There are times when Scott Stevens looks out from the Wild bench and feels a bit of the old anger welling up. That’s when some pipsqueak of a forward crowds the Minnesota goaltender, jabbing and bumping him with impunity.

“Yeah, but now it’s like you almost forget the old days and how it was played,” Stevens said with a smile.

A Hall of Fame defenseman, Stevens would not have tolerated such behavior. An opposing forward entered Stevens’ territory at his own risk. And he usually discovered rather quickly that the risk-reward profile was not favorable. Ka-pow!

Stevens, an assistant coach for Bruce Boudreau, was the best open-ice hitter I ever saw. And this was especially true during the playoffs, when he’d release his inner Amtrak and turn into a locomotive when opposing players tried crossing the blue line. YouTube is filled with videos of skaters flying through the air after being greeted by Stevens.

A 13-time all-star and winner of three Stanley Cups, he also was a master of the now-lost art of hip-checking. His 22-year career ended just before massive, and mostly ineffective, rule changes were introduced to try to juice scoring.

A whole generation now has grown up with a kinder, gentler NHL. Defensemen no longer are allowed to clear the front of the crease. Referees protect forwards who take up squatters’ rights dangerously close to the crease. This has resulted in such a mob in front of the net that pucks rarely get through to the goaltender. And most goals come from mad scrambles.

Stevens has adapted beautifully and developed appropriate teaching techniques. Wild defensemen are having an outstanding season.

“I enjoy watching the game so I learn,” Stevens said. “You look to what works and how it has evolved. It’s always evolving. Obviously with the rule changes and the red line and penalties and what not, that was a big thing.

“I still think, overall, what works hasn’t changed, to a certain extent. We still emphasize boxing out. Not letting guys get to the net. I’m not a big fronting guy. I would rather they get to people before they get to the front. Let the goalie see the puck. We want to protect the middle of the ice.”

I knew it really wasn’t going to happen, but when Stevens was hired I had this vision of Wild defensemen delivering hip checks and sending opposing players sailing through space.

“No, I’m not going to teach anybody to hit,” Stevens said. “Unless they ask me.”

No one has asked.

“I think that’s something that’s in the person. You’re either a physical person or you’re not,’’ he said. “You can sort of push people in there a bit, but it’s either in your DNA or it’s not. That’s my opinion.”

Without the red line, the game has turned into a speed-skating exhibition. Guys skate furiously back and forth, often with very little happening hockey-wise. Because of the high speed, all body checks are potentially lethal. It’s no wonder physical play has diminished.

“It is because guys are worrying about injury, guys are worried about getting suspended and losing pay,” Stevens noted. “And obviously the league has had to make the game safer. Football’s done that with the receivers and the quarterbacks, so I think it was just time and it was going to happen and it’s here now.

“Those good old hip checks … Now everybody analyzes, ‘Is he too low? Is he too high?’ It’s an art, it’s a timing. It takes practice and skill to make those hits. But it sure seems like everybody frowns upon them. They think, ‘oh, he’s trying to hurt his career, take his knees out.’ But if you hit him right, and I’ve received a few of those checks, it’s actually a very easy fall to the ice. A real slow motion type of thing. It’s not violent.”

So Stevens, known as Captain Crunch when he played, emphasizes other tactics, such as preventing clean entries into the zone and turning the play around as quickly as possible.

I just want to emphasize here that he is a very modern coach. And during our conversation, I was the only dinosaur in the room.

“There’s no question east-west has been taken out of the game,” he said. “There are still are some players that are good at it. Patrick Kane is excellent at playing east-west. There’s only a few of those guys that can do that.”

Stevens notes there are a few defensemen with an old-school mentality. He mentions Alexei Emelin of Montreal and Radko Gudas of the Flyers. In fact, he said he saw Emelin deliver a hip check during a Canadiens rout of the Avalanche.

“There’s still a few defensemen that are pretty physical,” he said. “But not many.”

Younger fans don’t know what they are missing.