British Guy Reacts To The Beauty of Hockey: The Greatest Game on the Planet 

Not only is it the greatest game, the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win on the planet. Playoff hockey is another level.

I don’t think people who don’t know hockey appreciates the intricacies of this sport. It literally the sport of all sports. Fitness gladiators.

As a hockey fan, it’s been a blast to watch you go on this journey

To answer your question, hockey is usually larger in countries with natural ice in the winter since it makes it easier to play hockey when ice is simple to find and free.

Hockey players are not only some of the most talented athletes in the world, they’re also very humble and generous with their fans, you don’t often see athletes engage with the fans they way hockey players do, I love hockey with all my Canadian heart ❤️🇨🇦 there’s no other sport like it.

Believe me my man, goalies are not unappreciated by anybody.

Do playing through the pain. Tough is an understatement when it come to these guys.

I don't know how you knew that hockey/NHL players are different but you're absolutely right. Any sports writer for a major newspaper that covers hockey will tell you that. Hockey players are a different breed.

I’m a Canadian so here comes my bias. You have to be a great skater to begin with, then add the ability to stick handle, then you have to make split second decisions because it is the fastest physical sport. It is a beauty!

Hockey is very popular in europe! And there is a lot of european NHL players. It is the most popular sport here in Finland.

My favorite part is that literally anything can happen at any second. A shot/goal, big hit, big save, fight, line change, it’s non stop action played by humble gladiators. Also you should react to nhl jerseys. They aren’t destroyed by adverts and have awesome stitched logos.

I love watching this guys videos, there's just something so wholesome about him and his accent is hella entertaining

The nhl does games throughout Europe at the beginning of the season. Two teams will go over for a week or so and play a few games. Its happened in Germany and Sweden and places like that. As far as popularity. Its mostly countries that have winter that care about hockey. North america. Nothern Europe, russia....not exclusive, but warmer countries traditionally dont seem to get it.

Hockey is traditionally played in cold-weather areas. Born in Canada, with the original American teams in northern cities. It wasn’t until the past 30 years or so that the NHL started putting teams in more than a select few cities in the south. It’s been a slow build to get kids interested and many markets are developing better youth programs now. Atlanta failed twice and Arizona is still hanging on, but Nashville, Tampa, and Dallas among others have built solid fan bases. At the same time, it’s a ridiculously expensive sport to play. A full set of gear can easily cost $1,000 for a beginner, ice time is scarce, and on top of that, it costs a ton to run the ice machines year round. It prices a lot of people out of the game, unfortunately. Compare to soccer or basketball where you can play anywhere with just a ball.

Lot of fun and refreshing to watch our reactions about this great sport. Last moment with Martin St-Louis, hearth breaking.. without knowing him you did understand who he is. True inspiration, genuine, dedication, passion. Just to add on, Martin St-Louis was never being drafted because he was a bit short. He is a retired player, hall of fame and now coach of the most prestigious hockey team the Canadien de Montréal. He has already win two Stanley cups as a player. My « prediction » he will win a couple cups as an head coach. Probably the most intelligent and passionate guy of hockey today. He his now redefining , innovating how to play the game. Leadership, he is leadership!

I am Canadian. I was born and raised on hockey. My father played with the Maple Leafs in the early 1950s. When at practice one day, a gold medal figure skater named Barbara Ann Scott had been practicing before the Leafs went out to practice. When leaving the ice she glided past the bench where Dad and his teammates were waiting to get on the ice and asked if anyone wanted to make a turn on the ice with her. My dad hopped over the boards and showed her hockey players have plenty of finesse on the ice if you'd watch their feet instead of the boards they just threw a guy into! lol In fact my son called today to tell me my 10-year-old grandson made the AA spring team and the younger 8-year-old is playing goalie this season. I can't wait to go to their games!

Great to see this review, Another great saying about this sport ... .... you don't play hockey to get in shape.....you get in shape to play hockey...(Ron Mclean)

Even tho I'm Canadian there's something about hockey. They fact you have to learn the sport on ice on skates makes it so much harder it feels like and I appreciate that.

