Now here is a a throwback for all you nostalgic hockey fans...i remember the Christmas of 1989, Young Man Robb was still living in the Passage when Christmas morning not only did i receive the first of many Don Cherry Rock em Sock em Hockey's...but also another VHS (Remember VHS kids?) by the name of Hockey's Hardest Hitters from my Mom and Dad... i do believe i wore those two tapes out that winter with constant playing for me and for friends and the constant rewinding of my favorite parts like Steve Konroyd's hit on Geoff Courtnall with the announcer's huge "BIG HIT BY KONROYD!!!"
Sorry i could not find a high quality scan of the original Hardest Hitters...Vol 2 will have to do!
Now looking back at these tapes which i still have down in the dungeon/ mancave, it is like looking at a time capsule when compared to today's NHL, as these tapes were produced in 1989/ 1990 it was just before the Gil Stein debacle leading to Gary Buttman and today's NHL...you know Stein brought in that damn instigator rule..what does this mean?!?!?! Well it means open season on the players of the NHL without any fear of retribution.. it is a rule that has to go in Old Man Robb's and many other people's opinions....Can you remember the last time that someone went to get a hot dog during a fight?.....why did Wayne Gretzky have no injuries throughout his early glory days with the Oilers? Because he had Dave Semenko sitting on the bench that's why..Stevie Yzerman? Why no injuries? Because he had both Bob Probert sitting on the bench that's why... i wonder if Sidney Crosby had an enforcer on the bench along with the instigator rule waved if he would have the hockey injuries that he does today along with alot of other players...just saying... If you object to this, you can always go watch friggin figure skating or something...
The do-gooder's like to babble and disagree...let the NHL be the NHL i say....downsize..get rid of some of those oh so money losing teams.. look at Atlanta? They were a LOSER franchise..twice! First as the Flames and then as the Thrashers... they go to Winnipeg where Buttman really really didn't want a team and BOOM they sell out the arena with a LONG line of people who want season tickets and can't get them...the same would happen if a team was to move to Hamilton or back to Quebec City or hell even another team in the greater Toronto area.. Buttman wants to Americanize the game so bad and you know what Gary? Hockey is never going to sell in those States..not in those Southern States and the quicker you realize that the better off hockey is going to be...Sooner of later Buttman is going to run out of fools, of people who want to take on a money looser like the Coyotes who have never made a profit and hell even counting their years as the original Jets in Winnipeg have only ever won ONE playoff series and i believe that was in the 1980s...
Wow can Old Man Robb rant or what?
One last thing i must address...
There is a new documentary about NHL enforcers by the name of "The Last Gladiators" and the movie focuses on former NHL players like Chris Nilan whom i met at an NHL oldtimers game in Wolfville back in 2006. It deals with Nilan's demons that he faced on the ice as well as off the ice...a world where old players such as himself have no idea about how to go about fitting into...i have not seen nor heard of a wide release date for this documentary yet, but i would like to see a local theater..say the Acadia Cinema pick this one up for a showing.. i have no idea if that is too much ...but however it would be nice to see for a change. Something tells me that Old Man Robb is going to end up waiting for the DVD...
Have a good one folks!