> We can't seem to emulate the MOM-POPS home grown, feeder systems that fill
> benches of the NBA and NFL! Course, recreational parks by the dozens fill
most
> communities. Hockey ain't cheap, you said!
> Frozen back yards serviced the likes of how many of those Canadian GREAT
> GREATs, who we won't see again in our lifetimes!?
 
May I remind you that backyards freeze in Canada - they do not in most of
the US.
 
 
> The common denominator for success still is individual talent, without it
> development is superfluous! A star, is a star, is a star! I can't help but
> think a REAL AMERICAN rookie invasion will be a by product of a more
united
> developmental front: more practice time, more emphasis on skill
development at
> a much younger age.
 
I think this goes without saying ... but once again, the rinks have to be
there.
 
I don't agree a star is a star - they have to been afforded the opportunity
to develop their skill.  If Wayne Gretzky hadn't laced up skates until he
was 14, we wouldn't know who he was.
 
You can't just instantly create this infrastructure overnight.  Clearly, it
is WAY better now than 10 years ago, but it's got an incredibly long way to
go, thus my 100-year estimation.  Enjoy the steps along the way.  So what if
Iowa isn't currently producing the next Paul Kariya - it will eventually.
Meanwhile, look to places like Philadelphia, Southern NY and the Washington
DC area which are producing more college-level players, and eventually
NHL'ers.
 
When I was growing up on Long Island, there was literally 1 (ONE!) rink
within 30 miles of my house. This was in the Islanders heyday.  Thus, barely
anyone knew how to skate -- However, all the kids I knew played street
hockey up the wazoo! I have no prove, obviously, but I'm absolutely certain
that many of the kids I played with growing up, had they simply knew how to
skate, could have gone very far.
 
But those opportunities weren't there - and they still aren't - though it's
getting better. There are now a couple dozen rinks on LI. So, it's really
not as easy as you make it sound.  You can't just all of sudden expect every
high school in America to have a hockey team the way there are in baseball
and basketball.
 
 
> A fascinating and paradoxical aspect of American player credibility is the
> lack of physical play that seemingly sends many very talented finesse
> Americans to Europe cause they don't cut-it-up, while Euorpeans finesse
their
> way into million dollar contracts on American terra firma. What makes
their
> brand of finesse taste better than ours!?
 
You make it sound like a conspiracy - they're bigger, better and faster ...
If a US player that heads to Europe were as good as Jagr, he wouldn't go to
Europe. Pretty simple.
 
AW
 
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