You must watch a complete game to appreciate it. The goals, the saves, the fights, the penalties, plus the commentators

The saucer pass during the precision portion is underrated. It takes some serious skill to put that on the tape. One of my fav NHL vids. Marty scored 2 goals in that Mothers Day game if I remember correctly but none was more powerful than the one shown. Love the NHL vids man. Appreciate the frequent uploads!

Growing up playing hockey since I was 4, as a defenseman, nothing tickles me more than watching a nice blocked shot the goalie couldn't have dealt with. I've seen skate blades broken from slap shots and the pads you wear as a player vs a goalie only cover a certain surface area so if you're skating up to someone at the point ( just inside the blue line) about to take a slap shot it's gonna hurt.

You’re becoming my favourite reactor. It’s a seeing someone fall for a sport the same way I did. For the pure love of the game

Hockey is something, my old man came to Canada in late 70s, and fell in love with the game, cause of him I love the game, I watch almost every Leafs game with him. Great to see your interest in this beautiful game

I've played football (soccer) my whole life. After two knee reconstructions that's off the table but it allowed to rediscover just how great Hockey is. No doubt in my mind that it is the most dynamic sport out there. Nothing comes close. Just wish it was cheaper to get into. Cost is why I had to pick soccer when I was a child.

Bro, you still have to react to Conner Bedard, he is such an amazing future NHL player, bro has 140 points already this season

When you’re fighting in hockey I think it’s important to remember that they are also on skates lol. It is incredibly hard to throw punches and keep your balance!

you summed it up when saying I want hockey to be loved everywhere, I want it everywhere also its the best.. unfortunately it takes a lot of water, and cold weather to have nice rinks, a lot of countries wouldn't have the means to make this sport mainstream.

3:38 That is Datsyuk. If I was there I might have tried to smack you for that one, don't get me wrong Ovi is a fantastic player, but Datsyuk just brought so much more to the game, he changed how it was played. I'd love to see a reaction on him specifically one day!

6:10. I love the odd angle shots. I played both hockey & soccer (football) for 14 years (age 7-21). Soccer helped my hockey game with decision making and endurance. Hockey helped my soccer game with vision in passing and angle shots. I was varsity (highest level for schools) for both sports in high school and university/college.

The beauty of hockey can only truly be seen when they slow it down. It happens so fast, a lot is missed.

Lord Stanley's Cup is the prettiest trophy of any major sports around the world, welcome to debate that. every winner player gets their name engraved onto the trophy and gets to spend 24hrs with the cup and do pretty much anything they want with it. some have just used it as a bowl to eat their morning cereal, taken it around the town to show off, have their baby baptized in it etc it gets crazy funny.

The Marty St.Louis story is unreal.. if you ever get the chance you should watch it.

The last player you saw is from Montreal Canada, and now he is head coach for the MONTREAL CANADIENS , his hometown team. Vive le Québec!

I really enjoy your reactions to hockey. Happy to find someone else that enjoys the game!

Great video reaction, you should try and look up hockey players and fans reactions. These guys really appreciate their fans as they know they would be nothing without them

The best part.... All of it The great plays The great saves The great rivalries The great goals and on and on and on

