Hardest, probably…skating while playing field hockey is kind of insane.
Best…how long have you got. It’s an amazing sport for sure, but I feel the amount of games in a regular season, coupled with the fact that as many as 50% of teams have an « equal » chance of winning after all that, makes it lose its lustre a little bit.
I say reduce the games and reduce the amount of teams allowed in the playoffs to make the regular season more meaningful. Just the winners of each division and the two best conference runners up for an 8-team playoff.
It’s kind of dumb that a team ranked 9th in the regular season has the chance to win…I know that’s how you Yanks/Canucks like to do things, but it kind of makes being an elite team pointless if you happen to hit a 2-week bad run of form.
Calling__Elvis
Winning the Stanley Cup is probably the hardest trophy to win. The playoffs alone require 16 wins and as many as 28 games played. The players come out of the playoffs with ice bags applied all over the torso/legs and their skin is blue/black/yellow, some can’t walk w/o the skates on, and everyone has some form of injury. It’s a permanent recovery type of sport.
GhostlyQbe
Australian rules football is rougher than ice hockey, I do however, much prefer ice hockey (personal preference).
kstacey
This format is for opinions that you want to be able to debate, not things that are obvious and a fact.
Like you would use this format if the argument was, « the sky is blue, change my mind »
blondechinesehair
Circle jerk
Soxfan_2
Baseball is the hardest, without a doubt. Hockey might be a close second though
Fit_Use9941
Overall I like football more but playoff hockey is peak sports
Beachcomber365
You have to define your terms bro! Best hoe? « Hardest »? Like… what? Like sure the puck is harder than say a basketball!
neometrix77
There’s plenty of metrics you could use to define the hardest sport.
If we go by largest player base and therefore the most difficult to rise to the very top.
Then it’s soccer.
If we go by the the average time it takes to develop the foundational skills. Then Hockey has very good case for itself.
If we go by the most physically demanding. Then I’d argue Aussie rules football because it combines the endless endurance of soccer with the hard hitting of nfl/rugby.
If we go by fastest paced and hardest to develop adequate reaction time to. Then I’d say hockey again.
Chemsath99
100%
DimLug
Most difficult overall, yes. The hardest thing to do in the sports world however is hitting a baseball.
swingtradelot
No. Every sport is unique in its own way. This debate is fucking stupid. Stop.
United-Act-3889
Skateboarding is harder. But hockey is the best.
JohnnyTreeTrunks
Hardest sport to watch your team play
SpaghettiOsPolicy
I love hockey, but not the NHL
binghamtons1998
Hardest to play pro is NBA…need to be naturally gifted height, athleticism, and still be good enough at the sport
stuplexer_
This is a pretty bold opinion to be putting on a hockey subreddit.
billsmafia_1716
Boxing . You don’t play boxing
andrewdoesit
I’m biased towards motocross/supercross, but hockey is my #2. Physicality, hand eye coordination, stamina and the ability to get that burst of energy, it’s tough.
scopeless
I would argue the hardest part.
Half of fame baseball players only get a hit 1/3 times.
Lipstick-Hockeystick
Every sport requires a very extensive degree of effort in my opinion. I don’t think hockey necessarily trumps other sports in difficulty, but I will watch hockey before I watch anything else.
-vanking023-
I was waiting for the bi-monthly « please like my sport » post
2007CRV
Hardest is MMA, no doubt
jpatt05
There’s no gliding on a soccer field. They’re all hard in their own ways, except baseball. Soccer requires insane stamina, as does rugby. I’ve been Injured in rugby and soccer as much as I’ve been injured in hockey. I’ve played all at at least a « AA » level. Personally, I think soccer might take it as the « hardest sport » imo.
Fine-Guest-2165
I’ve never seen a hockey player in a buried alive or hell in a cell match, so no. Wrestling is the hardest sport
mcburke42
*posts this in the NHL sub*
Daaaaring today, aren’t we?
Patriot420
Rugby, sorry
Tim226
You ever see that Asian bean bag volleyball sport? That sport looks ridiculously hard to learn.
Ice_IX__
How brave of you to post this in r/nhl lol
You’re going to just get a circlejerk with maybe a little pushback
jhick107
As an Australian who got introduced to Ice Hockey via 80’s video games and a long visit to Sweden in the early 2000’s I concur. In Australia we have unique, fast, physical, and at times violent sports but I will switch any channel and put off any house chore to watch NHL – mainly the Rangers – but cable televised NHL happens only through ESPN on Foxtel here. I still scratch my head at some rules and struggle to keep my eyes on on the puck on my punny 60” TV, but I fucking love the game. One day my daughter and I will make it to MSG to see a game even if I have to take out a second mortgage…..well that’s my 2 cents worth from a long long way away. Cheers.
