NHL players who have grew up with adversity?

Rapsfan

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Jun 7, 2021
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Which NHL players grew up with adversity? In the NBA, you see a lot of American players who grew up with all sorts of issues. Dwayne Wade grew up with a criminal drug addict mom. Jimmy Butler was homeless at the age of 13. Kevin Durant was raised by a single mom. Dame Lillard was almost shot in the head at one point. Demar Derozan lived in a town full of gangs. Kyle Lowry grew up in a neighborhood where he could've been shot. Paul Pierce was stabbed several times before playing a game. Kawhi lost his dad before he played a game. Caron Butler was involved in drug selling. John Wall landed in jail once. Etc. There's a huge list of NBA players that had to go through severe adversity growing up.

What are some NHL examples of that?
 

WarriorofTime

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Jul 3, 2010
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The Stewart Bros. Other than that, not a ton. I think Nuge's dad got laid off and he had to miss a year of Hockey when he was around 9 or 10, but most guys had rich/upper middle class parents.
 

MessierII

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Aug 10, 2011
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Ales Hemsky got his throat slit in a bar fight in the Czech Republic.
 

Rapsfan

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Jun 7, 2021
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Hockey is a rich white guys sport, these guys don’t grow up with the same circumstances/in the same neighborhoods as many ball players. Much easier to stay out of trouble when you aren’t living in an environment that breeds it...
I'm guessing it might be because Canada rarely has those types of communities right? Idk I live in whereabouts of Toronto so I rarely hear these gang-based stories.
 

Black Kevin

I don't work my ass off
Nov 19, 2019
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Raleigh
Bobby Ryan
Patrick O'Sullivan
Chris & Tone Stewart
Theo Fleury
Guys who made the leap: Mogilny, Larionov etc

Can't think of anyone else. I'm sure if you go way back to the 70-80s you'll find some interesting stories.
 

Zamknij kurwa ryj

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Feb 22, 2021
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Hockey is a predominantly white sport whose athletes come from socioeconomic well-off households and benefit from privilege so you're not going to find more than the odd exception to the rule.

Can't compare circumstances to sports whose demographics are much more diverse and have athletes that grow up dealing with the impact of systemic racism on their families and neighborhoods.
 

Rapsfan

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Jun 7, 2021
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It's moreso that the people who live in those communities can't afford to play organized hockey.
What about "pick-up" hockey? Or playing in the street with a rubber ball type hockey? Can't they develop those skills to transfer to the ice?
 

MessierII

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Aug 10, 2011
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Panarin grew up in poverty. His parents couldn’t raise him and his grandparents had to step in. He couldn’t afford skates and had to use adults skates and wear shoes in them. He used a lot of his grandfathers old equipment and had trouble commuting to games. He only made it because some school in Moscow took him in and paid for equipment. He had to move across the country at a young age to attend and it paid off.
 

ManofSteel55

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Aug 15, 2013
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Sylvan Lake, Alberta
What about "pick-up" hockey? Or playing in the street with a rubber ball type hockey? Can't they develop those skills to transfer to the ice?
They can develop the skills, but they still can't afford the equipment or the registration fees to play on a rink. It's not like a basketball court, where every high school has them. Hockey rink rental rates are through the roof, which makes team registration fees in the thousands of dollars just for house league teams. No scouts are looking around schoolyard road hockey games or on outdoor rinks for the diamond in the rough that can't afford to play organized hockey.
 

Alexander the Gr8

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May 2, 2013
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Toronto
Hockey is a rich white guys sport, these guys don’t grow up with the same circumstances/in the same neighborhoods as many ball players. Much easier to stay out of trouble when you aren’t living in an environment that breeds it...

The only exception to that would be guys that grew up in poverty in Siberia and other parts of Russia, like Panarin or Kuznetsov.
 
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Rapsfan

Registered User
Jun 7, 2021
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They can develop the skills, but they still can't afford the equipment or the registration fees to play on a rink. It's not like a basketball court, where every high school has them. Hockey rink rental rates are through the roof, which makes team registration fees in the thousands of dollars just for house league teams. No scouts are looking around schoolyard road hockey games or on outdoor rinks for the diamond in the rough that can't afford to play organized hockey.
Damn that's really sad :( I heard stories in America where great basketball prospects were "funded" their expenses of playing.
 

Skinnyjimmy08

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Mar 30, 2012
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Trying to think outside the box cause there aren't many examples NOWADAYS it seems, but first thing that came to mind was Ozzy Wiesblatt being raised by a single mom that was completely deaf and all the boys played a high level of hockey

I realize he's not in the NHL yet but he was recently a 1st round pick of SJ
 

miscs75

Registered User
Jul 2, 2014
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Glen Metropilit I’m pretty sure had one brutal upbringing. I remember hearing about it somewhere but I know his family was pretty poor but I forget the rest of it.
 

habsrule4eva3089

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Nov 22, 2008
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You can probably count them on one hand from Canadian players.

Rich white boy sport. Like FILTHY rich, which 95% of society can't relate too.

Such people don't know what adversity is in life.

But the stories of players before the 90s are amazing. Regular Canadian kids making it.

It's actually laughable the talent pool this league draws from. Just rich people becoming more rich.
 

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