In my first blog here, I wrote about an instance in which The Flyers, vis-a-vis Dan Carcillo, failed to respond to some spirited play from the Maple Leafs Colton Orr during a March 7 game at the Wachovia Center. Some of the responses I received from readers genuinely boggled my mind. Naturally, fighting in the NHL has its fans and its critics, and that is a different column for another day. The responses that confounded me most were the ones that essentially said Carcillo was correct in ducking Orr because Orr is a heavyweight and Carcillo is a middleweight.
While I can see the common sense in that opinion, I have to say that most NHL players that assume a pugilistic role on the ice are often required to check their common sense at the door before taking the ice.
Just consider if this mentality were played out to its most extreme: Derek Boogard, who stands nearly 7' on skates would never fight anyone, except perhaps Zdeno Chara. He'd probably fight
John Scott, too, but Scott is his teammate. And just as there's so much call for players to remove their shielded helmets before duking it out, I imagine players that wanted a piece of each other should hustle to their respective locker rooms for an official weigh-in before going at it, just to make sure they are in the same weight division. Of course, this sounds silly, but so does advocating that grown men who have willingly chosen a career that requires them to fight other men of all sizes should be selective about who they drop the gloves with.
If players such as Stan Jonathan, P.J. Stock, Dan Carcillo, or Rick Rypien, among dozens of other undersized fighters actually thought, I shouldn't fight him, he's bigger than me. I might lose, they wouldn't have survived as long as they had/have in the NHL.
Dave Schultz, one of hockey most notorious henchmen, revolutionized the game, at the astounding stature of 6'1, 185 pounds, and routinely fought much bigger men such as Clark Gillies (who also happened to be one of the physically strongest men ever to lace up skates). How far would that mentality have carried Jonathan in his many fights against towering opponents like Behn Wilson? Randy Holt, another slightly built enforcer at 5'11", 182, made a career of engaging the opposing teams', biggest, toughest players.
Having discussed this topic with several career pugilists, I can tell you their primary concern is doing what's best for the team in all situations-even if that means taking on a bigger or much bigger player. They don't worry about their opponents' size and neither should the fans.
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