They know how the system works, so they don't get all worked up over the little things. Serbus, who worked as a trainer for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs from 1996-97, said while it is more common to hear stories of quick recoveries and athletes playing with injuries in hockey than it is in football, comparisons between the two sports are futile. In football, you only play once a week. Hockey players have three, four, sometimes five games a week. And unlike football, where you might have a single injury that ends a season, hockey players might have two or three injuries that they come back from.
Intimidation permeates hockey.
It is a collision sport, and there is a difference. Baseball, basketball and soccer, those are contact sports. The difference is the intent. There is contact in those sports, but it's not necessarily intentional. In hockey and football the players are hitting each other dead-on, on purpose.