The enforcers (guys who do the fighting) usually do box-training

One thing that I respect a lot is that even the top stars and highest earners among hockey players... They don't flaunt their wealth... They aren't narcissistic... They aren't elitist, or whatever... Sure, there are always the odd outlier cases somewhere, sometime, but generally, top hockey players have a hell of a lot more character... they're a hell of a lot better humans, than the top players of the other most popular sports. The outstanding pitfall of hockey on the world stage is... for football (and football), you basically just need a ball and some type of net or two, or (two sets of) two posts, and basically any number of people can play it... for basketball, all you need is a hoop or two and a ball, and basically any number of people can play it... for baseball, all you need is at least one ball, a bat and some gloves and people can play it... but for hockey... you need a sizeable ice surface, a puck, probably a net, preferably a rink, and then at least a pair of decently-or-better maintained skates and a hockey stick per player and very preferably a helmet and gloves and preferably a whole bunch of other gear PER PLAYER. And if you don't have basically all the gear on everyone, you gotta play a very watered down version of the game... not to mention needing to be able to skate pretty good vs. just walking and running normally on unfrozen ground... AND not to mention a significantly higher risk of injury than with the other sports. ...But even then, it's the best sport in the world. Football (soccer) could be, but there's too much emphasis on inconsistent ref calls and embellishment and the penalty kick system, again, with inconsistent refereeing, decides a lot of games and it's just damn stupid. Still, love watching the World Cup and the odd very pivotal game now and then, and I'm overjoyed that Messi won it before retiring. What an amazing run that was as well.

I have seen so many hockey players kick a soccer ball around. So many similarities between the two sports. The biggest difference is "offsides" is set as the Blue line in hockey, while in Soccer (Football?) it is always moving with the defender.

There are some who have this idea from some other countries who think Canadians soft and consider themselves tough. This is our game try getting on the ice with us. This is what we are like in a fight. My brother plays, he is 70 years old one of the guys who plays in his group is in his 80s.

Martin St. Louis represents hockey even better than you know. He went undrafted because of his small stature, but he clawed his way into the NHL. He won a Cup with the Lightning in 2004 and was inducted into the hockey hall of fame after he retired. He was also recently enshrined in the Lightning’s inaugural hall of fame class. He’s also now the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens and is still a fan favorite across the league. He’s one of the guys who proved smaller players could be extremely effective in this league. Nothing but love for Marty.

As someone from the UK who was raised like you on football (soccer), here's my own definition of hockey: a form of torture played on, between, and with multiple deadly or unyielding surfaces: solid ice, boards, sharpened blades that have sliced through players’ necks, glass, hard rubber discs fired at a hundred miles per hour via long hooked clubs wielded by huge men weighing over two hundred pounds and traveling at close to thirty miles per hour.

If you want to see the beauty of hockey you have to check some Bobby Orr hi-lites,the only defenseman in NHL history to win the scoring title,and he did it twice!! And won the best defensemen award 8 years in a row! A class act to this day!

The guy at the beginning answering the question "is hockey hard?" is Hall-of-Famer Brendan Shanahan. Perhaps they should have asked someone less talented? Shanahan does have the unusual distinction of being highly ranked on the career lists for both scoring and penalty minutes (one cannot score from the penalty box). My favorite part of hockey is the intensity in the playoffs. When I was in my teens and early 20s, every playoff series felt like a matter of life-and-death. Now that I'm older and have seen my team win, I'm more of a casual fan, but the playoffs are still more exciting than the regular season.

As a canadian growing up in Quebec, every kid, boys and girls, played hockey. Today, even though I was never good enough to play organized hockey past the age of 12, I still get nods of respect when someone notices my chipped from tooth and all I have to say is "high stick to the face".

Thank you for highlighting my game... From Canada and hockey is everything

That goal batted out of the air that was saved would've been called back if they scored anyway. You can't knock the puck in with a high stick, stick has to be under the crossbar of the net. But yes, the most beautiful sport in the world in my opinion. I might be biased, I'm Canadian and its in my blood lol

I’m 60, I’ve lived my entire life in a rink, from military base rinks to the biggest arenas in North America. It’s à fantastic game. And the hockey community is incredibly tight.

martin st louis is a david in a world of goliath , he is now the coach of mtl and as a french canadian couldnt be more proud.

Canadians are born with a hockey stick in one hand and a puck in the other.

