The Heart of Hockey

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who got up early on this Sunday morning to watch the Olympics Men’s Gold game. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who shed a few (okay, a lot) of tears when Team USA won in overtime for the first time since the famous Miracle team in 1980. The entire team went crazy like I have never seen in a hockey game. And rightfully so!

The part that really got to me, though, was when Matthew Tkachuk, Auston Matthews, and Zach Werenski skated Johnny Gadreau’s No. 13 jersey around the ice. Gadreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed in 2024 when they were struck by an SUV while riding bike. It is believed that he would have been a strong contender for the men’s Olympic team, so his fellow players and friends honored him throughout the Olympics, even bringing his children out on the ice for the team picture after the Gold Medal awards.

Heart and Respect

I know you may not believe it, since hockey is known for fights, but hockey players seem to have the most heart of all the sports. My son started playing hockey in elementary school, and I knew nothing about sports. I still don’t know a lot, and I don’t follow any professional sports at all except hockey. When he got into the older levels, I noticed that when players on either team would get injured, most players would take a knee on the ice until the injured player got up. I was always proud of my kids’ coaches because they made sure the kids took knees. Some coaches on other teams used this time as a “free time out,” even when it was their own player who might be injured. This always bothered me. When the injured player stood up or was helped off the ice, all the players would hit their sticks on the ice, and the spectators would applaud.

As my kids got older and started to play other sports, I noticed this wasn’t the standard practice. You could always see the kids who played hockey, especially in football, because they would take a knee on the field or the sidelines, while many other kids didn’t. I never once saw a coach in other sports suggest that they do.

To me, it shows that while there might be tempers and fighting at the collegiate and pro levels, there is still a lot of heart. I will fully admit that I don’t watch much other pro sports, but I don’t think I have ever seen the respect for injured players like there is in hockey, espeically for the opposing team.

Maybe it’s time for some of the other sports to take a look at hockey and start treating each other with more respect.