Is staying healthy a talent?

[Stoner]

nm

[Sabres Fan in NS]

No.  Mostly luck.  Being in good shape, which these guys are helps, but just like 'puck luck' is a thing.  Not getting hurt is lucky.

[inkman]

The best ability is availability- 

/butthole coaches everywhere 

[Marvin]

Not exactly.  Players can get hurt with sub-optimal biomechanics.  Players who to do things far outside their skillset (like a skill player fighting a pugilist) get hurt more often.  Injuries also come from trying to do too much.  That is a side from just the vagaries of luck.  But doing things properly makes a player luckier where injuries are concerned.

[Thorner]

It’s an attribute 

There’s obviously a ton of randomness also present

We don’t need to necessarily define WHY some players are more, or less, susceptible to nonetheless be aware of the fact some players have proven to be so, over large sample sizes 

[Zamboni]

Is not breaking a stick during a slapshot, a talent?

Is not having the strap pop off the back of the goalie helmet when a puck strikes the mask, a talent?

Is not falling down when your ice skate hits a bad patch of ice, a talent?

 

[Randall Flagg]

Yeah, with lots of caveats and variance like all characteristics. 

On one front, there is knowledge and skill in taking care of your body off the ice, proper warm-ups etc. This can obviously vary from player to player 

On another front, the mechanical ability to handle a situation where you need to fall or stop fast or take a hit. Another sport, but Tua's falling lessons to prevent concussions are an example. This is a skill which can be trained and vary from player to player. 

On yet another front, being more skilled at hockey makes you more skilled at injury prevention. If you need to play above your abilities to have a prayer to keep up with your opponent, and are overwhelmed with what is happening on the ice, you are far more likely to lose control in a fall or pull something, than if you can keep up with and process what your opponent is doing. 

Just like having the hardest shot, the best goalie, the fastest skater doesn't guarantee you a win in an NHL game, being good at this stuff doesn't mean your players will never be injured. But it would be ridiculous to suggest that all injuries are entirely luck-based even though luck is a large component of many injuries. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

It does seem that certain organizations have better training and conditioning staffs.  

[bg17]

3 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

It does seem that certain organizations have better training and conditioning staffs.  

For instance?

[Quint]

(+/-) Luck, recklessness, confidence, play style, excessive youth or age, fighting, hockey IQ and injury history also factor into it, besides strength/conditioning.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Quint

[Skibum]

Not always, but it certainly can be. Look at guys like Messier, Chelios, Jagr - or their football equivalents like Bruce Smith, Clay Mathews, Jerry Rice - They all had significant injuries at some point in their careers (I think), but mostly they played game after game of violent pro sports at the highest level for much longer than virtually all of their peers could. And many of those peers worked every bit as hard at conditioning. 

They had the luck of good genetics, and probably a good measure of balance, skill, and smarts to avoid damage. That's TALENT.

That said, most guys probably have to rely on conditioning and luck. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by Skibum

[Broken Ankles]

10 minutes ago, Skibum said:

Not always, but it certainly can be. Look at guys like Messier, Chelios, Jagr - or their football equivalents like Bruce Smith, Clay Mathews, Jerry Rice - They all had significant injuries at some point in their careers (I think), but mostly they played game after game of violent pro sports at the highest level for much longer than virtually all of their peers could. And many of those peers worked every bit as hard at conditioning. 

They had the luck of good genetics, and probably a good measure of balance, skill, and smarts to avoid damage. That's TALENT.

That said, most guys probably have to rely on conditioning and luck. 

Maybe more luck and conditioning.

 

[French Collection]

VO has been pretty durable, his talent is avoiding battles.

[John Tucker]

If it's a talent, then Samuelsson is not very talented!!

[Archie Lee]

I do think that spatial awareness plays a role in injuries.  Some athletes have a natural ability to recognize when to bail-out of a situation that is potentially injurious. Others don't, at least not at the same level.

[bunomatic]

Having a well thought out stretching regimen will help cut down on injuries but it won’t help if some asshat throws a dirty hit and blows out your knee. Thats just dumb luck. No amount of good stretches, happy meals or lucky charms is going to prevent the dumb luck injury and neither will talent.

Edited November 10, 2023 by bunomatic

[French Collection]

20 minutes ago, bunomatic said:

Having a well thought out stretching regimen will help cut down on injuries but it won’t help if some asshat throws a dirty hit and blows out your knee. Thats just dumb luck. No amount of good stretches, happy meals or lucky charms is going to prevent the dumb luck injury and neither will talent.

Eberle getting his leg cut in practice is an example of bad luck injuries. Sounds like he is only day to day, could have been a lot worse.

[shrader]

Bryson is staying healthy. 

[Pimlach]

19 hours ago, Thorny said:

It’s an attribute 

There’s obviously a ton of randomness also present

We don’t need to necessarily define WHY some players are more, or less, susceptible to nonetheless be aware of the fact some players have proven to be so, over large sample sizes 

It’s an attribute made up of:  knowing how to take a hit,  and how to give a hit,  and having the body type,  and being in shape, and sprinkle in having some good luck. 

[Courier-Express]

4 hours ago, shrader said:

Bryson is staying healthy. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

It would be instructive to see if there is a correlation between man games lost and which teams make the playoffs.  It would also be helpful to see if certain teams are consistently among the most or least man games lost during the season over the last 3-5 seasons.  Injuries that occur prior to the season (like Quinn's) or players on LTIR to start the season (like Carey Price) shouldn't be included in the calculation.

Anyone know where those stats can be found?

[HOUSE]

Some people are just born healthy

[pi2000]

I wouldn't call it a talent, more a blessing... and not because of luck. 

Some are just more durable than others.