Estimating the size of the NHL's talent pool (1950-2023)

[The Panther]

Man, these threads....

Yeah, I'm starting to find the quality of posts on this forum is in decline recently. And, honestly, I think all of these threads that basically boil down to "past-vs.-today" (like this one) are part of the problem. It just seems to bring out the worst in posters.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Yeah, I'm starting to find the quality of posts on this forum is in decline recently. And, honestly, I think all of these threads that basically boil down to "past-vs.-today" (like this one) are part of the problem. It just seems to bring out the worst in posters.

You're right, but the reason for the endless debate is that this is the history forum and generation after generation of fans seem to pop in here with the todays players are bionic superheroes compared to the past argument.

Remember when Crosby was the best a hockey player could possibly be now because of all the dedicated training, "systems" that no one can seem to say anything specific about, coaching, nutrition and all that... and then McDavid shows up and blows him away. Remember when Lidstrom was the best a defenseman could possibly be for the same reasons?

Now it is the same arguments for McDavid and Makar.. and round and round we go..

 

[WarriorofTime]

You're right, but the reason for the endless debate is that this is the history forum and generation after generation of fans seem to pop in here with the todays players are bionic superheroes compared to the past argument.

Remember when Crosby was the best a hockey player could possibly be now because of all the dedicated training, "systems" that no one can seem to say anything specific about, coaching, nutrition and all that... and then McDavid shows up and blows him away. Remember when Lidstrom was the best a defenseman could possibly be for the same reasons?

Now it is the same arguments for McDavid and Makar.. and round and round we go..

Strawman is strawman

 

[BraveCanadian]

Bumping with this article

Steady decline in youth hockey participation in Canada raises concerns about the future of the sport

In 2022, a veteran of the Bauer Hockey equipment giant said the number of kids playing hockey in Canada was spiraling downward.

apnews.com

In 2022, about two months after Canada celebrated what was then its 18th world junior hockey championship, the CEO of hockey equipment giant Bauer, Ed Kinnaly, declared: “The number of kids getting involved in hockey in Canada is spiraling downward ... but nobody’s talking about that.”



At the time, Hockey Canada reported 411,818 youths younger than 18 participating in the sport, a 22% drop from 523,785 just 13 years earlier, not counting an introductory program that is has been separated from registration numbers since 2021. That number slightly rebounded in 2023 to 436,895 but is still below pre-pandemic levels even while soccer and tennis numbers in Canada have already recovered.