Why is it rare for hockey players to start playing at a later age?

[Rapsfan]

You see a lot of NBA players who haven't started playing until they were like 16-18 or even 20; Siakam, Rodman, Hakeem, Mutumbo, Embiid, etc. Granted those are big dudes but I'm sure if you went down a little you might find guards that Steve Francis who didn't start until 13.

What about with hockey players? Can you really "fast-track" develop your skills? How often does a hockey player start at the age of 14 then out of nowhere becomes extremely talented in a 3-5 year span? Does hockey really require an insane amount of early development? Or can you skip that in the later ages and fast-track it?

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[summer tooth]

It's mainly because the scouting and prospecting starts so early at like 6 years old, and all of the top players are usually on these top peewee teams. For instance Connor McDavid was already a big prospect as a 3-year-old.

 

[Docgonzo]

Skating is too important. Harder to pick it up and get good in mid to late teens.

 

[heretik27]

You can't just put on a pair of skates and skate like Bobby Orr, it takes a lot of practice. There are some who have made it to the NHL starting late, but when you add all the economic barriers there's a lot working against the average athlete growing up. The kids who get the expensive training camps and better coaching inevitably get seen more by the scouts and have better opportunities to move up. Or in Hyman's case, his dad buys over a hundred teams across various leagues and ensures his son has ample support to grow into the player he is today.

It doesn't take a lot of money to bring a ball to a basketball court, or practice ball moves at home, even soccer can be played so long as you have a ball. Hockey has become a sport that even middle income families can struggle to afford.

 

[Rapsfan]

It's mainly because the scouting and prospecting starts so early at like 6 years old, and all of the top players are usually on these top peewee teams. For instance Connor McDavid was already a big prospect as a 3-year-old.

Seriously? 3 year olds already playing organized hockey? Jesus. That's just insane. You don't see competitive basketball tournaments until like age 8 or 10. I guess that's prob why if you didn't skate by the age of 3 everyone else by the age of 10 is miles ahead of you right?

 

[CBJx614]

Like other have said. Skating, skating, skating. Hockey is a game of reflexes. If you think you're already to late. And your ability to do anything on the ice depends on your ability to skate. Guys can be the most agile, fast, strongest, quickest player in shoes, but none of that matters if you can't skate properly and balance yourself on the ice.

 

[Soundwave]

Skating. It's extremely hard to become a high level skater if you're only starting at like age 15 or something, you're going to be light years behind someone who has been skating since they're 5.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Ed Jovanovski didn’t start playing hockey until he was 13. Before that he played soccer.

5 years later he was the 1st overall draft pick in the NHL, and went on to have a solid NHL career (and won an Olympic Gold in 2002).

 

[Rapsfan]

Like other have said. Skating, skating, skating. Hockey is a game of reflexes. If you think you're already to late. And your ability to do anything on the ice depends on your ability to skate. Guys can be the most agile, fast, strongest, quickest player in shoes, but none of that matters if you can't skate properly and balance yourself on the ice.

I'm guessing in order to properly skate all directions and start and stop and all that yada yada, it would take like 10+ years right? Also, random question. NHL teams actually have skating coaches? I mean isn't skating first nature with you entire life of training in hand? Basketball coaches don't have foot movement coaches do they?

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I'm guessing in order to properly skate all directions and start and stop and all that yada yada, it would take like 10+ years right? Also, random question. NHL teams actually have skating coaches? I mean isn't skating first nature with you entire life of training in hand? Basketball coaches don't have foot movement coaches do they?

Skating coaches mostly train players so their skating is more efficient.

Also to add to my prior post, Jeff Skinner was a figure skater up until he was 12. He became a 1st round pick, was the youngest player to ever play in an All Star Game in all the major sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL), won the Calder as the NHLs best rookie, and is now overpaid on the Sabres.

 

[Bandit]

Tons of people start playing at a later age. For example I didn’t start playing until I was 15.

We just don’t make it to the NHL.

 

[LokiDog]

Hockey requires a more specialized skill set than most sports. You can be fast and agile in sneakers even if you’re not playing basketball or football every day. You can’t just slap skates on and have that speed and agility transfer over, no matter how athletically gifted you are.

You’ve been walking, running, jumping, turning since you were a toddler. You have a level of “mastery” over your feet. Put skates on for the first time and, whatever age you are, you’re a newborn on skates.

Stick handling is similar. Most people have thrown and caught a ball. And even beyond that, just using your hands and arms to react and reach for things. Now you have to learn to do it with a stick.

 

[Rapsfan]

Skating coaches mostly train players so their skating is more efficient.

Also to add to my prior post, Jeff Skinner was a figure skater up until he was 12. He became a 1st round pick, was the youngest player to ever play in an All Star Game in all the major sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL), won the Calder as the NHLs best rookie, and is now overpaid on the Sabres.

Jesus Christ. Youngest EVER all star? Damn. I was looking up his stats and he doesn't seem all that good nowadays. Did he fall of a cliff or something? Because a rookie all star, not to mention didn't turn 19 making it to all star, is impossible in the NBA. And rookie all stars are a rare breed; not even Lebron, Doncic, and other generational talents in recent years could make it in their FIRST year. You'd think Skinner would continue to develop but damn sad to see he stagnated his stats early.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

It takes a lot of reps to become good at anything. In hockey, it’s more difficult to get those reps. It’s not as easy to just decide to go outside to the nearest park to play some hoop.

You need ice, and even in Canada for the most part; during the spring, summer and fall; it’s difficult to get a rink to skate at, and the ones that are available it takes quite a bit of money to rent it.

