Conditioning Camps

Brett Hull

The problem, Hull said, begins with youth hockey in North America, where the emphasis is on defensive play rather than individual skills and creativity.

"The youth in both the States and Canada are taught to play without style or grace," he told Oake. "How come every Russian, who comes over here, is so skilled, and every Swede, but the North Americans are so inept? Because [Europeans] are taught to play a very skilled game growing up. So why don't we do that? "

I watch my son practice. And at eight years old, they're trying to structure him into systems. Why don't they teach him to skate, shoot and stickhandle? That's the hard part. The rest is easy."

Brett Hull, The Globe and Mail– December 14, 2002