Young guys taking over.

So, while I was working today, I was e-mailing one of my friends and I asked him to help me come up with something to write about. His assignment to me seemed simple enough.

Why do you think the young guys are taking over hockey while the veterans are starting to call it quits?

And, no offense to my friend who asked me this...but he has very limited knowledge of hockey, and what it is all about...but I will get to that later. I wanted to keep this just to me...but, I had to enlist the help of some of my lovely HLOG. The lovely CapsChick came up with the easiest answer. She said that well the game has gotten faster. This isn't the same game that it was before. It's not the game they grew up playing. This is a game about speed and skill. It's not a game about who can hit the hardest or who can fight the best (even though our defending Stanley Cup Champs could prove me wrong). Sherry said basically the same thing. She said that they are getting older and it's harder for them to keep up.

Steph seemed to think along the same lines as me.

I don't know....it's kind of sad though, I mean, I love seeing the kids able to step up, but seeing all the guys you grew up watching retiring is sad... And it's funny the way they're adding more pads and cutting down on fighting, you'd think it would make people end up playing longer, but people do seem to be retiring at earlier ages.

Thinking of guys like Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne retiring makes me frustrated. Scott seems to think that the NHL has nothing left to offer him. And, Teemu probably wants to go out on top. But, I think the game needs them. Anyway, that's really off topic...another day perhaps.

I don't know that the game is actually being "taken over" by the young guys...although I suppose you could look at it that way. Veterans play a part in the game just like the young guys do. You need the veteran guys on your team. Look at the Ducks. Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Teemu Selanne, and Brad May, older guys who played an important role in winning the Stanley Cup. Would the Ducks have won the Cup without them? No, they would not. You need veterans to lead, on and off the ice. And, the veterans will always a spot in the game.

So there ya go buddy. I made my midnight deadline...enjoy and I expect a critique...be gentle ;)