The 6 Things I Loved about the NHL in the 1990s

I grew up in a hockey home and watched the NHL avidly as a kid in the late(ish) 1990s and early 2000s. Probably because of my age, I remember this era of football so fondly. The NHL of today pales in comparison. So here is a list of all the things I remember from the NHL of yesteryear.

1. The Huge Padding

I appreciated the goalies the most for some reason. The padding for the rest of the players was huge, but it was especially ginormous for the goalies.

Patrick Roy was one of my favorite players (Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated). In this photo, he is rocking his huge pads.

2. The NHL Was Babble Before Apps/Smart Phones/Other Things

Through osmosis, I learned how to pronounce last names in languages from countries I didn’t know about yet. Looking back, I have no idea how. But sometimes it helps me pronounce names still. And this is coming from a kid who said jalapenos with the J sound for way, way too long.

I tackled Mario Lemieux’s last name before I lived in New Orleans (Jason C/Pinterest). It’s impossible to forget Lemieux – he had a… reputation as we know.

3. The Black And White TV I Had To Watch The NHL On As A Broke Arse

As we know, the TV was blurry as all get-out in the 1990s. I felt high watching it before I even knew what that meant. The added challenge of trying to watch an already poorly pixelated screen that was also black and white and tiny was next level. Where’s the puck? Who knows. It’s like Where’s Waldo, but not.

My TV for the first half of my childhood resembled this beauty (WordPress/Pinterest).

If you need to relax after trying to follow a game, you can play some tunes on the record player that is attached to the TV. Groovy!

4. Watching Wayne Gretzky Play

I’m going to be transparent here; I don’t remember Wayne Gretzky playing for long. I was definitely watching towards the tail end of his career. I was aware that I was watching the NHL’s Tom Brady, but I didn’t fully understand the importance of that. It’s still a really cool memory.

The NHL version of these guys. Make sure to catch my co-writer’s article (here) on the Ronaldo-Messi controversy. You do not want to miss this one!

5. The NHL – The No Laniary League

If my dad didn’t want me to go through the dating meth heads stage, he shouldn’t have shown me so many toothless hockey players as a kid. Just kidding. But my perception of the “model” male was informed by the NHL, which is… unique.

I did enjoy seeing teeth knocked out routinely during fights, though.

Case in point: Jaromir Jagr (Jaromir Jagr/X). That man’s name’s pronunciation threw me through a loop too.

6. NHL FIGHTS

Did I mention I loved the NHL’s fights? If I didn’t see a little blood flowing (and preferably some teeth flying), did I even watch a game in the 1990s? Not a good one, that’s for sure!

Looking back on it now, I feel like my parents probably should have been concerned about my preference for violence in sports when I was so young, but it was a different time. I probably would have been watching gladiators in Roman colosseums if I had grown up a few years earlier.

In my defense, we didn’t know about CTE yet. I could never enjoy that kind of violence with the same pure joy today.