Gymsocks99
Knife shoes. That is all.
Flex1855
I agree I played a lot of sports growing up nothing was harder then trying not to get killed by 250 pound dmen while balancing on ice much less actually doing anything with skill
theskinswin
Just skating alone at an elite level is enough.
Not to mention stick handling boarding hitting passing shooting coordinated skating with other players.
4schwifty20
Hardest of the 4 major US pro sports? Possibly. But not hardest in the world.
And as for best. It’s pretty subjective to what each individual sports fan likes.
CoopaClown
I love hockey and it’s rough, but water polo looks like a nightmare.
Woodrovski
Nope. Love hockey but all sports are hard to master and the best is football. Otherwise known as ⚽️
tnfrs
i find some of the fans are pretty big pussies in r/hockey
mac4112
This is such a dumb post, especially in a sub dedicated to one of many sports we all love, i’m sure.
Goes back to the old saying of don’t judge a fish’s ability to climb a tree.
I sincerely doubt a single player in the NHL can handle a 2 ton machine at 200+mph at Daytona, or a Baseball player can tackle a full sized running back moving at full speed in the NFL.
They’re all difficult and different and require a specialized skillset in their respective fields.
The only comparison I think is probably valid are the hits. Especially with the changes in NFL the last decade or so, I would say a *legal* hit in the NHL is probably on par if not worse than a *legal* hit in the NFL.
But that’s not an indication of which is better or or “more difficult”, they’re both full contact sports, even arguably combat sports but with extra steps.
This kinda stuff really bugs me. 0/10 post.
kneegrow69420699
You can’t compare hardest as a category because each sport is unique. If you were comparing similiar sports, however, like tennis and badminton, then you have a more arguable case because of how similiar they are too one another. However, if we’re talking best, just in terms of my own favouritism then yes I’d say hockey, but it’s about the definition of best that you are asking for.
seanachies
I grew up playing hockey and in my 20’s I started to play rugby too. Both equally tough IMO
WatcherOfGaedNua
Wrestling is the hardest sport
korkkis
Not the hardest, not the most difficult, most entertaining … perhaps but not every night.
dookie-cannon
I feel like an NBA player could’ve learned to skate at a young age and some might have made it pro. Almost 0 NHL players can dunk. That’s all I’m saying.
kermitthefrog57
Why is this getting upvoted? This is so low effort
Szwedo
This is the dumbest post in the world
SusanMcDangles
Hockey is one of the easiest sports I’ve ever played. I would say hitting a 100 mph fastball is way harder than anything hockey has to offer. Just one example.
Gloriosa86
Golf = simply because weather is such a factor
And best because how old you can play till
Only sport that attracts athletes from all sports and will embarrass mvp qbs ,hall of fame baseball players and hockey all stars
47 Comments
Hardest, probably…skating while playing field hockey is kind of insane.
Best…how long have you got. It’s an amazing sport for sure, but I feel the amount of games in a regular season, coupled with the fact that as many as 50% of teams have an « equal » chance of winning after all that, makes it lose its lustre a little bit.
I say reduce the games and reduce the amount of teams allowed in the playoffs to make the regular season more meaningful. Just the winners of each division and the two best conference runners up for an 8-team playoff.
It’s kind of dumb that a team ranked 9th in the regular season has the chance to win…I know that’s how you Yanks/Canucks like to do things, but it kind of makes being an elite team pointless if you happen to hit a 2-week bad run of form.
Winning the Stanley Cup is probably the hardest trophy to win. The playoffs alone require 16 wins and as many as 28 games played. The players come out of the playoffs with ice bags applied all over the torso/legs and their skin is blue/black/yellow, some can’t walk w/o the skates on, and everyone has some form of injury. It’s a permanent recovery type of sport.
Australian rules football is rougher than ice hockey, I do however, much prefer ice hockey (personal preference).
This format is for opinions that you want to be able to debate, not things that are obvious and a fact.
Like you would use this format if the argument was, « the sky is blue, change my mind »
Circle jerk
Baseball is the hardest, without a doubt. Hockey might be a close second though
Overall I like football more but playoff hockey is peak sports
You have to define your terms bro! Best hoe? « Hardest »? Like… what? Like sure the puck is harder than say a basketball!
There’s plenty of metrics you could use to define the hardest sport.
If we go by largest player base and therefore the most difficult to rise to the very top.
Then it’s soccer.
If we go by the the average time it takes to develop the foundational skills. Then Hockey has very good case for itself.
If we go by the most physically demanding. Then I’d argue Aussie rules football because it combines the endless endurance of soccer with the hard hitting of nfl/rugby.
If we go by fastest paced and hardest to develop adequate reaction time to. Then I’d say hockey again.
