Is NHL strictly a men's league?

[Yemeth]

The single biggest hurdle for women in sports is the segregation in adolescence. Once you stop competing against the highest tier of peers it's hard to keep pace.

Edit - to add to the above. The best example of this is American Men's Soccer. Are American men physically incapable of being competitive at the highest stage? Something to do with anatomy? Or is it that American youth leagues don't have anywhere near the skill and depth of competition of those found in other countries and subsequently that talent isn't developed at a high enough level?

A big hurdle is, for sure, the quality of competition and leagues the players are playing. Also, of course, what is a promising young athlete choosing for her/his sport, because someone like Jackie Joyner-Kersee or Bo Jackson could've been elite in many different sports.

But in this "men vs. woman" debate, the biggest hurdle, by far, is the physical one.

This is not hockey (even though Hextall is mentioned, as the goalie of the US team was phenomenal):



Also, even if you are not an athlete, just talk with your athlete friends (female or male) about the physical differences/performance.

 

[hotpaws]

The real reason you don't see women competing at this level is clearly demonstrated in this thread. A bunch of pisspants man-children would absolutely wet the floor if it was ever shown that any woman was better than them at anything, ever. "DEI hire!" they squeal as their not-Phil-Kessel ass shoves another hot dog down their throat.

It will be a long time before we see women in the NHL on a regular basis, but it will happen as these ass-backwards numbuts die out and are replaced by people that understand how team sports actually work.

i'll be looking forward to seeing your response when/if the PWHL salaries increase and ECHL caliber male players decide to identify as females and take over the league

 

[Frank Drebin]

The "Wayne Gretzky" of female players was a 4th liner in a third division mens league. Pretty sure if you assembled the the best team of female hockey players ever assembled an average Jr A team would destroy them.

I am not sure how we can overcome these hurdles in the name of diversity and equality.

 

[tny760]

I do agree that a physically gifted women is not able to compete based on the biology and resulting physical differences. If you talk chess instead of hockey - a gifted player will only progress so far until they're playing someone better than they are.

of course. like i said, i don't disagree, he's just being willfully ignorant of the causation to make an internet argument

women's athletics are fine in their own regard, look no further than a track meet to see some flat-out incredible shit from women of all shapes and sizes. i don't need to compare it to men.

 

[JPT]

i'll be looking forward to seeing your response when/if the PWHL salaries increase and ECHL caliber male players decide to identify as females and take over the league

This is an insane thing to think will happen

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

"Women haven't played with body checking!"

NEITHER HAD EUROPEANS, REMEMBER? That was always the knock in the 90's. "Soft Euros." Oh, they don't REALLY check in Europe.

It was just as much bullshit as this whole "No smelly wimmenfolk could evar play with men!" take.

You want to talk checking? I counter with Brett Hull's entire career (save the time he was under a Hitckcock regime). You want to talk size? I counter with Theo Fleury. Speed? Oh, honey, have you SEEN Ryan Suter? Can't miss him, because he can't move out of the way.

This trash thread is just exemplifying everything I've already said.

Can't remember a time with more gas-lighting and strawmanning in one post. Congrats.

For the European discussion - there are a multitude of players who dominate in the European game that didn't translate to the NHL. A big part of that is the ability to compete in the more physical NA game on the smaller ice surface. The issue isn't a matter that the Europeans aren't as strong (see Nik Lidstrom or Zdeno Chara), it's the mentality of how much abuse a player is willing to endure and compete. There are plenty of European players who absolutely DOMINATE in NA - but IMO the game is fundamentally different and there is nothing wrong with saying that.

When talking about specific NHL players - each one of them has or had to be able to physically compete against their peers. Are you honestly trying to build a case that women could compete with Brett Hull, Theo Fleury, or Ryan Suter? I'd bet that 40 YO over the hill Ryan Suter would be the best defensemen in the PIWL by a country mile.

The trash in this thread is your take that anyone who believes the science that there are biological differences in men and women is a neanderthal misogynist.

 

[Iggys Dome]

I think we’ll see a female athlete in one of the big four in the next 30 years. Probably not the NFL though.

 

[Tanknation]

A 15 or under high-school boys soccer team destroyed the US women's national team. That should tell you everything you need to know. And thats a sport with not much physical contact to boot. Cya

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

This is an insane thing to think will happen

Have you been following today's world? It's already happening for scholarships.

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

If they can they will. Nothing stopping them in the rules.

 

[JPT]

Have you been following today's world? It's already happening for scholarships.

Lol ok

 

[hotpaws]

Have you been following today's world? It's already happening for scholarships.

unfortunately yes and it will only get worse if the compensation increases

Lol ok

what are you lol'ing about , he's right

 

[Oleksiak]

Not with the way the Oilers play.

 

[Oilslick941611]

No. Check out that woman goalie.

you mean that one woman that played over 30 years ago? in the preseason for one period and then a game the next preseason?

She's played in the ECHL and IHL too and her numbers weren't great.

 

[hotpaws]

Lol ok

instead of making yourself look foolish just do a quick google search

 

[JPT]

instead of making yourself look foolish just do a quick google search

I did. I didn't find anything, which is totally normal for a raging problem that will bleed over into the ECHL as soon as PWHL salaries go up a bit.

But hey, I look foolish because I'm not looking at one non-issue and extrapolating it to a dumb hypothetical from the mind of a paranoid guy.