I love watching your reactions and seeing your enthusiasm for our game. Thank you. 👏👏🇨🇦🇨🇦

Soccer, Hockey, and Basketball are all fantastic and similar games to some extent. Two way sports that require players to be both offensive and defensive at the drop of a hat. Fast breaks and desperation plays. Finesse for days. They stand head and shoulders above any other sports in my book. Also, check out Phil Kessel. He's a wonderful example of an...unconventional body type excelling athletically. NHL has been on the rise for a while. Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Russia, all have pretty solid hockey programs. I haven't run into any sports fans that have actually given hockey chance that haven't fallen in love. The deal with baseball...it's a turn based sport, that doesn't have the same level of physicality that American Football does to keep spectators hooked. Between innings, between hitters, even between pitches sometimes, nothing is seemingly happening.

They have hosted nhl games in many other countries such as Sweden and the Czech Republic. There is even some hockey played in the UK although not at the NHL level. It's always showcased now at the winter Olympics as one of last events too. ❤

Martin St-Louis insane player, insane coach

I have watched Hockey my whole life and I would say the best part is the comradery. These players are traded back and forth and know each other. They play hard and congratulate each others achievements. Even after a fight you will hear them tell each other "Nice job, bud". They are just boy playing with heart and skill. Beautiful game.

Please remember one thing, Hockey is Canadian, much, much more than American. Invented in Canada, and I believe over 50% of NHL players are Canadian. Used to be over 80%, but many more teams, many more players happened. And yes, I am Canadian. Also, don't forget, those fights are happening ON ICE!!! One thing that is very special in NHL hockey, is how hard it is to actually win the Stanley Cup. When the playoffs start, there are 16 teams. They are paired up, best vs worst, 2 against 7, in two divisions. They play best of seven series. When done, remaining eight pair up and play another best of seven series. And again, and last one decides winner, so any team has to win 4 best of seven series, so have to win 16 games in all. And by the way, when the series start, they play every second night!! Only one night off between games, unless travel is involved, then they get 2. And if a team wins in 4 straight, they get a break until ALL series are done before continuing. But intense, and not much time off between games (even in regular season, a team plays 2 or 3 times a WEEK. Football is once a week, not sure about basketball, but hockey, being so physical most lines change every MINUTE or so, playing that often is tough!!

Hockey is every where in Canada. Even if you're not the least bit athletic you played floor hockey in school during PE class. Kids play street hockey in their neighbourhoods. People in large parts of the States just don't get much exposure to hockey.

Honestly I can't describe how much I love Hockey!! It is IMO the greatest, toughest most rewarding game to play. Even as an amateur whose never played at the highest level, I love giving it my all in the net. When you win the whole team and fans revel in the joy. Even more important, when you lose you lose as a team.

6:08 Martin St. Louis scores in overtime against his home town team days after his mother passed.

4:14 Wouldn't have counted anyways if it had gone in as his stick was well above the crossbar when it made contact with the puck.

The best part of hockey to me is the headgame and playmaking. What sets great players and great teams apart is their skill at understanding WHAT the opponent is thinking, how to MANIPULATE their opponent’s thinking, and how to FORESEE how the play is going to develop, and how to PLAN to take advantage of those. Clean passing plays, positioning, timing, and understanding flow, on the ice at game speed. I know you watched McDavid, but at his best, he just looks like someone who has played through every possible scenario so many time before, knows all of his options, and chooses the best one that not even the fans at home would have seen with the game paused, but he does it at game-speed. If Crosby makes it look like he has eyes on the back of his head, then McDavid makes it look like he has eyes on the instant replay of what he’s about to do to get on the highlight reel.

You made some great comments, Mert. Every sports fan loves their game. And all games are great in there own way (even curling). But hockey is unique. Espn rated sports on which is the toughest and hockey came #2 after... boxing. I'm an 80 yr old Canadian who still plays in a +80 "league" and I love my game to play and to watch. It is an intense game and may not be everybody's favourite, but like you said, different elements can be appreciated on their own. For me, the number one thing is teamwork, team play, passing, standing up for your brother.

