Worst Trend to Happen to Hockey?

[Ron Burgundy 0]

I agree with the concept of hockey becoming a fashion show and an opportunity to show how much money your parents have being a bad thing for the game. It pushes a lot of kids that come from low to middle income homes out of the game because of the hazing they get at times. I've seen it happen a number of times. Custom products have always been available, they have just become more popular over the last couple years.

Really though every sport has became a "fashion show". Equipment is the only way the player can really be creative and express themselves. It's something that wont be stopped either because the sport is growing and there is always going to have the rich mommy and daddy.

[wrangler 157]

Really though every sport has became a "fashion show". Equipment is the only way the player can really be creative and express themselves. It's something that wont be stopped either because the sport is growing and there is always going to have the rich mommy and daddy.

I thought sports were about competition, and art was about being creative and expressing yourself. Probably why I don't understand what goes on in the NFL end zones after a score.

[hampshirepuck 2]

I thought sports were about competition, and art was about being creative and expressing yourself. Probably why I don't understand what goes on in the NFL end zones after a score.

Once again I think Don Cherry Says it best

[Chadd 916]

Really though every sport has became a "fashion show". Equipment is the only way the player can really be creative and express themselves. It's something that wont be stopped either because the sport is growing and there is always going to have the rich mommy and daddy.

There may be no "I" in team but there is an "M" and an "E".

If you need your equipment to "express yourself", you have problems that money won't solve.

[bigdmac 12]

There may be no "I" in team but there is an "M" and an "E".

If you need your equipment to "express yourself", you have problems that money won't solve.

You're right, but the problem is people think money can solve it. Like it was said, people will always have a rich mommy and daddy.

[Neal 41]

Part of that is the adage that was used as I was growing up, "Make him pay for the pass."

Never understood that. If there is a player on the team that I can scare into playing soft with a late hit, that guy is soft and cowardly and I'll have plenty of opportunities to scare him in legal ways. Used to argue with my coach about it all the time.

[PartyMcFly 0]

Inline equipment going backwards in terms of the maturity of the styling and design. Tour's and Mission's (especially Mission's) designs of the last couple of seasons would have been considered nice looking in like 2005. Today they're just way late to the party. As an inline player, it's pretty embarrassing that the two biggest brands representing this discipline of hockey are such complete s**tshows.

[fastbrother7 0]

Kids who play video games is the worst thing to happen to hockey.

[FlyingDutchman 3]

It's not a gear trend, but the "clutch and grab" era of hockey almost killed the sport. It arrived right after the lockout season in the 90s, when hockey was pretty much becoming huge again. What a waste of an opportunity. Ten years of my sport-watching life I will never get back again. Thanks, New Jersey...

[zebra_steve 11]

Sorry Dutchman, but I would take the clutch and grab back to the early 1980's anyway.... The Campbell conference was pretty free flowing, but the Wales conference and particularly the Patrick division was whack\hack\clutch and grab. I wonder what kind of numbers Lemieux would have put up if he was skating in the Campbell conference? You might be saying Wayne who? I mean really he put up how many points with one guy on his back and another holding or chopping him...

[Patrick67 1]

Worst trend in hockey....

The flyers "wrong colored" name plates getting adopted by other teams in their jerseys designs. (remember seeing a CHL team with it)

At least the flyers have a historical reason to have them (even though it looks like cr*p IMO), but why any other team would adopt it is beyond me.

Another annoying trend, even though it's more of a rule thing, is all other hockey leagues using the 3-round shootout format... Simply because the

NHL uses it.

In a NHL regular season game it's understandable, but the IIHF changed their format from 5- to 3-rounds in deciding games!!!

Of down to the wire close games I can recall, that got decided by this even more random format, than the original 5-round format...

Last years A-World Cup semi between Sweden and the Czech republic... 3 rounds.

Previous WJC semi's between CAN-Russia and CAN-USA were also 3 rounds.

In the CAN-Russia game (one were Eberle tied it), Can scored, russia hit the post, Can scored and then the russians were f*cked...

In the NHL deciding games are always OT, imagine if they NHL decided playoff games in a 3-round shootout.... In a WC format it's understandable that you don't have scedule time for multiple OT's, but 3-round shootouts???? commmon...

[innotastic 12]

Colin Campbell isn't the reason players like Avery aren't banned for life. The NHLPA and the 30 General Manager's are unanimously opposed to long suspensions. They want the players they're representing (and pay their union dues) and the players who they signed and are paying millions to play, to be playing and not on a mid-season vacation.

Worst trend in hockey: excusing violence as part of the game. It's not.

[zachary 2]

Also, what I dont like is the one or two enforcers on the team that clearly have nothing to offer to the team outside of fighting. Yeah, Derek Boogaard and several of his kind shouldn't be on the ice at all.

I totally agree and to add on to this I miss players who could actually play the game and fight. I think my generation has slightly grown towards this. I know plenty of kids who have plenty of skill and aren't afraid to drop the gloves.

I don't think any of us want to see our star players fight and risk injury but if everyone player manned up a bit and would drop them if needed it would make the game better so we could get rid of enforcers.