Hall of Fame player Mark Messier, now a youth coach himself, chimed in at an Aspen Institute event in New York in January, issuing a harsh critique of coaches promoting the idea that training for the NHL needs to start in grade school.

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And then there is former Rangers star Mark Messier, who works as a special assistant to Sather.

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Mr. Christensen, who now works as a broadcaster for the MountainWest Sports Network, recalled the story about how Mark Messier, in one of his first acts as captain of the New York Rangers in 1991, removed a table that divided the locker room so he could look each of his teammates in the eye.

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