 

[jbeck5]

Hailey wickenheiser was one of the best women in the world and she played with men...she played in Finland's DIV 3 professional league.

In total, she put up 2 goals and 5 assists in 43 games with the men's pro leagues over 3 years.

So if one of the best woman in hockey at the time...at 5'9, 176lbs, couldn't even be an average player in a Div 3 Finnish league, what makes anyone think a woman could be strong or good enough to make the NHL??

 

[hotpaws]

I did. I didn't find anything, which is totally normal for a raging problem that will bleed over into the ECHL as soon as PWHL salaries go up a bit.

But hey, I look foolish because I'm not looking at one non-issue and extrapolating it to a dumb hypothetical from the mind of a paranoid guy.

so you didn't find any men competing in woman's college sports ?

your google skills must be a hell of a lot worse than mine

 

[JPT]

so you didn't find any men competing in woman's college sports ?

your google skills must be a heel of a lot worse than mine

Oh I'm sure I can find examples of trans women competing in women's sports, but that's not what was said. What was said was "for scholarships" which is much more broad and implies men lying about their gender identity for personal gain. Maybe you all should be a bit more specific with whatever it is your bigotry is telling you to be mad about today.

 

[norrisnick]

so you didn't find any men competing in woman's college sports ?

your google skills must be a heel of a lot worse than mine

The algorithms feed off of the sites you frequent...

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

The f*** do averages have to do with anything, and why the hell are you quoting stats from other sports where there's exactly ONE thing that people do?

We're talking about a league where Alex DeBrincat plays. He isn't even average height for a man, and he's a couple of inches shorter than Taylor Heise. Wanna talk Theo Fleury('s stats, not the stupid shit he says)?

Height and weight have very little to do with how strong a person is when comparing across sexes. Debrincat is stronger pound for pound than any women's player in the history of the sport, and it's not even remotely close. Only a few women can even shoot it over 80 MPH. Debrincat's wrist shot is harder than that.

The real reason you don't see women competing at this level is clearly demonstrated in this thread. A bunch of pisspants man-children would absolutely wet the floor if it was ever shown that any woman was better than them at anything, ever. "DEI hire!" they squeal as their not-Phil-Kessel ass shoves another hot dog down their throat.

Are you serious? People were thrilled when Kendall Coyne competed in the fastest skater (beating the notoriously slow Clayton Keller). She's arguably the fastest woman to ever play the sport - 14.3 seconds is an amazing time but still well behind the fastest men.

If there was legitimately a woman who could compete in the NHL, nearly everyone would be rooting for her.

It will be a long time before we see women in the NHL on a regular basis, but it will happen as these ass-backwards numbuts die out and are replaced by people that understand how team sports actually work.

It will never happen. I've coached women's and now youth girls hockey, it's just no comparison after the age of 13/14. And honestly, there are only a small number of girls who are able keep up with the boys even as past the age of 8-9, they just lack the tenacity and shot strength, even early on.

My oldest daughter is a 2016. Last season, she joined a girls tournament team as a double underager and completely shredded the league (she scored like 29 goals in her last tournament). This year, they are going to let her play up a year with the boys. She's been doing camps with them all summer and it's a completely different game, I think she's scored maybe 3 goals in all of their scrimmages.

 

[Mandar]

A 15 or under high-school boys soccer team destroyed the US women's national team. That should tell you everything you need to know. And thats a sport with not much physical contact to boot. Cya

not doubting you or anything, but can you provide some sort of info on that? Must have made headlines all over the sports world.

 

[Kshahdoo]

At 5'11, 172 lbs, Hilary Knight is bigger and stronger than several NHL players, such as Johnny Gaudreau. There are absolutely women that can physically handle the NHL. They just need to also possess the requisite skill and desire to play in the NHL. One will come along eventually.

There are punch strength testers, and I assure you not a single woman will have a punch as strong as the lightest professional male boxer.

Male and female muscles are absolutely different.

 

[joestevens29]

Most of the high end women played in boys leagues growing up, there is a reason they eventually go off into their own leagues. They simply fall behind and can't keep up.

You can talk about the NHL all you want, but females aren't even making a name for themselves in the Junior male leagues let alone the pro leagues.

 

[norrisnick]

Height and weight have very little to do with how strong a person is when comparing across sexes. Debrincat is stronger pound for pound than any women's player in the history of the sport, and it's not even remotely close. Only a few women can even shoot it over 80 MPH. Debrincat's wrist shot is harder than that.


Are you serious? People were thrilled when Kendall Coyne competed in the fastest skater (beating the notoriously slow Clayton Keller). She's arguably the fastest woman to ever play the sport - 14.3 seconds is an amazing time but still well behind the fastest men.

If there was legitimately a woman who could compete in the NHL, nearly everyone would be rooting for her.

It will never happen. I've coached women's and now youth girls hockey, it's just no comparison after the age of 13/14. And honestly, there are only a small number of girls who are able keep up with the boys even as past the age of 8-9, they just lack the tenacity and shot strength, even early on.

My oldest daughter is a 2016. Last season, she joined a girls tournament team as a double underager and completely shredded the league (she scored like 29 goals in her last tournament). This year, they are going to let her play up a year with the boys. She's been doing camps with them all summer and it's a completely different game, I think she's scored maybe 3 goals in all of their scrimmages.

Olympic shooting used to be co-ed. Until a woman won...