OLD SCHOOL HOCKEY

[greeny]

Was wondering if people had the choice , would they rather watch old school hockey, physical, big hits, big characters etc or do most now enjoy the faster , less physical maybe more skillfull game, For me i loved watching the hockey back then, but maybe thats just me

[heathk01]

The old school,hockey

[LS11]

Old school hockey all the way. What we are seeing now is bland.

[Jayboy]

Put it this way, If Sheffield Steelers Mk1 came back to Sheffield and set up a new team with a Ben Simon or a Gerad Adams style coach it would attract a lot of interest... would the real Sheffield Steeler please stand up!!!

[smbmetal]

Old School Hockey every day of the week and twice on Sunday. The best atmosphere is always created when there's a bit of argy bargy etc and I'm not talking about 25 fights or 3 bench clearances a game either.

In a fan forum a few years ago Todd Kelman said that the tough guys were the ones that were the expensive players and commanded a large salary due to the role they played......in today's game it's the skilled players that now have the larger salaries he said.

With that comment in mind I did think we would see some of the tough guys play down a few leagues, but the EIHL as a whole doesn't appear to have really many tough players. Not even the Manchester Storm are as tough as they were recently. Guess we are really at the end of that style of hockey.

[mark]

Unless you changed the way hockey is officiated across the UK and Europe you would end up with half the squad being suspended, the game has changed and like it or not I don't think it will change back.

[ASADuke11]

Unless you changed the way hockey is officiated across the UK and Europe you would end up with half the squad being suspended, the game has changed and like it or not I don't think it will change back.


You are right on. Do not see a way back, however it is a great argument because I don't think you can erase the physical presence from the game therefore it could be an opportunity to tip the scales in a team's favour. Look at Tampa and Boston this week before the trade deadline....they have added some real tough players that can play and had to pay a hefty price to get them. Good chance one of them wins the Cup. The issue is that it is not what the new generation of player wants to emulate. They all dream of being Matthews or Marner types, for example. I still believe a certain Mark Messier could dominate today's game at 60+ years old. lol. There is definitely room for it but not many out there to fill that. Stay hopeful folks, because it will become the difference maker!

[mark]

Unless you changed the way hockey is officiated across the UK and Europe you would end up with half the squad being suspended, the game has changed and like it or not I don't think it will change back.


You are right on. Do not see a way back, however it is a great argument because I don't think you can erase the physical presence from the game therefore it could be an opportunity to tip the scales in a team's favour. Look at Tampa and Boston this week before the trade deadline....they have added some real tough players that can play and had to pay a hefty price to get them. Good chance one of them wins the Cup. The issue is that it is not what the new generation of player wants to emulate. They all dream of being Matthews or Marner types, for example. I still believe a certain Mark Messier could dominate today's game at 60+ years old. lol. There is definitely room for it but not many out there to fill that. Stay hopeful folks, because it will become the difference maker!

I agree but in the context of UK hockey we simply cannot afford genuine tough players who can also play good hockey, they can earn big bucks in other leagues instead. I think there is an element of rose tinted spectacles here as well , we remember the highlights from those days and forget the other stuff, like some truly awful netminders, tough guys who struggled to stand up in skates and officials who needed to visit the opticians ( well ok, maybe that hasn't changed as much lol ) . The days of a Ron Shudra rocket beating most netminders or Ken Priestlay being able to skate rings around most opposition players are gone, the league is closer in ability now although whether the overall standard is better or worse than say the top 4 teams in the ISL days is an interesting debate ( worse in my opinion ) is a reasonable debate . Manchester are probably closest to the old school these days with their tiny rink and habit of signing the goon tendency but they often get taken apart by teams playing 4 lines of players who can actually skate, it may be entertaining sometimes but it won't bring a league title. I miss the old days greatly but looking backwards will not bring success going forwards, things change and we must change with them or become irrelevant .

[smbmetal]

Unless you changed the way hockey is officiated across the UK and Europe you would end up with half the squad being suspended, the game has changed and like it or not I don't think it will change back.

You are right on. Do not see a way back, however it is a great argument because I don't think you can erase the physical presence from the game therefore it could be an opportunity to tip the scales in a team's favour. Look at Tampa and Boston this week before the trade deadline....they have added some real tough players that can play and had to pay a hefty price to get them. Good chance one of them wins the Cup. The issue is that it is not what the new generation of player wants to emulate. They all dream of being Matthews or Marner types, for example. I still believe a certain Mark Messier could dominate today's game at 60+ years old. lol. There is definitely room for it but not many out there to fill that. Stay hopeful folks, because it will become the difference maker!

I agree but in the context of UK hockey we simply cannot afford genuine tough players who can also play good hockey, they can earn big bucks in other leagues instead. I think there is an element of rose tinted spectacles here as well , we remember the highlights from those days and forget the other stuff, like some truly awful netminders, tough guys who struggled to stand up in skates and officials who needed to visit the opticians ( well ok, maybe that hasn't changed as much lol ) . The days of a Ron Shudra rocket beating most netminders or Ken Priestlay being able to skate rings around most opposition players are gone, the league is closer in ability now although whether the overall standard is better or worse than say the top 4 teams in the ISL days is an interesting debate ( worse in my opinion ) is a reasonable debate . Manchester are probably closest to the old school these days with their tiny rink and habit of signing the goon tendency but they often get taken apart by teams playing 4 lines of players who can actually skate, it may be entertaining sometimes but it won't bring a league title. I miss the old days greatly but looking backwards will not bring success going forwards, things change and we must change with them or become irrelevant .

Agree with all the above, however, players like McNally & Mitchell can easily add value to bring back the hard nosed in your face hockey which brought the Steelers success in the trophy department. The coach just needs to use their strengths at the right time and I’m afraid Fox doesn’t.

[heathk01]

Is it fox that won’t allow it or is or smith who wants vanilla hockey?