Did you see the video of Danny Paille taking a slapper in the face?

I just cannot imagine what that would feel like! Thank God he was wearing a visor - probably saved his life. Yeah - when I played junior I got hit and got my nose broken and lost a tooth but that puck was tipped and hit me flat - not on edge, full force. And it was fired by a 16-year old not a NHL pro.

Shivers...................
Tele

I am now MaxwellSmart ...had some computer problems and Roy couldn't wait to demote me . Just kidding Roy.

I did not see that. It gives me the creeps to even watch such a thing ! I was hit in the mouth by a tipped slapper one time. Took a ton of stitches and had a nasty cut....no teeth lost though. That wasn't enough to go to a cage though. Six months later some asshole dove through kicking his skates high and i got cut along the jawline by his skate. I was , actually , really lucky that time! I went to a cage and don't play any kind of serious hockey without it. Still play pond hockey without a helmet.........probably stupid to do THAT !

I really don't know how the pros play without more facial protection. You played Junior hockey , so you know what I'm talking about. That's a much higher level of hockey than i have played , but i have been on the ice with Juniors and a couple of drop-ins with a bunch of CHL players. Those guys shoot the puck so hard , it's actually quite frightening. I mean that.....the thing whistles by your ear and it gives you a moment of fear. For a guy to take an NHL slapshot to the face is hard to imagine.....AWFUL !

Several years ago , i took a hard low slapshot from a ex-junior player in the skate ; right on the outside ankle. IT was like getting shot. I made it to bench and missed two shifts in extreme pain. I was afraid i had a shattered ankle. When the feeling came back , i went out and resumed play , realizing it was probably not going to be that bad. I was wearing a pair of 400 dollar Graf skates with extra protection in the ankles...designed for defensemen. I think it is the 704 model or something. Thank God for that !

That puck really hurts folks ! I hope Danny is alright....the way they are packing it in and blocking shots in today's NHL , while 230 pound guys are unloading screamers....well it takes real courage. Good to hear from you Teleman !!!

Come back on and we'll talk a little hockey now and then...and some golf. I played the most consistent golf of my life this past season. My hockey is awful though. I am playing a Friday night drop-in and having fun with it , but i am old and injured ...and i don't have any kind of hockey legs. I should probably quit playing , but i like to skate , so i play bad hockey and have fun doing it.

I will check out the Paille thing.......YIKES !

Max

Sorry Max - guess in my travels and intermittent look-ins, I missed the transition.

Yeah, they shoot a whole lot harder at the upper levels. To set the record straight - yes, I played Junior - but, it was then called Major Juvenile and would be called Junior C today - 15/16 year olds. Got my shoulder separated in a Junior B tryout and that was the end of it. I was a small forward, (Centre - 5'7" - 125lbs) who could skate. Dave Keon/Yvan Cournoyer style - can't hit what you can't catch..........
Guess what? At the Junior B level those 200lb defense men can catch you. Came around the opposition net with the puck to feed it out in front and got absolutely drilled by a 180lb defenseman coming the other way. My dad was at the game and said he could hear my shoulder pop all the way up in the stands. Discussions with the family and the doctor - I was just too damned small to survive at any higher level regardless of me skating agility.

I had a pretty good shot but could NEVER time the slap-shot when I was on the fly so I taught myself to fire I quick and hard wrister on the fly. Served me well but never anything like what those big guys could let fly off the point.

Miss the game a lot but, at 63, haven't been on skates in about 10+ years. Not even sure I could still stand up.

Keep your stick on the ice Max. Talk again soon.

Tele

You guys make me glad I never took it up, did have a couple friends that played a little.

Any level of competitive full check hockey is tough. Only played a few games of full check......where we put together a group that agreed to check. For some reason i was a natural at that part of the game. I like to play a bit physical , but at 182 lbs , i keep an eye peeled for the big nasty guys. The adult leagues have some hitting , but you have to hide it pretty well. My favorite play as a defenceman is to rub a guy out along the boards and take the puck off his stick while he's going to the ice. Pisses guys off too much though....some guys don't like to be contacted much. It doesn't bother me much....i play better if i get hit a little bit....but i don't like guys putting their stick on me all the time. Our drop-in is mostly very friendly , except for some glorious collisions and the occasional bumping around with guys that can take it.

