn Healy, on his time in the minors.

"I had to pinch myself seeing the grassy knoll and the book suppository building." Trevor Linden, on viewing the site of John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas.

"It felt like a golf swing and my head was on the tee." Edmonton's Tyler Wright, on being clubbed by Joe Murphy.

"This is the only thing that has seen more parties than us." Steven Tyler, Aerosmith's lead singer, after admiring the Stanley Cup.

"You're playing worse every day and right now you're playing like the middle of next week." Herb Brooks, 1980 US Olympic hockey coach.

"I have to thank the guy who fired me because he was also the guy who hired me." Serge Savard, on his firing from Montreal.

"A fast body-contact game played by men with clubs in their hands and knives laced to their feet.” - Paul Gallico

"I know my players don't like my practices, but that's OK because I don't like their games.” - Harry Neale.

"It takes brains. It's not like a forward, where you can get away with scoring and not play defense. On defense you have to be thinking.” - Chris Chelios

"It would have been worse if we hadn't blocked the kick after Toronto's second touchdown.” - Alex Delvecchio

"My former wife made me a millionaire. I used to have three million dollars.”- Bobby Hull

“When I look at the net I don't see a goalie.” - Pavel Bure
“When I look at the net I see 2 or 3 goalies.” - Radek Dvorak.

"Goaltenders are 3 sandwiches shy of a picnic. From the moment primitive man lurched erect, he survived on the principle that when something hard and potentially lethal comes toward you at great velocity, get the hell out of it's path.” - Jim Taylor

"Some guys play hockey. Gretzky plays 40mph chess.” - Lowell Cohn

"They say you're not a coach in the league till you've been fired. I must be getting pretty good.” - Terry Simpson

"We've made a final offer. We hope Ziggy Palffy will come to his senses. We have NO hope his agent will.” - Mike Milbury

"The hockey lockout of 1994-1995 has been settled. They have stopped bickering... and can now get down to some serious bloodshed!” - Conan O'Brien

You gotta love this game!!!!!

"Dont worry Dad, it's not a percussion."

That is what my eight year old son Caden said to me on the way to the emergency room to get his broken wrist x-rayed after hockey practice the other night. Of course he meant ‘concussion’, and again in one single instance, he made me laugh and think all at the same time. It is scary that at eight years old he knows about concussions, but after the last few years watching hockey and Sportscenter that word will become ingrained in a young person’s head.
As a young player I broke both my wrists, one of them twice and none of them were as painful as seeing him break his. Yes, I am officially a hockey parent….His injury got me thinking about the sport and everything that goes along with it, injuries and all.
It is funny when you are done playing the game and time passes. Your brain has a great ability to remember all the great times and makes you work very hard to remember the pain, the surgeries, the re-habilitations and just the everyday bumps and bruises that go along with the game.
At least that is how it used to be. When I was sitting in the emergency room, then the doctor’s office and then the casting room with my son it made me think about the pro players today. Front and center, the concussion issue. I began hoping it would not be something my son would ever have to deal with as he continues to play. It made me think about the tragic events that happened in the hockey world this summer and how they may have been concussion related. I know the game is a very tough, high impact game. Always has been always will be. That is part of what makes it great. But things changed some years ago. Players not only became stronger, better conditioned athletes; the speed of the game increased dramatically. Changes in technology improved equipment which further gave the players confidence to play at such high speeds. Higher speeds, greater collisions, more brain bruises. It really isn’t that hard to figure out.
Thank god the NHL looks like it is stepping up and doing something about it. The new head of discipline, Brendan Shanahan, has taken a very aggressive approach to dealing with some of the play that leads to some of these injuries. Not many people played the game as hard as Brendan did and it is great to see an ex-player that is so intelligent, helping to make a stand. Let’s hope it continues as his lead will dictate how things filter down to the minor hockey level. Our kid’s heads depend on it.
Broken bones heal but finally I think we are all realizing that broken brains may not…….