Replacement*
Checked out
Bang on.
This is what guys that have actually played the game have been saying. Especially those who have played a role where they had to fight or stick up for their star players. That role was appreciated by teammates. No matter how much some posters want to diminish that, they clearly don't understand locker room dynamics.
This again. After you already conceded that playing the game doesn't give one knowledge parallel to what an NHL player, or even a Major Junior player faces.
Next, I never grew up thinking somebody else should fight my battles. That's kind of an odd conceptual leap in my way of thinking for people that pick hockey to play. Theres all kinds of sports out there. Hockey, as played in Canada, probably shouldn't be the first choice in sports for people who are gun shy.