JJ Watt believes he could be serviceable player with 1 year training

[93LEAFS]

American Football and Baseball are pretty much nothing sports in those countries aswell though. Most people here in Sweden or back in the UK don't know who Tom Brady is. I don't know what team he plays for I just read he's in the NFL. I don't know a single baseball player.

Like yea it's exciting when they do exhibition games in the UK and what not because it's something new, but it's not as big of a deal as North American media sells it as.

If we are talking global interest though, Baseball is huge in countries like Japan and South Korea, which are developed countries with large populations. The only sport that is truly global is Soccer (although its following in India and surrounding areas is quite limited). The next closest is Basketball due to its popularity throughout Europe and in China.

 

[AsparaGus]

Who?

someone more people know than every nhl player combined

I know... wtf was he getting at? It's not funny when the guy he's trying to downplay is one of the biggest sports stars in North America. It's like asking who Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, John Cena, Tom Brady, Floyd Mayweather, Peyton Manning or Tiger Woods are. Who? Yeah, that's not funny or clever. You don't have to be a fan of that sport to know who those people are. You just have to go outside of your house once in a while and look at things and be generally aware.

 

[General Fanager]

Can he skate or is he bambi on ice?

If he is a decent skater already thats at least part of the battle......

 

[AsparaGus]

Can he skate or is he bambi on ice?

If he is a decent skater already thats at least part of the battle......

Dude played Triple A hockey.

Is he NHL calibre? No. f*** no.

But he knows how to play hockey, he has played hockey, and he's had experience playing hockey at a competitive level.

Without knowing who you are, I can comfortably say with a 95% confidence interval that JJ Watt is factually 100x better at the game of hockey and the skill of skating than you or I will ever be. Yes.

Still doubtful he can play in the NHL.Even if he is ALL that... But the man's 6'5, 280 lbs professional athlete that has played hockey at a pretty decent level in the past. He runs a 4.84 second 40-yard dash at that height and weight. I play semi-pro soccer and the fastest guys on my team can barely touch 5 seconds at 6 feet and 165 lbs.

This isn't some random scrub in the NFL that has never skated or played hockey in his life. This is a talented multi-sport athlete that has a history of playing hockey.

 

[93LEAFS]

Dude played Triple A hockey.

Is he NHL calibre? No. f*** no.

But can he play hockey, he has played hockey, and he's had experience at a competitive level.

Without knowing who you are, I can comfortably say with a 95% confidence interval that JJ Watt is factually 100x better at the game of hockey and the skill of skating than you or I will ever be. Yes.

Still doubtful he can play in the NHL.Even if he is ALL that... But the man's 6'5, 280 lbs professional athlete that has played hockey at a pretty decent level in the past.

This isn't some random scrub in the NFL that has never skated or played hockey in his life. This is a talented multi-sport athlete that has a history of playing hockey.

I'm convinced a decade ago he could have made the league in a Boogard or Colton Orr role. And don't tell me those guys are more skilled than they looked. They couldn't produce in the WHL.

 

[Puckclektr]

I know... wtf was he getting at? It's not funny when the guy he's trying to downplay is one of the biggest sports stars in North America. It's like asking who Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, John Cena, Tom Brady, Floyd Mayweather, Peyton Manning or Tiger Woods are. Who? Yeah, that's not funny or clever. You don't have to be a fan of that sport to know who those people are. You just have to go outside of your house once in a while and look at things and be generally aware.

I live in Canada and don’t follow football. I can name all the teams and maybe name 5 people off of the top of my head. Probably recognize 15 names if I heard them. Never heard of this guy.

 

[Ezekial]

More people in America also smoke meth than Canada has people.

That is a patently false statement.

 

[Rich Nixon]

insanely high bar you're setting there. 99% of the world will never be as good

More like 99.9999999%

 

[Favster]

1 year training is just not enough to teach someone to become an NHL skater, regardless how athletic they are. It's funny how NHL hockey doesn't seem as fast as it actually is on TV, it's absolutely insane pace that people can't understand until they live it.

Who was that NBA player who said he would be an NHL player with a bit of practice lol

 

[Mick Riddleton]

I think NHL players can cross over easier to other sports. Take Chara, he is trained as a Greco-Roman wrestler by his father, Zdeněk, who is a former elite-level Greco-Roman wrestler who once represented Czechoslovakia in the Olympics. Not many athletes in the world train as hard as he did. The All-Star defenseman rides the Tour de France course each summer. Cycling has been a part of my training for as long as I can remember and eventually I talked a couple friends into riding some stages of the Tour de France. We pick either the Alps or the Pyrenees. We'll do five, six or seven stages. After we ride each one, we wait for the racers to come.

Red Storey, Toronto Argonauts.
He was on the team for six seasons from 1936 to 1941, winning the Grey Cup in 1937 and 1938. During the 1938 Grey Cup game, Storey scored three touchdowns in twelve minutes versus Winnipeg, all in the fourth quarter, to give the Argos the victory. He was forced to retire after suffering a knee injury.
At the same time he was playing football, Storey was also playing competitive lacrosse. In the Ontario Lacrosse Association, he played for Orillia and was an all-star with the Hamilton Tigers in 1941.
Storey was also a prominent senior men's baseball player and received an offer from the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League.
As a defenceman, he played hockey in New Jersey for the River Vale Skeeters in 1941. Storey then moved to Montreal and joined the Montreal Royals late in the 1941–42 season.
He played lacrosse for Lachine in 1942 and 1943. He later joined the Montreal Canadiens lacrosse team, and was playing there in 1946.
By the mid-1940s, Storey—in addition to his regular job—was officiating football, lacrosse, and hockey games. He officiated for 12 years in the precursor to the Canadian Football League.

