"Pond Hockey"

[ISTOUT 0]

With the upcoming “Winter Classic” game I was just curious as to if anyone else caught the “Pond Hockey” program on the NHL network last night? It was in my opinion a pretty good show and I totally agreed with the shared opinion that it seems that the days of playing out on the pond as a kid are coming to an end and that kids today just play mostly indoors and that the generations of folks growing up and playing on the ponds and back yard rinks for hours on end produced better more well rounded players.

In remembering my child hood we did skate from sun up to sun down in the freezing cold on the local ponds and back yard rinks… We were free to skate, stickhandle, shoot and pretty much do and practice what we wanted… Our games had no refs, no whistle and no breaks… We just played the puck the entire time and I think when we took those pond practiced skills and experiences and played in organized leagues and games we were better skilled and more well rounded players ...

Kids today just don’t seem to share that same outdoors mentality and seem to just play and rely on the local indoor rinks… It seems like they are missing out on something very special in the Hockey culture as well as many skills and lessons learned with just attending organized 1 hr practices and getting maybe 15-20 min of ice time during games… In no way am I knocking today’s youth players it just seems that a big piece of the traditional “Hockey Culture” is dieing with the lack of outdoor play..

[syko_hockey 0]

I also saw it. Living in Western New York, the winters are really cold. There is a pond at the end of my road that freezes over and my dad snowblows the whole thing (its covers about and acre of land). Some of the best times with my friends have happened there, as we skate from sun up to sun down

[flyers10 57]

I missed it. Any idea if they are re-airing it?

[number21 3]

http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index...086&hl=pond

I started a thread on this a while ago, but I have yet to see it!

I don't know why. On facebook they said that it's on Hulu.com now. I'll be watching it this weekend finally.

[ISTOUT 0]

You could also check here http://www.nhl.com/ice/eventhome.htm?location=/nhlnetwork for listings...

[AIREAYE 248]

I saw this on the plane recently, and I totally agree. Im 16 and everytime i see a reasonably sized puddle of water I would wish for it to freeze...

[number21 3]

last night was the only US scheduled time for Pond Hockey.

[Brian Harte 1]

I saw most of it. A great thing to see.

We don't get too many frozen ponds down here in Long Beach, CA though.

....wish we did.

[ISTOUT 0]

I saw most of it. A great thing to see.

We don't get too many frozen ponds down here in Long Beach, CA though.

....wish we did.

Ohhh come on.. I always thought the LBC was supposed to be some kind a pond hockey "Mecca"! :D

[LivHockey84 0]

That was a cool show...

[NYRSinceBirth 0]

Went to Hulu and "Pond Hockey" was the first thing I saw. So yea, it's on Hulu, the front page.

[Wallzy41 9]

Watching that brought a tear to my eye. I'm 16, and since the winter of 2008(now soon to be the winter of 2010), My friend has a frozen piece of land in his backyard, and we've played hockey every saturday from like 1p-8p. Now that i've joined the indoor craze, I've started taking full equipment to the pond, and with my friend joining me, it's time to start having some outdoor fun. :)

[Ahriman 1]

I snagged the film off a torrent site a long time ago. Since it's on hulu everyone should watch this. Seriously, it's great.

[sitzlejd 0]

We only get a few days here in Cincinnati to skate outdoors, if we're lucky we might get a couple weeks. But when it's frozen there's nothing better. Used a couple sick days last year and I'll do it again if the weather's right.

[ddbowdoin 0]

my girlfriend owns a lake house and Ive spent the last two weeks shoveling the damn lake every time it snows. tough work but worth it... now I just need more players. I am going to make some of those pond hockey goals they had in the film, they are pretty tight.

[thejackal 46]

saw it on the plane back to montreal. went out yesturday and saw the ice was made. ended up playing pickup with 2 kids I coached. great times. sometimes you kinda forget how the simple things are the best

[maxamillion 3]

if it's the documentary that centers around the tournament in MN, then that is on Hulu. I've watched about half of it during my lunch break at work, and it's pretty fucking fantastic.

[Skoda10 14]

I TiVo'd it the other day when it was on. Pretty good. I dig those goals they had in the tournament. If I still lived somewhere with a pond to play on I'd look into cranking out a couple of those.

[Hidious 0]

If you guys ever take a vacation in Québec between X-mas and the end of February, make sure you bring your skates, gloves, stick and a couple of pucks. Most cities have many outdoor rinks in just about every public park, high school, baseball fields, etc. and you are certain to find a game there every night with decent weather. For example, in my hometown Magog, a city of about 20 000 people, there are at least 7 outdoor rinks in a 10 minute by car radius. Anybody can go by foot. There is even a new rink this year with real plastic boards (round corners) and the size of a standard indoor rink.

Pond/outdoor hockey is without a doubt one of the most enjoyable sport/winter activity i know. I'll try to catch this documentary.

[epstud74 24]

Yeah, pond hockey is the where the game was born. Here in the Twin Cities, just about every small neighborhood park has a rink and boards set up for outdoor hockey. We're lucky in that regard

[Ahriman 1]

the plethora of rinks and people who use them in the TCs will be the only thing I miss about this god forsaken land :P

[epstud74 24]

Dont forget "Minnesota Nice"

[rangers1234 0]

http://www.modsquadhockey.com/forums/index...086&hl=pond

I started a thread on this a while ago, but I have yet to see it!

I don't know why. On facebook they said that it's on Hulu.com now. I'll be watching it this weekend finally.

Hey thanks for the link...

What a great film. Made me remember why I love hockey so much. As a kid growing up my parents couldn't afford hockey for my brother and I, but we would walk down every day after school to the pond that was 1/2 mile away with our skates on our sticks. Didn't matter how cold it was, or how bad the ice was. I don't even think I had skates that ever fit me correctly or were ever sharpened until I turned 30. We just loved being on the ice and could play all day every day. I got luckey and now have a second chance to play as an old guy and love every second of it.

It's sad how serious we take sports now and have forgoten that it's a game that's meant to be fun. For all those kids out there that get cut, keep playing, just find a way and have fun.

[SouthpawTRK 1]

Watching Pond Hockey really captured the passion, dedication and outright fun of playing hockey outdoors. It really showed the love of being on the ice; either solo or with your friends; with the main concern focused on being on the ice.

[durke 0]

After watching this movie I decided to make a backyard rink for the kids (very uncommon in Norway despite the cold). Its very small, but they love it. I also try not to make any "coaching" comments because I just want it to be a place were they go to play.