It's Hockey Season

As the NHL gets ready to drop the puck on its 2009/2010 season, most of the leagues young fans have already been skating themselves for several weeks.

Living in Canada kids are usually raised on the ice in the wintertime. The level of hockey they play is widely varied too depending on where you live. I grew up just outside of Peterborough, Ontario. I played my entire minor hockey experience in a very small market ... I believe it was classed as a DD centre for our playing circuit. Unlike in AAA centres with Rep teams and some paid coaches, our coaches were more than likely your buddy's Dad and he did it as a volunteer because he enjoyed spending time with the kids. The assistant coach could just as easily have been your own mother. Having her on the bench with you was certainly less embarrassing than having her in the stands screaming and waving an old cow bell.

This for most kids is growing up in Canada. How far you go is usually up to how far your parents are willing to send you. For the affluent parent, money is no object and they will pay to have you play on the best teams, with the best coaches. (usually in the several thousand dollar range) This type of team instills certain values into the player. Most Rep teams I've seen or have had friends or now their kids, playing on have a dress code and rules of conduct. Structure within the team is good and helps with any child's development.

The other end of the spectrum is the lowly teams that I played on as a child. It wasn't that my parents didn't want to see me try to pursue hockey, but with 2 brothers it sort of ruled it out when we all played. Some nights we'd be heading off in 3 different directions for games and for that I must really thank my parents for that experience. Of note, 3 different directions usually means one of us was bumming a ride from a buddy's Dad to get to the game.

When I was younger I could play pretty decently (now, not so much) and have played against players that have gone on to OHL careers and NHL drafts. None have played in the NHL and instead toiled in the minors or the Euro leagues. But I can still say that I played against them way back when. I play the game of hockey for fun. As I approach the age of 40, I'm well beyond the highly competitive aspect of the game. In my 20's and early 30's I played in leagues where the tempo was quick and some players actually believed they were playing for the Stanley Cup. Still others it would seem, believed that some scout was going to happen to be in the rink at 11:00pm in Timbuktue, Ontario and suddenly see him as an undrafted prospect. For myself, that level of competition was getting old, as was I. Having to get up the next morning to go to work left me getting frustrated at the guy that liked to slash me in the back of the legs or crosscheck me in the face because I wore a cage to protect my eyes and face. It didn't make any sense since we all paid to play and the only one making any money was the 2 referees who were trying to make it through the game without having to blow a whistle..

For the last 4 years I've simply been playing for fun 1 to 3 times per week. We have a referee who we pay in beer and we don't keep score. At least on the scoreboard anyway. The game ends when the Zamboni driver tells you to get the hell off the ice.

That for me is the game of hockey at it's best, played for fun. For all the kids hitting the ice this season, let the dreams begin!