Anders Lee - New York Islanders

In 2009, he was an All-State quarterback at Edina High School in Minnesota, and the year prior was an All-State pitcher for the school's baseball team. However, that's not all. Lee is also a former long-track speed skating national champion - not a bad skill for a hockey player - and even held a record in the sport.
Despite the pressure and multiple offers to play Division I football, Lee decided to attend the University of Notre Dame to play hockey and, well, the rest is history.

Jarome Iginla - Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche forward and veteran of 18 seasons, Jarome Iginla, is one of the greatest goal-scorers the game has ever known. However, there was a time Iginla also excelled at baseball, a sport he loved growing up. He had brief stints as pitcher and shortstop, but eventually settled into the backstop role and became the starting catcher on Canada's National Junior team in his early teens. He was eventually introduced to hockey by his grandfather.

Teemu Selanne – World Rally Championship

The 'Finnish Flash' has always had a love for fast cars, so it was natural that he took up the sport during his downtime in the NHL. While a member of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Selanne – sorry, Salama – raced under the pseudonym 'Teukka Salama' (which translates to 'Teddy Flash' in English) at the 1997 and 1998 editions of the World Rally Championship event in Finland, with a career-best finish of 24th in 1998. The crazy thing about it is that rally racing is among the most physically demanding and challenging forms of motorsport – it's not something you just jump into and can be good at right away, whether you're the driver or in-car spotter. He's just THAT good at everything he does.

Lionel Conacher – Just about everything

Few athletes can say they had as rounded of a career as Conacher, a champion in nearly every sport he took part in. As a teenager, Conacher won multiple boxing and wrestling championships, even fighting against legendary heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey. Later, he went on to help the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team win the 1926 International League title, and even won a lacrosse championship in a league run by NHL owners, the International Professional Lacrosse League. But Conacher will be forever remembered as being the first player to win the Stanley Cup and the Grey Cup during his career (Carl Voss would go on to do so as well). In 1921, Conacher was a member of the Toronto Argonauts' championship team before winning the Stanley Cup twice with Chicago and the Montreal Maroons. By the end of his career, Conacher was named Canada's greatest male athlete of the half-century in 1950 and was inducted into multiple halls of fame, including the Hockey Hall of Fame. To top it off, Conacher dabbled in a career in politics before passing away during a softball game between MPs and parliamentary media members.

 

[qwerty]

His first game would probably draw record ratings for the NHL. The NHL can’t market their own stars, so why not steal years of marketing hype built by another league.

Watt’s gargantuan frame alone would make him a handful in front of the net. It would take him more than one year to become an effective NHLer I think, but the elite of the elite athlete in him would probably guarantee at the very least a serviceable pro career. Even if it’s only a 4th line energy guy who can hit, screen goalies and sell jerseys. At best, we’re probably looking at another Eric Lindros force on ice. Maybe not as good, but at least he’d strike fear in people.

 

[I am not exposed]

Add me to the list of people who has never heard of this guy before this thread.

 

[Woodrow]

I think people really underestimate just how good NHLers are and how difficult it is to make it to that level. Most top guys on any AAA bantam team wash out long before playing even ECHL level hockey. Just look at any roster of a Team Canada junior hockey team and you will see lots of guys who never sniffed the NHL.

 

[Lame Lambert]

Sure. Park his dumptruck ass in front of the net and watch the d-men struggle to get him out of the way.

This is just Anders Lee

 

[Tobias Kahun]

He would injure himself tying up his skates and be out for the year anyways.

 

[Boris Le Tigre]

No one would go in the corners with that guy.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

sign him to a 1 year AHL deal to prove himself. maybe at some point in the season he can get a nhl contract and tested

 

[Michael HOMERUNing]

Maybe 10 years ago..not today

 

[FOurteenS inCisOr]

I've read this as well...and it makes sense as the Watt brothers came from a working class family, and judging on the sheer size of the 3 boys, I imagine they ate the equivalent of a baby elephant's worth of food in that house every day, lmao.

It's a different discussion for a different time, but this sport is in desperate need for some strategies to make it more accessible for anyone who wants to play, in both the US and in Canada.

Great post. The only way to grow the sport globally.

 

[Brownies]

Add me to the list of people who has never heard of this guy before this thread.

I believe people overrate how well NFL stars (except QB) are known to casual sport fans outside the US.

 

[Brownies]

No one would go in the corners with that guy.

Not sure, balance means a lot in hockey and the other players have been on skates WAYYYY more.

 

[Number8]

Hope so because d3 doesnt give out scholarships

Exactly!!!!

 

[Roboturner913]

He's mostly been an interior pass-rusher generally as a 3-4 end, which unless you are Aaron Donald doesn't tend to rack up crazy sack numbers. Just look at his peak years, they were ridiculous and the best numbers from an interior pass rusher since Warren Sapp.

Why would I look at his peak years though, going back in time was not part of this hypothetical. 32-year-old JJ Watt is a walking injury

 

[Roboturner913]

LOL, not sure if this is a joke/troll post, but go look at his career stats. Mentioning last year when he's not really in his prime any longer is false posting.

Why would I look at his career stats? They have no bearing on his current physical state.

 

[rfournier103]

Maybe HBO could create a documentary about something like this…

Find an NFL player willing to spend a year intensively training for the NHL, and an NHL player willing to do the same for the NFL - and see how they do. Follow both all year long, and at the end of that year, have each one suit up and play full-time in a game. That could be the season finale.

I’m sure they could find at least one team in each league that would want the exposure.

Why not? I’d watch it.