Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyB
My understanding of Lemieux was that he didn't work that hard. I'm sure I've read that he used to smoke and not practice very seriously.
Really, it seems pretty silly to suggest that hard work made the greats great rather than being phenomenal talents. I think it's only the modern NHL where phenomenal talent alone is not enough to be great and extremely hard work in training has become necessary.
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Two things:
1) the bolded is not true. I don't believe there is a term for it (like racism or sexism for example) but there is always a prevailing bias/prejudice that the modern era is better and things were much easier in the old days. While it's certainly true that there is more information, more training, better equipment, better diets, etc, etc, at the end of the day, each player plays/lives within the limits of their own environment. Yes, things change, but it changes for everyone equally. It is neither easier nor harder today, simply different.
2) With respect to Lemieux, it is true that his work ethic wasn't great early in his career - and that was a knock against him. As the other poster said, it is widely believed/agreed that playing with Gretzky in '87 changed Lemieux and he finally developed that work ethic. And it was after '87 that he became the legend that people today remember (in the early part of his career, he was considered talented but lazy). So Lemieux isn't an exception to the work ethic rule, he is actually one of it's greatest examples.