As a Defenceman in Hockey myself I'm more of an enforcer (keep the other team under control if they get rowdy) and I love it

NHL is hockey at its highest level. You have to see it live to appreciate how hard these guys play. I live in Winnipeg, Canada, and our team is ok, but not Stanley Cup level, yet. However, just the anthem at a game will get you going, LOL. That said, there are tens of thousands of players in Canada and beyond that just play for fun, non- contact or limited contact. It's great exercise, sharpens your hand / eye, and puts you with people.

you should react to Elias Petterson or conner Bedard next

I have played countless hours of hockey and picking one of the top shelf corners with a powerful slap shot is as good as it gets for sports.

Honestly, IMO, a huge reason hockey isn't more popular in some areas is that it is a challenging sport to follow for a beginner. The action is so fast and that little puck is zipping around...it's hard to track/follow what's going on. Like, you're looking in one area then all of a sudden the puck is in the back of the net and you're like "wtf just happened?" But once you learn certain cues and what to watch for, there's nothing else like it.

Love seeing people checking out hockey. I've played my whole life and I always like seeing people giving it a shot and appreciating the game. Also, "Handbag fights" LOL. Great saying, going to have to steal that one.

One of hockey's biggest obstacles as far as growth of the sport is the cost of entry. Kids can play soccer with just a ball and some open space, baseball just needs one bat and a ball, if your local park has a hoop you can get a basketball game together, kids can toss around a football even if they're not playing a full contact game. But for hockey, everyone needs a stick, everyone needs skates, everyone needs loads of safety equipment, ice time is expensive, and kids outgrow that expensive gear quickly. That effectively prices out a ton of kids from low income families that wind up gravitating towards other sports instead.

Having played goal (not NHL) my favorite are amazing saves that absolutely piss off the player who took the shot. I loved that. Second is the absolute destruction that people like Scott Stevens brought - there are other defensemen that were great also. Third the fact that you can fight things out and there are unwritten rules and the penalties for fighting are minimal

Love to see new converts. It’s even better when you know and love a player!! I’m my son’s biggest fan. Will he ever make the nhl-nope but he’s passionate about his play. Minor hockey for 8 years. Only 2 left 😢 before he ages out. He’s lived “between the pipes” longer than he hasn’t.

I was fortunate to live in Edmonton during the 80’s. I was able to attend many games, including the entire 83 playoffs. Nothing like sitting behind the net and watching Paul Coffey glide around the back of the net, pick up the puck and be gone like a rocket. Or seeing Pat Hughes score 5 goals. Or seeing Grant Fuhr get his first shutout, Jari Kurri reach 300 career points, Randy Gregg reach 100, and Dave Lumley get his second Gordie Howe hat trick - all in the same game. Nothing beats the action of a well played hockey game.

Mert - You really need to come to Canada and watch a game in person! The atmosphere is crazy!

Remember that guy... Brooks Laich sp? was it? ... from the Washington Capitals ... out changing a flat tire for a couple of fans (mother, daughter think it was?) on the side of the freeway, after his team got eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs... What other athlete , from what other sport, would even think of doing such a thing? The Piestany-Punch Up... Fight night in Motown between Detroit & Colorado (bad blood from Claude Lemieux's destruction of Chris Draper's face)... The Miracle on Ice... The 1972 Canada Russia Summit Series...Philadelphia Flyers vs Red Army... Those were all 'OVER THE TOP' Hockey moments... and yeah... I'm more than old enough to have seen them all...

Favorite part, I dont think I could even pick. Spectacular saves, amazing goals. The energy in big-moment celebrations. Everything good.

You have to watch some hockey vids from the 80's / 90's era. A totally different style, in terms of defensive play. They could hang off the other players and stuff. Great to watch that era.

one of my favorite aspects of hockey is the setup plays. I'm a bit biased on this, but I highly recommend watching some Sedin twins videos. The way they were able to find each other on the ice was absolutely uncanny! The amount of passes/setup goals they had in their careers were amazing to watch! As a Canucks fan, I definitely feel privileged to have been able to watch'em live.

