Rick Rypien

[Goober]

Judging by the fans excitement I would say your in a minority then,fighting has and allways will be a part of hockey.People cheer when a fight breaks out for a reason and Rick doesnt throw any cheap shots.I'ts like the fights after school where he grew up,once a guys down the fight's over.He isnt scared to fight anyone regardless of their size.
You cant compare a sport like hockey to tiddlywinks or chess allthough there has been a few fights involved in every sport you mentioned.
I played right wing for many years and I know that it's hard to keep things under control when someone runs you into the boards with the sole intention of putting you out of the game.
If your tough then you will be singled out,it's like the fastest gunslinger in the old west,beating him gives you instant status.
Lots of folks think Marty Mcsorley was a goon also but I met him and he did more for the sport of hockey then most will ever know just with his support for the farm teams and getting kids into it instead of drugs.
I met all the oilers on a flight to LA once and got pics of Anderson ,mcsorley and even Gretzky in the cockpit of the 747.
They are there to play hockey and if a fight breaks out it's secondary,not one of them said they wanted to play just to fight.

Tom conners said it best in his song the good ol hockey game.

Thats the problem - bread and circuses - watch European hockey a hell of a ,ot better than fight noghts - the game is to skate, pass and shoot, maybe score - If you want boxing go to a fight. Not cheap hits that end players careers or send them off for the rest of the season.

I watch hockey to see them playing not for stupid ass fighting and cheap shots.

 

[talloola]

you guys who 'don't watch the game, and haven't for a long time, don't have a clue, and if I didn't
watch wrestling for 20 years I wouldn't be telling others how the game is, only was.

to begin with, the game is fun, fast, rough, tough, a contact sport, they are suppose to hit each other,
there are some fights, but the game is not a game of goonish play and fighting, that is the smallest
part of the game.
it is fun to play, and fun to watch, exciting to watch, exciting to play.

no, the european game is not better, only more mechanical and much less exciting.
if you like non contact play, slower game, and bigger ice, so that players 'can stay away'
from each other more, then it is the european game you should watch.

not near as much hitting, (body checking), and not near as fast. BUT you will see more
cheap shots when play is in close, just watch the sticks, the europeans, and especially the
russians, use those sticks as weapons when playing in close, if you've missed that, then your
not watching.
In the NHL, you are immediately penalied if you start using the stick as a weapon.
In the new NHL you must keep your stick off of the opponant, and if you touch yor
stick, (with it in a horizontal position), on or around the upper body of the opponant, it is immediately a hooking penalty,one cannot hold or pin a player to
the boards for more than a nano second, or he will be penalized, hence the game
keeps moving at a fast pace, it is very exciting and fast.
The players are more talented than
ever before, and goons cannot make the teams now, they must be players first and
foremost, and if a few of them fight once in a while, so be it, that is not dirty
play, it is an agreement between two players, and immediately stopped by linesmen
at a point of good judgement.

I mentioned once before, that I saw naslund interviewed about the comparison of european games
to north american games, he said there was no comparison, he loves the north american game, it
is much more fun to play with the smaller ice surface and more contact and faster.

 

[JLM]

Yippee Edmonton won and Calgary lost.

 

[Kreskin]

I've been watching a bunch of old games on (I think) yahoo. Today's game is leaps and bounds tougher than anything in the 70's. Watch the Flyers vs Red Army game (January 1976). It looks like touch hockey compared to how it's played now, even though it was the poster child for thuggery. That Flyers team wouldn't last a period in the NHL right now.

As Talloola said, the NHL game today is faster, tougher, better etc than any hockey played anytime and anywhere.

Rypien's Uncle is ex-Washington Redskin QB Mark Rypien.

Mark Rypien - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[talloola]

I've been watching a bunch of old games on (I think) yahoo. Today's game is leaps and bounds tougher than anything in the 70's. Watch the Flyers vs Red Army game (January 1976). It looks like touch hockey compared to how it's played now, even though it was the poster child for thuggery. That Flyers team wouldn't last a period in the NHL right now.

As Talloola said, the NHL game today is faster, tougher, better etc than any hockey played anytime and anywhere.

yeah, I just watched edmonton play tampa bay and calgary play anaheim, none of those teams are the elite
of the NHL this year, but both games were fun to watch, fast and furious, the players worked so hard,
skated so hard, end to end, much better games than anything in the 70's.

No clutching and grabbing, no stick on bodies, I think there was one fight between the two games, but I
am not absolutely sure of that, only remember one.

Goalies are the best they have ever been, it is so hard to score now, a goal is the result of very hard
work, good passing, or just puck luck, none of them come easy at any time.

Our game has come a long way, it is in good shape, now if the commissioner could just get his act together
and put teams where they belong in the two countries, all would be well.