100%
Most difficult overall, yes. The hardest thing to do in the sports world however is hitting a baseball.
No. Every sport is unique in its own way. This debate is fucking stupid. Stop.
Skateboarding is harder. But hockey is the best.
Hardest sport to watch your team play
I love hockey, but not the NHL
Hardest to play pro is NBA…need to be naturally gifted height, athleticism, and still be good enough at the sport
This is a pretty bold opinion to be putting on a hockey subreddit.
Boxing . You don’t play boxing
I’m biased towards motocross/supercross, but hockey is my #2. Physicality, hand eye coordination, stamina and the ability to get that burst of energy, it’s tough.
I would argue the hardest part.
Half of fame baseball players only get a hit 1/3 times.
Every sport requires a very extensive degree of effort in my opinion. I don’t think hockey necessarily trumps other sports in difficulty, but I will watch hockey before I watch anything else.
I was waiting for the bi-monthly « please like my sport » post
Hardest is MMA, no doubt
There’s no gliding on a soccer field. They’re all hard in their own ways, except baseball. Soccer requires insane stamina, as does rugby. I’ve been Injured in rugby and soccer as much as I’ve been injured in hockey. I’ve played all at at least a « AA » level. Personally, I think soccer might take it as the « hardest sport » imo.
I’ve never seen a hockey player in a buried alive or hell in a cell match, so no. Wrestling is the hardest sport
*posts this in the NHL sub*
Daaaaring today, aren’t we?
Rugby, sorry
You ever see that Asian bean bag volleyball sport? That sport looks ridiculously hard to learn.
How brave of you to post this in r/nhl lol
You’re going to just get a circlejerk with maybe a little pushback
As an Australian who got introduced to Ice Hockey via 80’s video games and a long visit to Sweden in the early 2000’s I concur. In Australia we have unique, fast, physical, and at times violent sports but I will switch any channel and put off any house chore to watch NHL – mainly the Rangers – but cable televised NHL happens only through ESPN on Foxtel here. I still scratch my head at some rules and struggle to keep my eyes on on the puck on my punny 60” TV, but I fucking love the game. One day my daughter and I will make it to MSG to see a game even if I have to take out a second mortgage…..well that’s my 2 cents worth from a long long way away. Cheers.
Knife shoes. That is all.
I agree I played a lot of sports growing up nothing was harder then trying not to get killed by 250 pound dmen while balancing on ice much less actually doing anything with skill
Just skating alone at an elite level is enough.
Not to mention stick handling boarding hitting passing shooting coordinated skating with other players.
Hardest of the 4 major US pro sports? Possibly. But not hardest in the world.
And as for best. It’s pretty subjective to what each individual sports fan likes.
I love hockey and it’s rough, but water polo looks like a nightmare.
Nope. Love hockey but all sports are hard to master and the best is football. Otherwise known as ⚽️
i find some of the fans are pretty big pussies in r/hockey
This is such a dumb post, especially in a sub dedicated to one of many sports we all love, i’m sure.
Goes back to the old saying of don’t judge a fish’s ability to climb a tree.
I sincerely doubt a single player in the NHL can handle a 2 ton machine at 200+mph at Daytona, or a Baseball player can tackle a full sized running back moving at full speed in the NFL.
They’re all difficult and different and require a specialized skillset in their respective fields.
The only comparison I think is probably valid are the hits. Especially with the changes in NFL the last decade or so, I would say a *legal* hit in the NHL is probably on par if not worse than a *legal* hit in the NFL.
But that’s not an indication of which is better or or “more difficult”, they’re both full contact sports, even arguably combat sports but with extra steps.
This kinda stuff really bugs me. 0/10 post.
You can’t compare hardest as a category because each sport is unique. If you were comparing similiar sports, however, like tennis and badminton, then you have a more arguable case because of how similiar they are too one another. However, if we’re talking best, just in terms of my own favouritism then yes I’d say hockey, but it’s about the definition of best that you are asking for.
I grew up playing hockey and in my 20’s I started to play rugby too. Both equally tough IMO
Wrestling is the hardest sport
Not the hardest, not the most difficult, most entertaining … perhaps but not every night.
I feel like an NBA player could’ve learned to skate at a young age and some might have made it pro. Almost 0 NHL players can dunk. That’s all I’m saying.
Why is this getting upvoted? This is so low effort
This is the dumbest post in the world
Hockey is one of the easiest sports I’ve ever played. I would say hitting a 100 mph fastball is way harder than anything hockey has to offer. Just one example.
Golf = simply because weather is such a factor
And best because how old you can play till
Only sport that attracts athletes from all sports and will embarrass mvp qbs ,hall of fame baseball players and hockey all stars
Hockey is a close second 😊