I can't be the only one sick to death about this McDavid talk can I? I follow prospects as closely as time allows and I love almost any story that the mainstream sports media can pick up from Junior or Europe. It feels like a bonus when they actually commit their undivided attention and vast resources towards that. It's why I'm a nerd for the vapid endless draft coverage during Draft Day or a slave to watching every WJC material I can see (including watching some really poor streams of the U17's).
This however is ridiculous. I think it was fine to talk about how the next "Crosby" was injured and will no longer have a chance to break any OHL records. I think it was fine to lament how he could miss or potentially not be 100% for the World Juniors. This being a pivotal WJC as Canada is always expected to win Gold and thus has been a National disgrace these past few years. The articles almost write themselves, Tavares this and Hall that and 2005! However, this is not the time to talk about fighting in hockey, nor to get on a soapbox and deplore the plebs their disgusting fun.
I think we've seen enough black and white slowmotion footage taken seemingly from "Behind the Music" as if he had just been bloody assassinated. Seriously, go to TSN, you can watch their piece on it. I thought for a second I was watching the history channel and the JFK murder documentary was on.
Am I the only one that loves what McDavid did? How many insults has Sidney Crosby had to face for being a "whiner?" How many analysts have consistently ridiculed Ovechkin because he lays huge (sometimes dangerous) hits and won't fight? Soft hockey, soft players, soft towels, or something like that. McDavid was frustrated and angry and felt Cianfrone had been hounding him all night...so...let them fight. This isn't a matter of two goons talking to each other on the bench determining when they get to "make a statement" at centre ice. Hell...McDavid initiates both of his fights that he has had this season.
This is the fighting hockey NEEDS. Passion, frustration and spontaneity. The entire debate sickens me. How and why has this turned into a debate on fighting in hockey? Why are these writers not seeing that "fighting" is not a problem and never has been. It's goonery that is the decaying holdover from a time when talent was not at a premium. Gone are the days when teams couldn't field 3 lines of talent and required a mindless face puncher. Gone are the days of the imaginary hitman that will "protect" his team by "playing" 5 minutes a night and punching the other teams imaginary hitman. The entire notion about deterrents is absurd, why would having to fight a goon during a game ever deter a cheapshot artist from cheapshotting? The deed is already done and they don't have to fight, they can just skate away and laugh as a coach tries to keep sending out his 4 minute a night waste of space constantly to exact "revenge." Also how many times have we actually seen a goon take "revenge." By this I mean the dinosauric idea that "if our star gets injured then our goon will injure your star!" When has that ever bloody happened in the past decade? David Steckel injured Sidney Crosby on a pretty questionable hit...when did Aaron Asham or Deryk Engelland (two "tough" guys) injure Ovechkin? Oh right, they didn't, because that's not how the game works in reality.
A few of my favourite moments in hockey have been fights and I'm not a fighting advocate. Iginla vs Lecavalier and Doan vs Brown are two examples of fights that I love and would never take out of hockey. Captains, leaders, fighting with passion and frustration. Not because they had to, but because they wanted to. This is the exact same thing.
It's a shame McDavid was hurt during his fight. It's a shame he might not be 100% for Team Canada. It's a shame his injury has prompted 300 articles about how his injury won't change his draft status...as if people are that dumb to believe it would. It's a shame a rudimentary hockey fight between two willing participants that aren't goons (Cianfrone is like 5'8 btw) has turned into a chance for the Damien Cox's of the world to proclaim that hockey is a neanderthal sport and we would all be better off watching tennis. It's a shame these cherry-pickers (for want of a better label) didn't have the conviction to bring all of these apparently deeply held beliefs when McDavid had fought earlier in the year against Liam Maaskant.
Goonery needs to go, fighting needs to stay.
Thanks for reading.