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Whalers highlights

Also... is it just me or did players in the 90's and before seem to utilise the backhand much much more than in today's NHL? The lost art of the backhand...?
 
JamesNorthern said:
Also... is it just me or did players in the 90's and before seem to utilise the backhand much much more than in today's NHL? The lost art of the backhand...?
Click to expand...

Someone blamed the disappearance of the backhand on the extreme curves on the sticks now. I guess it's really difficult to control the puck with the back of a boomerang.
 
That's probably true Andy. Back in the 60's and 70's we used the backhand quite a bit for both shooting and passing. I think a lot of people played the offside. For example, I held a stick left handed and played the right side and my partner was right handed and played the left side.
 
andyt said:
Someone blamed the disappearance of the backhand on the extreme curves on the sticks now. I guess it's really difficult to control the puck with the back of a boomerang.
Click to expand...

Entirely true, plus the super stiff blades they use now have a lot less give than those old fiber reinforced wooden ones. Of course, that also makes for much more snappy and accurate wristers ... so give and take on that front.

To me the biggest single difference from the old days is that the quality of goaltenders is just stupid high by comparison. Bigger, more technically sound, more athletic, bigger and better equipment, better coaching ... in every way better.
 
skaters are much bigger, faster and stronger. The equipment is lighter and stronger. Skates are much stiffer, blades and blade holders are different - blades don't get bent like they used to. Skate boots are much stiffer, plastic instead of kangaroo leather. Goalie pads are about a 1/3 the weight of the old leather ones. The goalies have much more and much lighter padding everywhere else.
Today's sticks are lighter and stronger than old ones and about everyone can propel a puck at 90+ and get the shot off faster. That means not only do the goalies have to be better padded but they must be much much quicker.
It used to be goalies were more standup so we shot low. Today's goalies go down to a butterfly very quickly. Shoot high.
But the goalies are also taller and wider so they cover much more net than prior. So, a team must get a goalie moving and try to catch them in motion.
People changes. In prior years we always went strong hand on top of the stick. Our shooting was also mostly with the top hand. Lower hand was passive. Today it's pretty much evenly split and shooters now use the bottom hand for shooting.
Strong hand low does give a faster quicker shot. But, in years past we did a lot more one handed stick control and used the lower hand for protection and blocking. All of us could get off a one handed back hand while holding someone off with the free hand.
So, many changes in the last 40-50 years.
 
So, on the ice for that first goal you have:
Kevin Dineen (asst. coach, Blackhawks)
Dave Tippett (head coach, Coyotes)
Dean Evason (head coach, Milwaukee Admirals)
Ulf Samuelsson (asst. coach, Rangers)
Brad Shaw (asst. coach, Blues)

Not too shabby.
 
ChickenParm said:
So, on the ice for that first goal you have:
Kevin Dineen (asst. coach, Blackhawks)
Dave Tippett (head coach, Coyotes)
Dean Evason (head coach, Milwaukee Admirals)
Ulf Samuelsson (asst. coach, Rangers)
Brad Shaw (asst. coach, Blues)

Not too shabby.
Click to expand...

Yes. Our org has unofficially been the NHL's coach development farm team over the years.
 
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