SLBAM: Gamers don’t talk so much about video games

What’s up gang. Another big week, as much for hockey as for being a father. Otherwise, sports aside. Unbelievable that this week, in Ohio (where I live), the law was passed making abortion legal. It’s hard to believe that in 2023… it’s not the same everywhere.

In short, women have claimed victory here and I’m very happy for them. Now, your questions of the week.

I was talking about this last week. For us, we received our CCM order for neck protectors. We’re talking some kind of t-shirt with long sleeves and a turtleneck.

We also have an old model here at the office and I have to tell you, it’s night and day and no player would want to play with it.

The first comment from players was: wow, it’s not what it used to be. So no, it’s no longer binding and that’s fine. Since last Sunday, players are obliged to have it at all times, and I haven’t heard a single player complain.

I’ll go as far as that: don’t be surprised if you see the ECHL take the plunge and require the whole league to have a neck protector. I’d even go so far as to say that the league could add the full jersey with cut-resistant sleeves and not just the wrist guards, which are mandatory.

Eventually, money permitting, the hockey socks (not on our feet, but on the pads) will be cut-resistant too. It’s all about protecting players from cuts as much as possible.

Should this equipment be compulsory? In my humble opinion, yes, much more so than a full face guard, because a neck warmer doesn’t change the way a player plays.

Organizations and leagues are looking more and more at how to protect players and coaches alike.

A lot of people used to laugh at Joël Bouchard with his famous red helmet, and this year he no longer has his helmet. But it’s only a matter of months before professional leagues require their on-ice coaching staff to wear helmets.

NHL from EA Sports. No, but what a bad game year after year?

I can’t believe it’s mainly updated odds and player names and that’s it. That we still pay a fortune for a game that doesn’t change. I get caught every year thinking they’re going to have changed a lot of things and sadly, they haven’t.

Personally, I love playing video games, a lot of them. But NHL, I buy it to connect with my friends at night when our kids and spouses are in bed and we all agree, the game is no good.

But it gives us an excuse to go back to being 10-year-olds together.

For your question, as far as trainers are concerned, there are no trainers who talk about it, because for the most part, they don’t know what PlayStation we’ve reached and don’t play video games at all.

As for the players, they don’t really talk about it among themselves, and even less so in our league, where the “odds” are pretty much all the same, because they’re based on the general stats you can find on the website and not like those of the NHL.

As for Tendeck, no, he’s not a concession player with the Nailers, but also in the ECHL. Before I go into fear, I need to explain why.

In the ECHL, you don’t have concession players or players who sign 5-8 year contracts, for example. The majority of players sign one-year contracts, and the turnover of players per team is enormous.

Just take last year’s line-up versus our current one. Over 50% of players are no longer with us.

If I go back to Tendeck, he’s already on his third team in the ECHL, which is normal. So, to get back to the question, the concession players are going to be the “veteran” type players who have played in the league for a very long time.

Size, stature and physical strength are three separate things in the world of hockey. Take Gallagher or RHP, they’re not the biggest, but in terms of physical strength, they’re very strong.

As for Desruisseaux, it all depends on what you mean by climbing the ladder. I could simply say that he has what it takes offensively with the puck to perform at the AHL level.

The problem right now is the number of players in the organization. There are several forwards ahead of him with AHL contracts. So it’s hard, even if you’re good at the ECHL level, to get called up.

So if you’re asking me if he’ll be recalled in the next few days, no.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a call up eventually. Business at the professional level is managed a little differently than at the junior level, for example.

However, as for Desruisseaux, we shouldn’t be surprised to see him make the jump to Europe eventually and enjoy a long, well-paid European career.

Extension

I have no choice but to talk about this article. I know many don’t necessarily follow women’s hockey, but I do.

Many people were surprised when the team names, or at least what we think are the team names, were registered and now articles are starting to come out left and right that maybe the names should be revised in some cases.

I agree. I understand the desire to do something different for women’s hockey, but sometimes it doesn’t have to be that way either. It’s the same thing as people starting to talk loud and clear about being disappointed about not having updated schedules and stuff.

The league can insure tickets to games for a $50 deposit, but there’s no released schedule. For some teams, the arena has not been confirmed. I only hope that this new league doesn’t adopt the same habits as previous leagues.

This may surprise you, and it’s nothing against the person, especially since I don’t know Bruce.

But everyone will remember the end of Bruce’s story in Vancouver. In the world of hockey, this happens regularly, and for Bruce, he was on the other side of the coin.

But where I want to focus my attention is on what I’m hearing from my friends in the OHL. As soon as Ben Boudreau’s appointment as associate coach was announced, it was only a matter of time before he took the helm as head coach.

And yet, they had hired a coach with, I believe, a three-year contract.

There’s also the fact that many of the people in place wouldn’t have been questioned about the appointment of the associate coach. Just to show that sometimes, in the world of hockey, it can be very cruel and that it’s not always rosy.

This ends my article, once again, thank you all. Have a good Sunday and we’ll talk again @Mitch_Giguere.