Paul Stewart: Doers vs. Critics

I hope for all those wannabees out there who trample on everyone's dreams, digest this heartily: It's all about never quitting, hanging in there and going until the bell rings, crossing the finish line and scoring that goal.

Just because someone's opinion is different than yours doesn't mean they intend to "trample your dreams"

For all you wannabe coaches that think you are the next coming of Herb Brooks, stop trampling on kids 'dreams, projecting your negativity, not helping your player develop, and simply telling them "you aren't good enough." That goes, too, for the armchair scouts and GMs out there as well as the real-life ones who don't understand that some seeds take longer than others to grow.

This reads like an old man yelling at clouds. Are you really observing modern NHL coaching or [is it] what's happening in the KHL?

It's not JUST hard work, it's hard work coupled with HONEST thinking about what you need to work on and then the willingness to keep at it even if the results take time.You need character and integrity. Work ethic and character matter more than raw talent for the game.

You forgot to mention luck.

Break down each part and work on a skill in each part of the game that you can't do well until it's a part of the game that you do very well. At that point, you will have the last and best thing you need to make it: SELF CONFIDENCE.

Trust me, that is something I never lacked.

Obviously

Good Ref....Good blog! Well done Mr. Stewart 👍🏻

I hope for all those wannabees out there who trample on everyone's dreams, digest this heartily: It's all about never quitting, hanging in there and going until the bell rings, crossing the finish line and scoring that goal.

Just because someone's opinion is different than yours doesn't mean they intend to "trample your dreams"

For all you wannabe coaches that think you are the next coming of Herb Brooks, stop trampling on kids 'dreams, projecting your negativity, not helping your player develop, and simply telling them "you aren't good enough." That goes, too, for the armchair scouts and GMs out there as well as the real-life ones who don't understand that some seeds take longer than others to grow.

This reads like an old man yelling at clouds. Are you really observing modern NHL coaching or [is it] what's happening in the KHL?

It's not JUST hard work, it's hard work coupled with HONEST thinking about what you need to work on and then the willingness to keep at it even if the results take time.You need character and integrity. Work ethic and character matter more than raw talent for the game.

You forgot to mention luck.

Break down each part and work on a skill in each part of the game that you can't do well until it's a part of the game that you do very well. At that point, you will have the last and best thing you need to make it: SELF CONFIDENCE.

Trust me, that is something I never lacked.

Obviously

-farooge

You should hang a banner in your mom's basement for these hot takes.
I guess Stewcat's aim was perfect, as this blog obviously nailed you right between the eyes.

You should hang a banner in your mom's basement for these hot takes.
I guess Stewcat's aim was perfect, as this blog obviously nailed you right between the eyes.
- yzermaneely

Well, Stewart is more of a critic than a doer, in writing this post. So it seems he nailed himself, more than anything.

Well, Stewart is more of a critic than a doer, in writing this post. So it seems he nailed himself, more than anything.
- Mashadar

His plaque in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and status as the only American in the history of the game who both played and officiated in the NHL -- despite not being a naturally gifted player and despite getting a late start in refereeing -- suggests otherwise.

His plaque in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and status as the only American in the history of the game who both played and officiated in the NHL -- despite not being a naturally gifted player and despite getting a late start in refereeing -- suggests otherwise.
- bmeltzer

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Meltzer from the top rope

What a refreshing read! Thanks for the fine blog.

Well, Stewart is more of a critic than a doer, in writing this post. So it seems he nailed himself, more than anything.
- Mashadar

You sound like a quitter , or better yet a coat holder.

Just because someone's opinion is different than yours doesn't mean they intend to "trample your dreams"



This reads like an old man yelling at clouds. Are you really observing modern NHL coaching or
- farooge[is it] what's happening in the KHL?



You forgot to mention luck.



Obviously

I agree. Very heavy-handed, self-righteous, grandiose and off-putting to read for such a nuanced and complex topic. No, it's not just "doers vs. critics." First off, this is the first time any of us have experienced a pandemic. Second, Stewart doesn't have any skin in the game - he is just banging away on a keyboard ensconced safely in his house while the actual doers are the ones risking their health and their very lives. Deciding whether it is worth playing a few games for a Cup with an asterisk attached to it, during the height of a pandemic and before there is a vaccine, does not make them or those who support their difficult decision "critics." It makes them sensible, rational beings.

I thought of Don Quixote while reading this diatribe but maybe Bluto is more apt:

"What? Over? Did you say 'over'? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!...

It ain't over now, 'cause when the goin' gets tough, the tough get goin'. Who's with me? Let's go! Come on!"

Paul,

Nice article. I was wondering if you had any information that you could share on the officials for the return to play. You hear everything about players and team personnel, but I haven't seen anything related to the officials.

Thanks!

Well, Stewart is more of a critic than a doer, in writing this post. So it seems he nailed himself, more than anything.
- Mashadar

Technically, you are kinda right.

In the spectrum between doers and thinkers, one endpoint would be a bodily paralyzed person who has no brain damage - thinking alone is what that person can do. The other extreme would be a microorganism that does not have a brain. Action is all it can do.

Criticism of criticism is by definition itself criticism. As such, one veers closer to the first endpoint of that spectrum.

I have much respect for Paul Stewart and his blog (I was especially disappointed to learn that this rich league cannot provide a decent pension plan for its officials) and of course his stature , but I think he overgeneralizes the carping of the stereotypical ignorant fan to once again illustrate a well known, very American bias:

https://en.wikipedia.org/...ctualism_in_American_Life