 

[Cannuck]

I don't know why anybody would be comparing NHL hockey today to the 70's NHL. Anybody that knows anything about hockey knows that when the NHL followed the Winnipeg Jets lead and moved towards the European game, the result was the wide open, high offense game experienced in the 1980's. The 80's gave us the 87 Canada Cup, the Oilers dynasty, the Penguins, the Isles and goals galore.

Anybody that has played the game loves to score. It's laughable to suggest the players enjoy playing in today's low scoring games compared to the 80's European, high flying style.

 

[Kreskin]

I don't know why anybody would be comparing NHL hockey today to the 70's NHL. Anybody that knows anything about hockey knows that when the NHL followed the Winnipeg Jets lead and moved towards the European game, the result was the wide open, high offense game experienced in the 1980's. The 80's gave us the 87 Canada Cup, the Oilers dynasty, the Penguins, the Isles and goals galore.

Anybody that has played the game loves to score. It's laughable to suggest the players enjoy playing in today's low scoring games compared to the 80's European, high flying style.

Anyone who watches the 80's games will see defensive holes all over the ice. Todays teams would blow out anyone playing like that today.

 

[Cannuck]

Anyone who watches the 80's games will see defensive holes all over the ice. Todays teams would blow out anyone playing like that today.

Probably. Your point?

 

[JLM]

Probably. Your point?

To butt in, that may have something to do with the high scores you speak of in the 80s. :lol: Remember offense is only half the game.

 

[Cannuck]

To butt in, that may have something to do with the high scores you speak of in the 80s. :lol: Remember offense is only half the game.

Ummm...I understand what he said....just not sure how it relates to what I said (given that he quoted me). If his post suggest that defensive holes = worse hockey, then I disagree. Hockey is entertainment and 80's hockey full of defensive holes was far more entertaining than the current NHL product. Hell, major junior hockey is better than the current professional product. That is why the NHL is changing rules, trying to increase the amount of scoring chances.

 

[JLM]

Ummm...I understand what he said....just not sure how it relates to what I said (given that he quoted me). If his post suggest that defensive holes = worse hockey, then I disagree. Hockey is entertainment and 80's hockey full of defensive holes was far more entertaining than the current NHL product. Hell, major junior hockey is better than the current professional product. That is why the NHL is changing rules, trying to increase the amount of scoring chances.

Creating more scoring chances by say making the net a little bigger is one thing, but poor play by the defending team is another. :smile:

 

[Cannuck]

Creating more scoring chances by say making the net a little bigger is one thing, but poor play by the defending team is another. :smile:

You may have considered Paul Coffey, Raymond Bourque et al "poor" players but I'm pretty sure the majority would disagree.

 

[Kreskin]

Ummm...I understand what he said....just not sure how it relates to what I said (given that he quoted me). If his post suggest that defensive holes = worse hockey, then I disagree. Hockey is entertainment and 80's hockey full of defensive holes was far more entertaining than the current NHL product. Hell, major junior hockey is better than the current professional product. That is why the NHL is changing rules, trying to increase the amount of scoring chances.

Entertainment value is subjective. You might prefer to watch kids play road hockey too, due to the higher scoring.

 

[Cannuck]

Entertainment value is subjective.

Not really, It's measured in ticket sales.

 

[JLM]

You may have considered Paul Coffey, Raymond Bourque et al "poor" players but I'm pretty sure the majority would disagree.

I never considered them poor players, but their status may not be on a par with today's defencemen and besides they only spend 20-25 minutes per game on the ice.

 

[Cannuck]

I never considered them poor players, but their status may not be on a par with today's defencemen and besides they only spend 20-25 minutes per game on the ice.

Raymond Bourque's status is not on par with today's defencemen???? Put down the crack pipe. At 37 years old Bourque lead the league with over 30 minutes TOI

 

[JLM]

Raymond Bourque's status is not on par with today's defencemen???? Put down the crack pipe.

NHL.com - The National Hockey League

Sorry bud- don't do anything stronger than chocolate milk. :lol:

 

[petros]

NHL and the Jrs have been severely sissified to point where it's like watching a nobody gets cut parks & recreation league.

 

[Cannuck]

Sorry bud- don't do anything stronger than chocolate milk. :lol:

So you admit that there is no substance responsible for your mind numbing statements?

 

[Risus]

A hometown boy from my community,makes us proud to be Crowsnest pass boys.
Dont mess with a pass rat.
Size means nothing to Rick.

Who's ripien??

Those kids must be real proud.

But not any prouder than the "parents"(?) who taught them be be thugs at the earliest age possible.

Yes, I've seen parents brawling at peewee games. Pretty disgusting.