start doing your homework haha

LOL

@vancouvermetro: Attempt to ship $12K worth of bogus Winnipeg Jets jerseys crashes and burns at the border Metro - $12,000 worth of bogus Winnipeg Jets jerseys seized at border
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I found this quite interesting
let Puck Daddy explain

Ryan Kesler vs Nick Mangold of the NY Jets on the topic of "Kes-lurking"
Team Mangold vs. Team Kesler: Who is master of the Photobomb? - Puck Daddy - NHL Blog - Yahoo! Sports

ends with a war of words on twitter between kesler, Mangold and Mark Sanchez

LOL

Wade Belak found dead

Ex-Leafs enforcer Belak found dead | Hockey | Sports | Toronto Sun

Boogard
Rypien and now Belak

wtfux is happening

WTF?! :fulloffuck:

This is not a good look for the NHL

RIP

its never good when anyone dies
but man..all 3 players have a past of fighting

WTF!! Just saw on TSN.

R.I.P

RIP Belak

Wow wtf....

RIP

RIP

These men were 4th liners, tough guys that had to, literally, fight for a spot to play in the NHL. It's terrifying to think what kind of demons they battled and subsequently lost to.

Also suicide by hanging? Did he have issues with depression too?

....RIP :(

RIP Wade Belak

retired in april. must be tough being a pro athlete and have nothing to do when training camp starts

he was gonna work with preds radio crew, also was going to be on battle of the blades, which was in pre-filiming which was also why he was in Toronto

they always talk about how much these "tough guys" must go through to make it in the NHL and the demons, but fuck really how hard could it possibly be? is it really that mentally taxing to be an "enforcer" ? or is it just the physical pain and subsequent painkiller meds that put these guys in this spot

looking from the outside life cant be all that bad for a guy making a nice 6 figure salary for a good chunk of time with a reasonably bright future ahead of them.

RIP Belak. He was one of my favourites when he played for the Leafs and he had such a great off-ice personality and sense of humor.

RIP Belak. This was more shocking than Rypien, Ryp always was the quite one who kept to himself most times and did have personal issues having to take leaves of absences from the team. Belak always seemed like a really well adjusted, outgoing, humorous and happy individual. He had a young family as well :(



Over the years, I've been lucky enough to meet and become friends with several former and current NHLers, having chatted about stuff like this with some of them. Without naming names, I'm hoping I could provide some insight and understanding.

First thing to keep in mind is that for the majority of pro hockey enforcers, none of them wanted to have to be a fighter for a living. Most of them do it out of necessity to make it to or to keep a job in the NHL. These guys aren't boxers or MMA athletes that chose to fight for a living and have that mind sight of wanting/loving to fight.

Most hockey enforcers get extremely nervous about having to fight, some even for days before playing another team where they know they will be expected to drop the gloves against that teams enforcers. Knowing you have to fight to keep your job in the NHL but not wanting to fight takes a toll on these guys mentally. A lot of these guys turn to drugs and or alcohol to deal with this, which in some cases can lead to substance abuse. Substance abuse and not wanting to fight but having to, can certainly alter ones personalty negatively and/or result in personal demons. Some might be thinking, that no one is forcing these guys to be a hockey player for a living, but for most, it is the only way they know how to support themselves and their loved ones. For some, their whole identity and all they know is to be a hockey player.

Before this next point, let me first say that I have no issue with fighting in hockey and am not one of those advocating for it to be taken out of hockey, I've been in a number of fights in my personal/professional life and constantly train in boxing and various MMA disciplines, but unlike boxing or MMA, fighting in hockey is bare knuckle, no gloves, bare knuckle shots hurt. Most people would be surprised the amount of pro athletes who abuse the use of oxy to help deal with the pain of just playing hockey for a living, now imagine the amount of oxy an enforcer feels he needs. Repeated bare knuckle blows to your head can result in concussions, which in a lot of cases of former NHLers and NFLers have lead to an onset of depression. Some individuals just can't deal with depression or drug abuse well and maybe in the cases of Rypien and Belak, saw no other way out but suicide.

^ this.

Most enforcers made it that far because they could actually play. When coaches (junior or whatever) pressure guys with natural ability to fight because they seem to have the chin for it - and it brings another 'element' to their game - many make the adjustment and literally fight for the opportunity to make the NHL and earn pro money.

Some are cut out for it, others aren't.

RIP Wade Belak

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poor guy...

this might be the beginning of the end of fighting in the NHL...

Doubt it.

Don't forget the damage they do to their hands and knuckles when the first few punches are directly onto the helmet of the opposing fighter.

Out of anger, I punched a wooden wall at work. It took quite a few weeks before I was able to close my hand to make a fist without it hurting. And even though it has been almost a year, my knuckle is not the same. If you compare my two hands, you can spot the difference.

I remember there was a clip where Don Cherry was talking about meeting some enforcer guy and his 2 knuckles were smashed. Now imaging that same guy having to go out next game and knows he has to fight that team's enforcer with said smashed knuckles.

Call me cold hearted or whatever but for 800k a year a few broken bones seems a small price to pay, people live much tougher lives then these enforcers who might earn an 8th of what they do..

All these deaths kind of seem similar to all the WWE deaths that happened a while back
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A few broken bones isn't the only price to pay.. If you read 7seven's post... it goes much deeper, and further than any physical "pain".

Talk about the concussions, eventual psychological repercussions from repeated bare-knuckled blows. Clearly 800k/year wasn't enough to keep these guys from their eventual downfall.

Yeah it may seem as if most hockey players live a glorious career, and yes they do get paid more and are subject to a much more lavish lifestyle than most. However, one cannot attest to knowing what kind of mental trauma any/all these 'enforcers' encounter.