Don Cherry talks Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em, rapping, fighting and Stamkos

Don Cherry watches his recruits on the ice before the BMO CHL/NHL Top Prospects game on Thursday Jan 22 2015 at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines. (Postmedia Network file photo)When Don Cherry made the first Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Hockey video in 1989, enforcers still roamed the end of the bench and there was no such thing as an illegal hit to the head.

Twenty-six years later, the game has changed.

But the annual Christmas stocking stuffer, which is now on volume 27, remains pretty much the same. There’s highlight goals, saves, hits and a couple of fights thrown in at the end.

“I saw an interview and they asked Niklas Kronwall how he learned to hit like that in hockey,” said Cherry. “And he…