Darcy Hordichuk is in the NHL for one reason—to fight.
So what better way to help out his game than to train with former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell?
Hordichuk thinks this will help his game out alot too. With 302 games in the NHL behind him, Hordichuk has picked up 99 fighting majors, 747 penalty minutes, and only 26 points. You can clearly see that he is a role player who likes to fight.
Darcy feels that fighting is becoming more popular in hockey again, and the "enforcers" are getting bigger and stronger. Darcy knows they he will stay the same size, so he feels that training with Liddell and his trainer, John Hackelman, will give him some advantage in fights.
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"I knew that if I wanted to make it in the NHL I wasn't skilled enough to put the puck in the net and my skating at the time was all right. But I said, you know, if I want to play with the big boys, I've got to be one of the big boys," said Hordichuk.
Now, Hordichuk isn't the first NHL enforcer to train in the MMA scene. The Philadelphia Flyers' rising tough guy Riley Cote also trained in the MMA too.
''I'm just trying to get an edge. I'm going to do the most I can to keep my job and be the best at my job,'' says Cote.
This could be trend for upcoming NHL enforcers. Riley Cote can now hang with the best of them after his training. And I'm sure fighters around the league won't be looking foward to see Darcy's new tricks.
"If I can't punch them up on the ice, I'll choke a hold on the ice," jokes Hordichuk.
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4 months ago
yeah i've heard of this before. it's kind of sad in my opinion. hockey should not be solely about fighting. it is sort of like an added bonus, but i don't go to a game expecting to see a wrestling match
4 months ago
Just wait until you see your first rear naked choke on ice. Brrrrrrrrr!
4 months ago
great fuking article, best yet!
4 months ago
Crazy stuff. And kinda sad. Hockey is the only sport, besides MMA of course, where you can get into a fight and the worst thing happens is you get put in timeout. I am having childhood flash backs. Hockey needs to regain its integrity, not focus on what has nothing to do with the sport itself.
4 months ago
I myself love fighting in hockey. Of course I don't go to a game just to see a scrap. But I just love seeing the fights. Big part of the game I think.
4 months ago
"i once went to a fight and a hockey game broke out", hahahahaha
3 months ago
FIGHTING IN HOCKEY IS THE BEST WE NEED IT IN THE nhl TO BRING FANS IN LIKE ME and to protect your players from getting hit and to get things going AND THE FANS LOVE IT.
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