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Meltzer's Musings: Defining Toughness |
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DEFINING TOUGHNESS, MEASURING SUCCESS
On Saturday evening, I received a text from one of the Flyers Alumni regarding the upcoming "Tough Guys" night on Nov. 17 as one of the Heritage Nights during the 50th Anniversary season. It got me to thinking: How is toughness truly defined?
There's the obvious definition, of course, of sheer physical force. Anyone can go on Youtube and find clips of memorable fights and bodychecks. Likewise, it's popular to debate who was the best fighter or toughest player on a time or in the league. Whom did Play A fight? How often did he fight? How did he fare? There's a prominent website built solely around it.
This, however, is only one type of toughness. There is also mental toughness, which can take on a lot of different forms but is rooted in dealing with some type pain and strife but pressing onward even knowing there's an element of risk. It's not about an absence of fear but, rather, about refusal to be enslaved by it. The Flyers have been steeped in mentally tough players through the years, with Bob Clarke being the ultimate example. Barry Ashbee was a quiet tough guy, both mentally and physically. In more recent times, while Kimmo Timonen was undersized and certainly not a fighter, he was as mentally tough as they came.
In terms of the more traditional "tough guy" role. the reason why it has been so misunderstood is that the role was every bit as much steeped in mental toughness as in fighting technique and physical strength. It really should not be a surprise that there's been such a high attrition rate, because the challenges those guys face are never ending ones so long as they playing.
In hockey, the concept of team toughness is every bit are every bit as important, and arguably even more than having a couple of individually tough players. Teammates have to have one another's backs. That's a given, but someone has to display leadership and take pride in that regard and then others have to buy in. Fundamentally, it's not really all that different than getting buy-in for backchecking or shot blocking or any other unglamorous part of the game. Coaches can preach these things until their faces turn blue but the words are meaningless until there are on-ice leaders who exemplify these traits and inspire teammates to do likewise.
The tough guys who gain longevity and the respect of their teammates and opponents alike are the ones who understand all of these things.
For example, was Ian Laperriere ever the "best" or most frequent fighter in the NHL? Far from it but he was damn sure one of the toughest players of his era. No one was more willing to pay any price to win whether it was blocking a shot, killing a penalty, giving or taking a check even from a behemoth opponent or dropping the gloves either to energize the team or to stand up for a teammate or himself. He did consistently, game in and game out and year after year. That's the epitome of hockey toughness.
Among those who specialized in playing the traditional fighter's role, the ultimate testament to Craig Berube's toughness and effective in his role was not in his "fight card" per se in fact that he played over 1,000 games in the NHL. Dave Brown took it personally when a teammate would get run; it was his dedication to his teammates as much as the left-handed bombs he threw that made him one of his best in his role. Dave Schultz, who has owned up many times to having had to deal with constant anxiety in his role yet never shrank back from it. If anything, he channeled that fear into ferocity, especially when going into hostile buildings.
Something else to keep in mind when considering toughness: look at the guys who are ones who kept striving for improvement in their total game. Paul Holmgren was one of the NHL's best conditioned athletes of his era, had a tireless work ethic and made himself into a 30-goal scorer in the NHL. Look at Rick Tocchet's career arc. In more recent times, look at Wayne Simmonds' path from Junior A hockey and going undrafted as an 18-year-old to his prominence as an NHL power forward.
In short, there's no one single way to define toughness. As such, as I develop the writing content that will be part of Tough Guys Night in a few months, my goals is celebrate those who exemplify its many different forms.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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