Are NHL Players Getting Too Good At Hockey?

#hockey #nhl #bostonbruins

We take a deep dive into the evolution of NHL hockey and just how much the game has changed.

Please check out these channels that helped us make this video possible.

This video was also largely inspired by JxmyHighrollers video "Are NBA Players Getting Too Good At Basketball"

[blueballs]

Just like with playing guitar, painting and many other things, the average skillset tends to increase with time. In 30 years we'll be looking at todays NHL wondering why we praised some players. Humans just get better at things the longer we do it.

[turboblitz]

As a goaltender of 11 years, nothing gets you worse than shots right above the hips. You want to extend your arm out as your taught, but it just opens up holes

[steveclements]

Re: the slapshot. Equipment has changed so much in the past 20 years. Have a look at 7:18 in this vid. The amount of flex in the stick is wild. Players used wood sticks up until the 1990's, which made the slapshot a necessity as it gave the puck more velocity than a wrister. But now with these flexy sticks, you can get a lot of inertia on the stick from a "snap shot". So it's not just about the skill level; it's the development in the equipment as well when you compare eras such as the Gretzky era to now... Just an observation that may get overlooked. Great video!

[oldgrimey]

Hybrid Sticks, Shrunk the goalies equipment, added the trapezoid, removed the 2 line offside pass, handcuffed the defenseman with rules....gee I wonder why scoring is up?

[MM-cbjx]

Every video is awesome. Not the brain rot content or ranking videos from all these other channels. This man knows his hockey. After playing hockey for 20 years im happy to learn the from this young man

[edenisburning]

Scoring is up because the NHL took active measures to increase scoring. Everyone wants to think it's because players are more skilled or better trained. Sure, that's a part of it, but it's not the main reason. The main reason is that the NHL took active measures to increase scoring. They cracked down on the clutch and grab part of the game. They did this in numerous ways. Calling interference more, slashing more, holding more, etc. Another thing the NHL did was to eliminate the two line pass and the crease rule. Goalies had got into the habit of wearing giant pads and gear. The NHL cracked down on that and streamlined goalie pads. They took OT and made it 3 on 3. All of that together has increased scoring. Make no mistake. Goals are up because Bettman wanted goals to go up.

[p.hhenry]

Safe to say that Hockey Psychology, Baseball doesnt exist, and jxmyhighroller are trifecta of sport analysis

[TheLaughingGift]

Can you do a video on the PWHL? Because it pretty well has the opposite issue, it's a goalie league, every goalie last season finished with the a save percentage at or above .900. Combined with the fact that the skill level of the players in the PWHL is absurd (Olympic and IIHF champions galore), it would be interesting to see why goaltending is/was the dominant factor in the inaugeral season.

[theParallax]

I freaking love these analysis videos. They not only give me more insight onto the history of the sport, but give me more insight on some of the tactics that are used.

As a new fan of hockey that started watching last season, these videos are really good.

[lilbiggs]

At the heart of hockey will always lay the great debate: Speed and Skill vs. Size and Physicality. Physicality IS how you cancel out speed effectively. But the speed keeps going up.

I think there is still some merit to big back ends, especially deep in the playoffs.

[viperswhip]

Every fourth-line player can pick the top corner if given enough time and a bit of luck. The 4th line players now would have been top 6 in the 80s and 90s, it is crazy.

[tobiasstewart]

Great video, I know nothing about hockey and your annotations made it way easier to understand what you were saying and you presented it in a really engaging way.

[TreeFiddy]

I took a 10(ish) year break from paying attention to the NHL, and just picked it up again last season during the playoffs. My face was pretty much the 😳 emoji while watching the first few games after I got back in- I get that all sports evolve over time, and there are rule changes to factor in as well, but holy crap the skill level of the players nowadays is really something else!

[lukenatzke]

@hockeypsychology got me hip to Pinholes Graham. Glad to see them collaborating - two of the best channels on Youtube!

[Shaman]

Again, this is a fantastic channel. Not just for Hockey but for sports in general! Keep up the great work!

[ngoshawk]

The ice is just too small now. In the 70s the ice was great but now the players are so much bigger and faster that it’s just ridiculous.

[cliffordangus]

Love to hear you're collabing with Pinholes Graham. We need more hockey content. You guys go where The Hockey Guy can't.

[detonator]

Look at the old 80's and 90's games. The games were much slower in pace because the players were much slower. There was much more time for beautiful passing combinations and the players who were actually fast (Bure, Kariya, Selanne, Datsyik) were shining much more because the skating speed differences between these fast forwards and gigantic D-men like Hatcher, Pronger were so obvious. I'm not sure how much removing the 2-line pass changed it but I find it much more enjoyable to watch games from the 90's because of the slower pace. Also the goalies have improved tremendously and they're much bigger (like 6'3 now).

Sure the players are much better athletes now and there's no going back. But I'm not sure if the overall experience has improved.

[HMurphy]

I am pretty new to watching hockey, and I love your videos to understand the game better! Definitely the easiest sport to turn on and just be laser focused on the game.

[LegendofNelda]

Ya the training and strategy has improved but its mainly the rules and equipment change. If you took the top teams from today and made them play against the late 90s/early 00 Devils with early 00 rules and equipment I think the Devils and their trap would win. For me i prefer old school smash mouth hockey rather than pure skill game. Same with football.