Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Detroit was regarded as the model NHL franchise in the Holland/Bowman/Babcock era. We can say hard-ass, abusive coaching is wrong. But you're delusional if you think it's ineffective.
|
No. I think such tactics
were once effective, but in line with a shift in the culture more generally this is becoming less and less so the case with younger players.
Some of the posters here and responses on social media regarding this as a product of "SJW," "snowflake," "woke," or "cancel" culture are not altogether wrong. Kids who are growing into adulthood now are different from kids who grew into adulthood a decade ago, who were different from when my generation grew into adulthood. But you won't find me among those pining for the "good ol' days" and decrying the "pussification" of the post-modern Western world. Quite to the contrary, I see the shift as empowering and confident. The more our kids learn to identify and stand up to bullying, the better we will all be for it.
Quote:
|
Pro sports at this level fosters a win-at-all-costs mentality. NHL GMs and coaches who are at risk of losing their jobs if their team doesn't succeed are going to use whatever means they can to get those wins. And when they see franchises like Detroit make a habit of winning, they're going to copy that culture.
|
I don't think it has been so much a product of modelling as it has simply been an engrained element in hockey culture—in sporting culture more generally. Coaches bullied because they have always bullied. Players for decades tolerated it because its the only thing they knew.