I`ll disagree that the NHL doesn`t want fighting, I think they long ago rid themselves of the BS staged fight crap and the linesmen step in far more now than they once did. What I do appreciate is those refs stepping in when it is clear a fight has gone wrong for someone to try and protect them a bit once they are in a vulnerable situation
Issue now is, most of the CHL players are playing under punitive rules where if you drop the mitts a ton, you are done for some games so the majority of these kids once they get to the NHL are awful fighters, zero structure in their forms, usually just wild haymakers. I`m guessing fighting in the USHL isn`t permitted, NCAA players don`t do it, not sure what European junior leagues are like but I suspect it`s hardly donnybrooks every night there, most of the kids entering the league now have never dropped the mitts once and it shows in the scraps
Guy`s who came in, say even 10 years ago are likely better fundamental scrappers cuz they did it more prior to arriving in the NHL
I think Frederic isn`t a particularly good fighter, if and when he stand in vs someone who is disciplined and doesn`t just toss haymakers, he`s gonna get popped and popped good. I don`t think Wilson is a good fighter, both are big and strong but if they ever went up against our old buddy Neely, they`d be drinking their meals for weeks
For some of us older fans here, we remember the Probert`s, Neely`s and many others who played in an age where most teams had 4-5 guys who not only could chuck them but were more than receptive to doing so at the drop of the hat and could stand in there and take punch to the jaw
Now, speaking of popping someone, Bunting and Zegras are two of my least favorite players, always yapping, never standing in there and actually dropping the mitties