A good wrister is a fine thing. My best shot is more of a snapper....i can sometimes make it work ...but i am more of a passer than anything . I get a thrill from hitting guy on the tape with a well placed pass. Almost the same feeling you get from hitting a perfect iron shot into a green. Seeing the spot and in your mind and then making it happen.....i love that moment !

Thanks for the reply. Spend a few weeks on a stationary bike and go out to a pond this winter and lace them up. Take a stick and puck out there with you. You will be flying around the ice in minutes .......feeling like you did when you were fourteen ! Helps to have some access to alcohol afterwards and maybe a hot tub.

Golf is much safer Hips. It is a very fine thing to skate with just your stick and a puck on a winter pond though. I hope to be able to play a little bit of pond hockey until i am too old to walk down to the pond and put my skates on.

I will post a picture of a high mountain pond i skate on this winter .....if i can figure out the technology.

It really is a kind of Nirvana .....there's a hotel bar 120 feet from the ice ! It's pond hockey for three hours and then a Ninety Schilling at the bar , while lovely guests in tight sweaters stroll in and out. Really nice until they get a whiff of that faint but unmistakable hockey stink left over by the pair of elbow pads you thought DIDN'T smell any more. All this at 9200 feet of elevation , with probably one of the ten best views in Colorado . I am probably only two weeks away from that......I LOVE IT !

Have skated a little, very little. Mostly when kids had a school function at a rink or a special winter pond. Sort of remember being at a bar at that elevation at one of the resorts. Both granddaughters going to a game Saturday.

Ya know, Max - I really should find a place to lace 'em up again. I think one of the reasons I've stayed off the blades is that I'm scared I'm so rusty I'd fall on my face. But I have to think it's like riding a bicycle - once you learn how, you never forget. You might be shaky for a few hundred yards but, then it all comes back.
And, in my case, I taught myself to skate. Folks tried the old, "hold onto my hands to keep me up" approach. Never worked.
One day, when I was about 6, I noticed that there was a patch of ice all along our back fence from an earlier thaw. Asked my mom to lace up my skates for me and I went out to the yard. Went back and forth along that fence, using it to keep my balance, until I managed to get the basics of gliding down. By the time my Dad got home from work I was skating along that patch of ice without holding onto the fence. I'd done it by myself! Never looked back.
I've gotta think that's why some of the old school players like Keon, Cornoyer, the Richards, on and on, were such great skaters. They learned by themselves, on ponds and community rinks. Not from some high-priced skating coach brought in by the league or privately hired by wealthy Dad and soccer-mom.
Seems to me, Max, you and I appreciate where the game came from more than what it is today!
Sorry! This became a bit of a ramble.............
Cheers
Tele

Not a ramble at all........good story about how you learned to skate. We lived on a large lake when i was a kid. All kinds of different ice qualities depending on weather patterns , but sometimes it could be the most sublime black ice imaginable. I could put my skates on 200 feet from my house and skate for miles on perfect ice.
Played pond hockey with very little to no protective gear....dull skates...straight bladed Northland sticks. Hockey as a winter sport.

Those ponds and lakes are still out there! Just take it easy the first 15 minutes or so , and it will come back to you. If you bust something , it wasn't MY fault !

AMEN! And, if I bust something it's definitely MY fault. I may be 63 but I steadfastly refuse to act my age - or any age. You do what you are capable of or feel like doing. Sometimes I push too far and end up sore, or hurt - so be it!
Must say, it's an awakening to realize how much strength age has taken away from me when I do something like help our son move. I USED to be the muscle in the family. Now he's a practicing, licensed mechanic, done a full P90X program and fit and cut. He's 5'9'' and 140lbs. And an OX in terms of strength.................... But - he's only 27!
Dad got replaced! Had to happen...................
Cheers
Tele