Some great videos that cover the emotions of the game: - Hockey Night in Canada 2013 Playoff Opening - Hockey Night in Canada 2013 Playoff Opening - Centennial Classic 100 Years Sportsnet Pre Game Montage

Canadian poet Al Purdy once described hockey as a combination of ballet and murder. I've always liked that description.

3:35 is Pavel "The magician" Datsyuk

as a group I think hockey players are the most talented all around athletes.

I've watched a couple of your hockey reactions now and you seem to enjoy a good story. Check out the St Louis Blues - Road to the Stanley Cup. What that team did was truly amazing, unique in the entirety of sports and a hell of a story

On the subject of getting hockey into more markets or why it is limited, in the early days hockey was played outdoors, which meant Canada could play with no problem and the northern US states could too. Below that, ice was not guaranteed. After it moved indoors, it remained a game reserved for the northern part of the continent. LA which was the first southern city to have hockey used to be rough to play in, as maintaining the ice was tough when the air temperature outside the rink was so warm and humid. Other southern teams that joined the league later still suffer from problems of temperature and humidity, ice quality suffers - ice is ice to a casual observer, but the guys who maintain it are artists and the quality of the ice is key. Hockey players and figure skaters use ice that is at totally different temperatures, its just frozen water, but its qualities vary depending on the actual temperature. Sometimes for fun or an "experiment" they will put hockey players and figure skaters side by side in competitions. The figure skaters are normally just left in awe of how well hockey players skate.

I know it’s difficult for lots of people to get into playing hockey young as well. Being from rural Canada, it was so easy to acquire used gear and even go skating outdoors in the winter but I know it isn’t as easy in many areas of the US

It's hard to expand hockey's fanbase because it is a fast paced game and it's hard to follow the puck if you haven't grown up with it. I forget which network tried highlighting the puck but they only did it for a few seasons. On another note, one thing people forget is hockey players didn't always enjoy the protection they have now. Look at Jacques Plante, the first goalie to wear a goalie mask. That's right, a mask and not a helmet.

We're Proud to have you as a new Fan.....!!!...^ 5 ...!!

My favourite part of hockey is when a team is down by a goal with dying seconds in the game scores, then it goes into overtime and they end up winning. Unless of course the team that wins doesn't beat my team, Then it sucks. Especially in a playoff game, the most exciting action is playoff overtime hockey. In playoff overtime hockey it's do or die. And the players know it, so they ramp up their game and give it the extra bit.

Just for context: During the gold medal game at 2010 Winter Olympics Canada vs USA at certain points of the game there were 25 million Canadians watching on tv. From a population of 38 million.

Love this channel honestly

The hand-eye coordination is ridiculous

You should react to best hockey cellys.

So glad I found your channel. I subbed right away! Hockey is the greatest sport imo.

To say hockey was a religion in my house while growing up would be an understatement. My father and brother loved the game passionately, and my brother now works as an NHL scout. My husband is 53 and still plays beer league hockey 3 nights a week.

Hockey has a different culture from other sports. If a young person has the talent and tenacity to make it to AA or AAA level midget or junior quite often they are drafted to teams away from their home communities. Then they are billeted with volunteer families that are responsible for their diet, exercise, SCHOOLWORK, appropriate dress, and helping to tutor them in how to behave with the public and the press. Hockey is a major financial investment by parents and teams and is quite different than a ball on a playground

4:16 had that went into the net it would have been disallowed for 'high-sticking' the puck.

My father loved soccer until he came to Canada and fell in love with hockey.

so glad you've taken to our canadian game mert

Hockey has always been 4th on the list of the 4 major sports in the US in terms of popularity. It's hugely popular in certain areas but not nationally. It's popular in parts of eastern europe and Scandinavia, some of the best NHL players come from there

BEAUTIFUL job!

All of it everything I am a 55 year old guy been on skates since I was 3 yrs old stopped playing in my men's league about 12 years ago but still get on the ice and play pick up or as we call it shinny with the kids and now the grandkids. I love this game I love my Leafs I bleed blue and white. But I will watch any game on TV that is on just cause I am a fan of the game.