It would take way more than six months for Jalen Ramsey to make the NHL … right? (AP Photo) In shocking news, a group of athletes have taken issue with a comment from Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey. However, we aren’t talking about football players this time. In one sentence of a wide-ranging feature from ESPN’s Mina Kimes last week, Ramsey threw out the idea that he could make the NHL after only six months of training, despite apparently never having skated in his life. That predictably drew the ire of a few NHL players, who have spent quite a bit of time and effort working to become some of the best hockey players on Earth. Time and effort that Ramsey seems to undermine by saying he could do what they do with a half-year of practice. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan captured some of that ire in an article with comments from several of the NHL’s top players. They did not hold back. NHL players not happy with Jalen Ramsey’s comments Jalen Ramsey told @minakimes he could make the NHL in six months if he tried. So I asked a bunch of NHL players what they thought. Let's just say they weren't amused. https://t.co/mqJ2dY9bwV pic.twitter.com/1hbc8DXzNN — Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) September 6, 2018 Now, both sides have made some interesting points … actually, no, the NHL players are 100 percent right. Sure, Ramsey could be the most athletic player in the entire NHL, but all the athleticism in the world can’t buy the years of practice it takes to learn how to skate, learn how to skate like a hockey player and learn what it takes to be at the right place at the right time in a competitive hockey game. Ramsey’s comments, at least as Kimes presents them, appear to stem from his past success trying lacrosse and dominating opponents once he figured out how to use his stick. If it worked for lacrosse, why not hockey? Story continues Aside from baseball, which he says he lacks the coordination for, he’s excelled at every sport he’s ever tried. He picked up lacrosse for a season and, once he figured out how to handle the stick, ran circles around the competition. (“There’s not a lot of black people who do it,” he says, smiling.) He’s never tried skating, but if he trained for six months, he says, he could probably crack the NHL. Of course, there are several factors that separate taking up lacrosse from taking up hockey. For starters, and this is pretty simple, Ramsey already knew how to move on a lacrosse field. As several NHL players pointed out, learning how to ice skate is a challenge in itself. It’s also worth noting that whatever competition Ramsey “ran circles around,” it probably wasn’t as high a level of play as the NHL. Per CNN, the average salary of Major League Lacrosse, the nation’s top lacrosse league, comes in between $10,000 and $20,000. Meanwhile, the average NHL salary is easily in the millions. Ramsey would have a lot further to go than he did in lacrosse if he wants to become an elite hockey player. One NHL player thinks Ramsey could make the league Despite all the blowback toward Ramsey’s comments, at least has one NHL player who thinks he could make the league. Just not in six months. New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider told Kaplan that while he thinks Ramsey is underestimating how easy it would be to learn how to skate, he believes the cornerback would eventually play in the NHL thanks to sheer athleticism. “It’s so funny to me,” Kreider said, before breaking down the mechanics: “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. “I’m sure with his pedigree and his athleticism he could play in the NHL, but it would take a lot longer than six months.” Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov was also welcoming toward Ramsey. “I would like to see that, for sure,” Kuznetsov said. “He can come; we can help him. It’s cool if an athlete wants to try something new.” Thatall might be possible, but we’re obviously not going to be finding out for sure. Ramsey isn’t cutting down his football commitments anytime soon, and he probably wasn’t even serious while making what might have been a throwaway comment. Ramsey’s comments are simply one of the most confident, outspoken and competitive human beings on the planet being confident, outspoken and competitive. More from Yahoo Sports: • Missouri college takes action over Kaepernick ad • Rockies slugger hits historic home run on big night • Jeff Passan: Why surgery may not be so devastating for Ohtani • Henry Bushnell: How winning the Super Bowl changed Philly<doc-sep>Jalen Ramsey has insulted more than his share of fellow NFL players, but with his claim that he could crack an NHL roster with just six months of training, the Jacksonville Jaguars' all-pro cornerback has ventured into new territory. The comments Ramsey made in an interview with ESPN The Magazine didn't sit well with several NHL players. "I think it's insulting to our league," Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel told ESPN. "I think it's ridiculous he would say that. It's ignorant." Ramsey's boast might be a little harder to back up seeing how he also admitted he's never skated before - to which Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares replied, "Well, I'd tell him good luck then." New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider wouldn't dismiss the idea of Ramsey being able to play in the NHL, but emphatically stated, "It would take a lot longer than six months" because learning to skate is a skill in itself. More:NHL looks at Voynov domestic-abuse case to determine if he can return More:Hockey Hall: Please, no more keg stands on Stanley Cup What makes Ramsey different from most NHL players is his capacity for self-promotion. Last year's runner-up in the NHL's MVP voting, Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, wondered what might happen if someone like Ramsey did get a shot in the NHL. "It's good for the NFL, for someone to go out and talk like that. It brings a lot of attention," MacKinnon said. "If it happened in hockey, it would make the sport a little more popular, too, and we'd take it." Follow Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner<doc-sep>If