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The world of sports contains many games that test the fortitude of its participants. As far as I’m concerned, hockey players are without a doubt the most hardcore athletes around. Here are 10 reasons why.
10. Taking A Puck To The Face And Getting Up After
When a puck is fired with a 100 MPH slap shot, you can guarantee that it will cause major damage. The thing is, hockey players get hit in the face with a puck and still manage to get back up. They may be in excruciating pain, but it takes more than a rubber bullet to keep them down.
9. Fighting For Honor And Revenge
You know you are hardcore if you are willing to trade blows with anyone who pushes you or your teammates around. Most people run away from fights -- hockey players charge headfirst into them.
8. Skating
Okay, you might call this one a little controversial, but think about it. Athletes in team sports all use cleats, yet here are hockey players upping the difficulty by using ice skates. Try playing football on ice skates (yeah, you can already guess it's impossible).
7. Endurance
The breakneck speed and violent play of a hockey game tests the mental and physical resolve of any person. If you can withstand a full game of hockey, not to mention overtime periods, you are tough as nails.
6. Frequently Getting Checked Hard
There really is no pain quite like getting checked at full speed by an aggressive player. These types of hits are just par for the course in hockey, and players lace up their skates knowing this every day.
5. Goalie Endurance
Goaltenders in hockey never get a break and the game is essentially in their hands. They must always be alert and agile to stop a puck, no matter how much fatigue is setting in.
4. Puck Stopping
Goalies have tons of extra padding and even then it hurts to get hit with a puck. This does not stop skaters from doing what's expected of them and blocking shots (sacrificing their bodies in the process).
3. Scoring After Being Unconscious
Paul Kariya gave Ducks fans everywhere a horrific scare when he was knocked unconscious by resident Devils scumbag Scott Stevens. Not only did Kariya recover, he came back that very game and scored.
2. Skates Slicing Necks And Surviving
Richard Zednik and Clint Malarchuk have both had brushes with death. Each of them had their carotid arteries sliced by skate blades, Malarchuk most notably nearly bled-out on the ice. What other sport can say something like this? I've decided to share Zednik's incident because the Malarchuk injury is way too graphic for most.
1. Performing at 100 Percent While Undergoing Radiation Treatment
Mario Lemieux, much to the devastation of the hockey world, battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma. You want to know how tough he is? The last day of his radiation treatment, Lemieux hopped on a plane and flew to Philly for the game that very day. He scored one goal, created one assist and forever proved that hockey players are the toughest athletes.
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