Islanders' first round draft pick Josh Ho-Sang has said he won't conform to the NHL. Some people will hate that and say he's going to cause trouble but I am really pleased to see that. Now can we have more players like that? If you don't know what I'm talking about the NHL has set a certain standard for how players are to act and talk to the media. Gone are the days where Teemu Selanne can throw his glove in the air and shoot it down with his stick as the "gun" or where Tiger Williams can "ride" his hockey stick around the ice like a stick horse. Now according to experts like Don Cherry players should celebrate like they've done it before. Remember the fiasco when Oilers forward Nail Yakupov slid down the ice on his knees? The NHL likes it's players to be in one way. That way is a quiet uneventful cookie cutter way all the stars seem to follow so as not to stir the pot and keep everyone happy.
Don't believe me? Think about this. What do we actually know about Sidney Crosby? We know he has phenomenal hockey talent and where he was born. We know his birth year and his previous minor league hockey teams. Beyond that and maybe a couple other details what do we know? Not much. You see NHL players are so cookie-cutter that other than their NHL talent we don't know much about what they're like. When they talk to the media their response is so full of cliches and their voice so level you don't get anything from their words. On the ice they just do their business, come off and give the same cliched responses to the media. We never really get to know an NHL player. Sure there might be some odd locker room antics which might tell us a certain player is a prankster or a funny guy but this is the exception rather than the rule. This is why players like PK Subban and Josh Ho-Sang are a breath of fresh air.
Sure we might say someone like Subban is a mouth piece or annoying, but saying things like that is what keeps the other players quiet. If you think about it, Subban isn't even that bad. It's just he has so much more of a personality than other NHL players it stands out that much more. Give this a thought. If Subban was in the NBA or NFL would he stand out? Absolutely not. He would be average in those leagues, which shows just how far off from those leagues the NHL is from having personalities. His antics, celebrations, and off the ice attitude aren't enough to get in trouble, but they are enough to push the envelope of NHL personalities and maybe can allow NHL players start to show a little more personality. This is what the NHL needs, personalities, but not trouble.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the NHL needs players in jail the same way it's a problem in the NFL and NBA. Those leagues are too far the other way in terms of having them. However, why does every NHL player have to act and talk to the media the exact same way? Why can't they have some variation in their answers? Why should this create negative attention? These are human beings, not robots, it would be nice if we could get to know some of them more and learn about them. Maybe a smile, a joke, or a non-cliched, honest response to an asked question. Something just to show what they're like. Is that too much to ask?
Apparently it is, because as long as the experts like Don Cherry tell players to put a cork in it and limit celebrations and as long as the NHL threatens to fine for edgy comments, players are going to stay cookie cutter so as not to cause trouble. To show personality could bring trouble and negative attention to both the player and the team. Why this is such a big deal? Why people like their players cookie cutter? I don't know. However, it's at the point where for the most part an NHL player is allowed to show as much personality necessary just to show he's not a robot and any more than that is unacceptable.
-Darren
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