Hockey is a demanding sport that requires a variety of different skills to be proficient. You are required to skate with expertise, handle the puck well, pass it smoothly and shoot it hard. It is also a physical game in which your opponent can hit -- or check -- you when you have the puck or after you have been the last player to touch the puck. You have to contend with pain at various points throughout the season and the game.
Conditioning
Hockey players must go through demanding conditioning drills in the preseason to get ready for the work required during the year. Skating drills are essential and will result in soreness and pain in the calf, hamstring and gluteus maximus muscles. The conditioning drill that causes the most pain is the end-to-end drill. Players start off at the near goal line and skate to the near blue line and back. Then they skate from the goal line to center ice and back. Then they skate to the far blue line and back, and then to the end line and back. The drill will get players in top skating shape, but it will cause pain along the way.
Checking
Hockey, like football, is a collision sport. When you have possession of the puck or you were the last player to have the puck prior to making a pass, your opponent can hit you. The National Hockey League has instituted rules preventing opponents from hitting in the head or from behind, but players can deliver a blow after they have worked up significant speed. A legal shoulder or hip check will result in your body getting hammered to the ice. This means you have to contend with the pain of the initial hit as well as the pain of hitting the unforgiving ice. This can result in leg, knee, hip and other injuries in addition to the pain.
Blocking Shots
Many players are willing to throw their bodies in front of oncoming shots. Players can shoot the puck -- which is made of hard, vulcanized rubber -- at speeds up to 100 mph. Players try to block those shots by sliding their lower legs in front of the puck as it is shot. Players wear shin guards to protect themselves, but it can still be painful to absorb the shot. If the player attempting to block the shot gets hit elsewhere -- upper thighs, groin, upper body or face -- the result can be devastating injury and pain. Most hockey players are willing to slide their bodies in front of shots to keep opponents from scoring. "It's a requirement of the job," said Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook. "You don't think about it during the game. You just do it."
Fighting
The NHL condones fighting among its players. Handing out five-minute fighting penalties to combatants does nothing to quell the behavior. Players who fight in the NHL are admired by teammates, coaches and fans. Most of the fights don't result in serious injuries, but players can get bruised and cut in these bouts. The short-term black eye or split lip may be a badge of courage but those decorations can be quite painful.
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