Jacksonville Jaguars All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey made waves in the hockey world recently, claiming in a tell-all interview with ESPN's Mina Kimes that he could probably crack the NHL with six months of training.
Cue the outrage.
With training camp for the 2018-19 season around the corner, several prominent NHLers were asked about Ramsey's claim, and it's safe to say they disagree.
"I think it's insulting to our league," Buffalo Sabres star Jack Eichel told Emily Kaplan of ESPN. "For us as players, we've dedicated our lives to be playing in the NHL. To think after six months you could come play arguably one of the hardest sports in the world? I mean, I think it's ridiculous he would say that. It's ignorant."
St. Louis Blues sniper Vladimir Tarasenko shared Eichel's disbelief.
"I can bet any money in the world there's no chance he can play in the NHL in six months. It's impossible. Him saying that ... it de-classes our sport," he said.
Chris Kreider of the New York Rangers tried his best to apply some logic to the hypothetical scenario, but still wasn't buying it.
"It's funny to me," Kreider said. "I think he's an unbelievable athlete, but skating is a skill set unto itself - just like running is, just like swimming is. Think of someone who has never swam before. If you've never been in the water before, no matter how good of an athlete you are, chances are, you're not going to be an Olympic-caliber swimmer in six months."
Among all the critics, Stanley Cup champion Evgeny Kuznetsov stood as the lone optimist.
"I would like to see that, for sure," he said. "He can come; we can help him. It's cool if an athlete wants to try something new."
Ramsey does have quite the athletic resume, to his credit. He's emerged as arguably the best shutdown corner in the NFL since being drafted fifth overall by the Jags in 2016 and had a prolific track and field career at Florida State on top of his football duties.
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