I was watching World Cup Hockey from 1996 on the great NHL Network, and it was pretty eye-opening.
The NHL Network was very nice to show an American triumph plus lots of American stats on the crawl at the bottom of the screen all day on the 4th of July. I think they also had a special about the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame right after Game 3.
Now, 1996 is way before my time, but not so far back that I didn’t know anybody. Modano, Hull, Guerin, Hatcher, Weight, Tkachuk were there, and more that I had heard of but forgotten about. The Canadian side seemed to have more players that I know less. Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman were about the only ones I have gotten to know. They had Gretzky and Fleury and Lindros and Odelein…guys like that.
Weight was being his old self, punching a guy in the head after the whistle (for a guy everybody says is “not that kind of player,” he sure acts like it a lot). Keith Tkachuk almost got his head whacked off when Lindros two-handed him over the back of the head with his stick. Then Tkachuk himself was kicked out of the game for whacking somebody else. Gretzky didn’t seem to be much of a factor.
I just have a couple of observations about that series and about what hockey must have been like in 1996 in general.
First of all, the NHL would be perfectly justified in telling me they told me so. I was beside myself with misery over the new Reebok uniforms when they came to town in the 2007-2008 season. I always liked the Stars designs, but I did not expect to like the cut and the fabric and the socks. They took some bug-fixing, but they’ve grown on me quite a bit since then, and I really hardly ever think about it any more.
So, seeing those jerseys in the World Cup was pretty jarring. They look like muumuus! Sweaty, disgusting muumuus. Gretzky’s just about reached his knees.
My conversion to the new uniform style is now complete. (Although I still am not sold on the material they use for the socks.)
Speaking of jarring, there was SO MUCH OBSTRUCTION! And nobody even complained! The backchecker basically wedged his stick under the forchecker’s arms, then let himself be towed like a water-skier into the zone. Defenders pulled forwards around by their shirt when the puck wasn’t even near them. Sticks kicked out skates and elbows crushed heads and nobody expected any help from the refs and didn’t get any. It was a mess. I didn’t like it.
It’s so much better now since they cracked down on the obstruction coming out of the lockout. There was so much bitching going on in the first couple of seasons about all the penalties, but I’m glad the League fought through it and kept it up. The game is much less slogging than what I see in those classic games. And you don’t have to go back all the way to 1996 to see the difference.
I’m telling you, the NHL Network is a wealth of information about past eras. Just watch any “Vintage Game” or “Classic Series” and see if that’s the kind of hockey you’d rather have.
I swear I never hear anything nice about hockey these days, even from hockey fans, but it really is better now than it’s ever been. We should enjoy it.
Aw man, those were the days! All that hooking and holding and clutching and grabbing… They don’t play hockey like they used to, that’s for sure. :P (Although I think it’s only fair to mention that that World Cup featured some really chippy, nasty play. When you say there was lots of head-elbowing and skate-kicking, and no one expected help from the refs, I don’t think that’s necessarily indicative of the state of the game 13 years ago. It was more indicative that the officials swallowed their whistles for a lot of the rough stuff in that series. I mean, the obstruction was definitely allowed across the board at the time, but that series was an especially mean one. Which is, I guess, why it’s a classic!)
Also, Wayne was a TOTAL non-factor in the series. That delighted me at the time, and still does, come to think of it. :D
It was more indicative that the officials swallowed their whistles for a lot of the rough stuff in that series.
I wondered about that! When the great John Davidson was pointing out that some of that stuff was going to get some attention from league discipline, I started to wonder. Maybe swinging sticks at heads wasn’t as common in real life, even back then.
It’s so weird to see the clutching and grabbing after a few years of not seeing it. It’s like looking at pictures of myself in the 80s and wondering how in the world I thought that hairdo looked good.
Maybe swinging sticks at heads wasn’t as common in real life, even back then.
:^::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: We watched that game at some point this past season on NHL Network, and it really was shockingly violent. I remember when that series happened (we saw Game 1 in person in Philly — it was the inaugural event at the FU Center), but I totally didn’t remember how mean it was.
It’s like looking at pictures of myself in the 80s and wondering how in the world I thought that hairdo looked good.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That’s EXACTLY it! It’s so shocking to think that we fell in love with the sport (and with teams who were especially guilty of the obstruction tactics) during that era. I guess when you’re meant to be a hockey fan, you’re meant to be a hockey fan, style-of-play be damned!
I totally didn’t remember how mean it was.
Probably because you were used to it! :P Just kidding.