someone loves something, it's probably a bad idea to antagonize them about that thing. Whether it be in terms of difficulty, relevance or just how good you have to be to do it. With that in mind, it's definitely a bad idea to say that you could go professional in a sport after six months of training, which is exactly what Jalen Ramsey told Mina Kimes about hockey in an ESPN feature published at the end of last month. In response, ESPN's Emily Kaplan decided to ask a few NHL players what they thought of Ramsey's comments. And boy were they ever mad. The Sabres' Jack Eichel, the Blues' Vladimir Tarasenko, the Red Wings' Dylan Larkin, the Sharks' Evander Kane and the Blue Jackets' Seth Jones all took issue with what Ramsey said -- especially given that he's never skated. Kane's comment is by far the most interesting, and it's impossible not to wonder what the star winger would look like as a defensive back. Larkin and Jones seemed stuck on the fact that he can't skate, whereas Eichel and Tarasenko took Ramsey's comments as a slight against the NHL as a whole. NHL players are probably wondering why Ramsey is even coming after them, so the fact they're angry is justified. Maybe in six months we'll get a video of Ramsey shredding the ice to at least prove Larkin wrong, but it's unlikely we'll see him suiting up in the NHL any time soon.<doc-sep>Jason Behnken/Associated Press Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey recently ruffled some feathers in an interview with ESPN's Mina Kimes, and he was so outspoken that he even rubbed some athletes in a different sport the wrong way. In the profile, Ramsey told Kimes that he has excelled in every sport that he has played other than baseball. That includes, most notably, football and lacrosse. And while he has never given hockey a shot, he is confident that he could make it to the NHL if he trained for six months. That didn't sit well with professional hockey players, as you could imagine. Some players spend the majority of their upbringing playing the game and never even sniff the NHL. To say he could pick up the sport and perform well enough to reach the best hockey league in the world within six months comes off as borderline disrespectful. "I think it's insulting to our league," Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel said, per ESPN.com's Emily Kaplan. "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." Eichel was not alone in those sentiments, either. "I can bet any money in the world and there's no chance he can play in the NHL in six months," St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko told Kaplan. "It's impossible. Him saying that ... it de-classes our sport." Video Play Button Videos you might like Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones believes Ramsey would have a hard time just mastering a fundamental of the sport. "You can't even learn to skate in six months," Jones told Kaplan. While none of the players Kaplan spoke to were willing to pull a Ramsey and declare themselves ready for the NFL, one NHL player did make his feelings on the subject quite clear. "I think I'd be about 1,000 percent times better at his position in six months than he'll be at mine," San Jose Sharks winger Evander Kane said. Ramsey has turned himself into a Pro Bowl cornerback in just two years in the NFL. Even if he believes he could succeed on the ice, he appears to have a long and bright future ahead of him on the gridiron.<doc-sep>
Photo : Adam Glanzman ( Getty Images ) With the NBA season still over a month away from starting, NHL players needed a new source from which to draw their insecurity. In last month’s ESPN profile from Mina Kimes, Jaguars cornerback and real-life shitposter Jalen Ramsey bragged that his competitive nature would make him an elite talent at any sport: “Aside from baseball, which he says he lacks the coordination for, he’s excelled at every sport he’s ever tried. He picked up lacrosse for a season and, once he figured out how to handle the stick, ran circles around the competition. (“There’s not a lot of black people who do it,” he says, smiling.) He’s never tried skating, but if he trained for six months, he says, he could probably crack the NHL.”﻿ What should have been seen as brash self-promotion of his greatness was taken as an affront to the sport of hockey by current NHL players. Sabres center Jack Eichel called it “insulting to our league,” while Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko said Ramsey’s boast “de-classes our sport.” Others, like Red Wings center Dylan Larkin, were dismissive specifically because he said he’d never skated before. Most of the players interviewed in today’s ESPN article about Ramsey’s comments reflected an attitude of trying to safeguard the sport from outsiders. These undeniable professional athletes acted as if the Jaguars defensive back was actually going to threaten to take their roster spots. Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon was one of the rare respondents who took the remarks as they were intended: “I think it’s awesome, I mean, I’d like to see him skate,” MacKinnon said. “I think it would be pretty funny. He wouldn’t be able to stand up. I think he just likes to talk. Whatever.” [...] “It’s good for the NFL, for someone to go out and talk like that. It brings a lot of attention,” MacKinnon said. “If it happened in hockey, it would make the sport a little more popular, too, and we’d take it.” Someone gets it! Ramsey’s not going to give up being the best corner in the NFL to pursue a career in hockey, so there’s no need to take what he said so damn seriously. (Also, it’s fun to imagine Ramsey, with his build and ability to pick up skills faster than the average person due to years of repetition in one sport, as a speedy winger screaming down the ice.) Of course, another acceptable way to handle all of this is to be like Evgeny Kuznetsov, who may or may not have given Ramsey a soft pitch to join the Capitals: “I would like to see that, for sure,” Kuznetsov said. “He can come; we can help him. It’s cool if an athlete wants to try something new.”﻿ Help them defend the Cup, Jalen. [ESPN]