After initially offering beer for sale at World Cup games, Qatari officials cancelled those sales for general admission fans at the games. All I have to say is, lucky Ireland is not in the World Cup this time around.
I had to laugh to myself when I read the following article on the CBC news site. "Hockey fans can likely bet on seeing even more gambling-related media content".
It comes not long after I expressed my disdain for the onslaught of gambling promotion finding its way onto hockey broadcasts in a recent column. Glad to see Canada's broadcaster agrees.
I also could not help but notice a CBC marketplace investigation about motorcycle helmets. It seems Marketplace purchased a number of certified helmets from some popular online sites and subjected them to a number of their own tests. A significant number of the helmets catastrophically failed the test. So why is this important to hockey or sports participants?
Since the dawn of the internet, fake, counterfeit and uncertified hockey equipment has been available through a myriad of websites. More than once while I was still in the business I had customers ask me how come they could find skates etc., on the internet for prices far lower than mine. Aside from reputable online sales sites featuring items on sale, clearouts, or having bigger buying power affording lower prices, I could not answer that question. In some cases, a one-piece composite stick that I and other dealers sold in the $299 to $319 price range was being offered for $25 to $50 online. Of course, the latter was available from offshore websites. So we started to dig to find out what was going on. Much to our surprise, we found a myriad of websites offering supposed brand name products for sale for prices far, far lower than we were buying from the manufacturers. Something was amiss. One of my dealer buddies ordered a few of the brand name sticks for us to examine. I got two of those offshore sticks that were supposed to be my $319 pro sticks for $40 or so bucks. I had one in my hand for two seconds before I screamed out, "freakin' fake''. The sticks had all the graphics of the brand name sticks as well as a "special edition" type graphic. The aesthetics of the stick were top-notch. The feel, weight and flex, however, were beyond cheap.
So I put aside these two counterfeits and when a few friends and loyal customers came by I showed them the sticks and asked them what they thought. Four out of five think they are the real deal and want to buy them. After I start to point out the flaws and obvious clues to them being fake, my friends become outraged that stuff like these forgeries are taking place.
Then a little while later, the rep for legitimate sticks comes by and I show him the sticks. He tells me that the manufacturers are aware of these "pirated" products and it is costing them millions in not only lost sales but in expenses incurred trying to get the forged products shut down.
Some people justified that if the fakes were good enough to fool customers maybe it showed that the originals were overpriced. No. They looked like the real deal but performed or had the durability of something I made in my basement.
Almost all online hockey purchases will come from reputable dealers. Just be careful of offshore sites where the deals are too good to be true.
A fake stick might make you a crappier player than you already are. A fake helmet could kill you.
Now it's been 10 or 12 years ago since I first was exposed to this forgery phenomenon. Hopefully today it is not as prevalent or slowly disappearing.
There are a ton of reputable and trustworthy online hockey sites to find good deals and top-tier quality. A few shady sites may sell fake stuff, so be careful.
Better yet … walk into your local hockey shop and get what you need. If you can't find it there, then look to one of the established online sites. Most local stores are part of a buying group or chain, so if they don't have the stock they can probably get it quickly from another dealer. That is something I have always advocated. Buy local.
There is a difference when it comes to almost all retail products (clothing, watches, shoes etc.) between knockoffs and counterfeits.
Counterfeit items are attempts at exact copies of another branded product, that infringes on the trademark of that product. And that is illegal.
Knockoffs, however, are not generally illegal because they only resemble a product and are not direct copies that try to mislead you into thinking you are buying the real thing.
Many reasons to play the game
Last week I mentioned that development is not about producing players for the NHL.
Which reminded me of an article I wrote in 2006 on development that I still see posted to a U.S. Youth hockey website today.
Here is a brief snippet from that article.
“Ask any NHL coach where good coaching is imperative. They'll tell you the minor hockey level is the most important. At that level, for a coach to want to win at all costs and not develop all his players is a disservice to all kids. Remember coaches, parents and kids: less than one per cent of all kids currently playing hockey will ever make the NHL. So what are we doing for the other 99 per cent?"
A ton of coaches and parents have asked me to put in print a little bit of the statistics I've thrown their way at various clinics that I've conducted. So here is an excerpt from an article by Jim Parceus a few years ago.
“On an average year in Ontario each birth year playing has approximately 24,000 kids playing. A sample of 1975 birth dates for minor hockey players revealed the following. Out of the approximately 24,000 1975 birth dates that played minor hockey, 262 were selected in the 1991 OHL draft. Out of those 262 kids, only 94 played at least one game in the OHL.
Out of those 94 only three finished their age eligibility in the OHL. Now, I must tell you that most NHL and OHL scouts will tell you that the 1975 birthdate group was one of the best crop of players overall ever in Ontario, and player depth was considered exceptional.
Of those 24,000 kids, 14 received full NCAA Division 1 scholarships, and another 22 accepted Division 2 or 3 deals. Of the 63 players who finished their OHL careers, 38 were drafted by an NHL team . Of those 38, only 23 signed pro contracts.
Of those 23, only 18 appeared in one NHL game. Of those 18, only nine became regulars
So in a year generally accepted as an exceptional year for Ontario kids, (1975 birth dates) 18 of 24,000 made it to the NHL. 23,982 did not."
For some perspective of this, I've added some names from that ‘91 OHL draft and which NHL round they were taken in two years later.
Player NHL Draft Round
- Todd Harvey 1st
- Chris Gratton 1st
- Larry Courville 5th re-entered draft in '95, selected 61st overall 3rd round
- Todd Bertuzzi 1st
- Jason Allison 1st
- Ethan Moreau 1st
- Jason Arnott 1st
- Jamie Storr 1st
- Shean Donovan 2nd
- Chris Pronger 1st
- Jamie Allison 2nd
- Jamie Rivers 3rd
Just a few of the 1975 birthdates on to NHL. Pretty strong group eh?
Especially nice to see Courville and Donovan, two Timmins kids, on that list.
Obviously, the above numbers and percentages will vary from year to year but Mr. Parceus' example has been a staple for a lot of us.
So less than one per cent of kids (1975) made it.
Should kids dream of playing in the NHL? Of course they should. Dreams are a part of everyday life. But for most, we play for different reasons.
We play the game because it's fun, for physical fitness.
It teaches us life skills, discipline, how to deal with adversity, respect for others, developing a work ethic, teamwork, competitiveness, positive attitudes, helps to build confidence, develop persistence, social skills and the basis for being able to play the game for life.
You as readers can probably list dozens of reasons we play the game.
Hockey brought some of my best life experiences ever. The lifelong friendships I made with teammates, opponents, officials, coaches, staff, fans, parents, players are treasured each and every day.
Keep that NHL dream in your mind, but play for the vast other reasons we play first and foremost.
And finally, if my German is correct, Derek Seguin has 11 goals in his first two exhibition games. His regular season opens in the next few days.
Later, skater.