So if you’re just starting out at 13, you’re playing against other 13 year old that more often than not have way more reps than you.

 

[Hynh]

Skating coaches mostly train players so their skating is more efficient.

Also to add to my prior post, Jeff Skinner was a figure skater up until he was 12. He became a 1st round pick, was the youngest player to ever play in an All Star Game in all the major sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL), won the Calder as the NHLs best rookie, and is now overpaid on the Sabres.

All Star game selections are meaningless when every team is required to have one

 

[Seanaconda]

Its because skating. Thats it thats all. Everyone runs and jumps as a kid .

 

[Rapsfan]

It takes a lot of reps to become good at anything. In hockey, it’s more difficult to get those reps. It’s not as easy to just decide to go outside to the nearest park to play some hoop.

You need ice, and even in Canada for the most part; during the spring, summer and fall; it’s difficult to get a rink to skate at, and the ones that are available it takes quite a bit of money to rent it.

So if you’re just starting out at 13, you’re playing against other 13 year old that more often than not have way more reps than you.

I'm guessing as well that most kids who played hockey since they were 4 played organized hockey not just pick-up on the streets (or possibly in rinks where we just randomly form teams) right? Because with basketball, millions of kids play it but they don't necessarily play organized team basketball. They just pick up on the streets or friends gathering. I'm not sure if you could ask 11 other people to play a hockey game with you.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Jesus Christ. Youngest EVER all star? Damn. I was looking up his stats and he doesn't seem all that good nowadays. Did he fall of a cliff or something? Because a rookie all star, not to mention didn't turn 19 making it to all star, is impossible in the NBA. And rookie all stars are a rare breed; not even Lebron, Doncic, and other generational talents in recent years could make it in their FIRST year. You'd think Skinner would continue to develop but damn sad to see he stagnated his stats early.

Skinner’s a smaller player by NHL standards and got banged up quite a bit. He’s had multiple concussions, he’s far from being the first player that fell off a cliff due to repeated injuries.

If you get your bell rung frequently and you miss extended periods of time, it’s difficult to regain the same level you had before after missing so many weeks of training.

Besides that, he has one of the worst contracts in the NHL and he now plays for the worst team in the NHL. He has very little incentive to go back to being the player he used to be, so his numbers plummeted.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Ed Jovanovski didn’t start playing hockey until he was 13. Before that he played soccer.

5 years later he was the 1st overall draft pick in the NHL, and went on to have a solid NHL career (and won an Olympic Gold in 2002).

I was a natural, if I started playing at 3 I would’ve given Bobby Orr a run for his money.

 

[Rapsfan]

Skinner’s a smaller player by NHL standards and got banged up quite a bit. He’s had multiple concussions, he’s far from being the first player that fell off a cliff due to repeated injuries.

If you get your bell rung frequently and you miss extended periods of time, it’s difficult to regain the same level you had before after missing so many weeks of training.

Besides that, he has one of the worst contracts in the NHL and he now plays for the worst team in the NHL. He has very little incentive to go back to being the player he used to be, so his numbers plummeted.

Wow that's tragic I mean he is 5'11 which would be small by NBA standards but not sure what's the average height of NHL players. I imagine getting hit every so often could take a toll on your body.

 

[Seanaconda]

I'm guessing as well that most kids who played hockey since they were 4 played organized hockey not just pick-up on the streets (or possibly in rinks where we just randomly form teams) right? Because with basketball, millions of kids play it but they don't necessarily play organized team basketball. They just pick up on the streets or friends gathering. I'm not sure if you could ask 11 other people to play a hockey game with you.

You can if you're in Canada and there are no covid restrictions when its winter

 

[Ezpz]

Cause basketball requires less skill and something like 20% of Americans over 7' tall have played in the NBA. It's entirely genetics-based for fringe players. The same reason why no matter how much skill they have, very few players under 6' have played in the NBA.

 

[Seanaconda]

Wow that's tragic I mean he is 5'11 which would be small by NBA standards but not sure what's the average height of NHL players. I imagine getting hit every so often could take a toll on your body.

Hockey players average is around 511 or 6' probably smaller because people lie all the time about short peoples height .

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Wow that's tragic I mean he is 5'11 which would be small by NBA standards but not sure what's the average height of NHL players. I imagine getting hit every so often could take a toll on your body.

I don’t think he’s actually 5’11, he looks more like he’s closer to 5’9 or 5’10.

Your average NHL forward is usually around 6’1 200 lbs, and your average NHL defenseman is closer to 6’2-6’3 215 lbs.

The guy who gave him his first major concussion, Andy Sutton, was a 6’6 245 lbs defenseman.

This is the hit I’m talking about

 

[MarkusKetterer]

All Star game selections are meaningless when every team is required to have one

Yes they are. But except for the fan things voting people in, or the old commissioner’s choice, they’re usually the team’s best player(s) that season. Or at least up to that point of it, anyway.

Jesus Christ. Youngest EVER all star? Damn. I was looking up his stats and he doesn't seem all that good nowadays. Did he fall of a cliff or something? Because a rookie all star, not to mention didn't turn 19 making it to all star, is impossible in the NBA. And rookie all stars are a rare breed; not even Lebron, Doncic, and other generational talents in recent years could make it in their FIRST year. You'd think Skinner would continue to develop but damn sad to see he stagnated his stats early.

He’s a one trick pony. And since the big albatross contract, he only shoots from the outside. And when he gets in close, the goalie robs him.

But an ankle injury two years ago has greatly affected his speed, which is why he always shoots from the outside now.

Plus unfortunately the Sabres suck ass.