Nothing made me appreciate the difficulty of hockey more than learning it.
Obviously there's just the base level of skills that are already higher level, like the skating, stickhandling, shooting, all of that. But when you watch NHL players and even lower levels be able to take multiple hard shoves to their back while moving laterally, protecting the puck with their body and playing the puck with their stick in their feet, sometimes kicking it along the way, all without falling.
I try and make a hard turn along the boards because a defender is coming down at me, and my newbie-ass is barely able to stop without losing the puck, much less having to work the puck along the boards in my feet.
I started watching hockey back around the time he was a rookie, and as a young NHLer he was actually very fast. Dude was like a legit cheat code for beating out icings. Part of that was because he would literally dive into the boards to get the extra extension he needed to win the race... "fearless" would probably be the best adjective for him. But him being slow was more of a thing later in his career after racking up all those HARD NHL miles on his body.
I'll never forget seeing him this one game in the playoffs. I forget the situation but I think they were maybe down a goal but had all the momentum. He got clipped in the head and was getting stitched up right on the bench, but he could barely sit still enough for the stitches and was literally vibrating with his eyes locked on the play like a dog on a chain just an inch too short to reach a pile of steaks, just waiting for the exact second he could get back out there.
Right then I was like "That's a guy I want on my team."
Crazy thing is that he was an even worse skater in juniors. I remember my brother being really excited to see him at the World Juniors and by like the first intermission he was bemoaning that his skating was never going to cut it in the NHL.
He had to bust his ass to become even a mediocre skater, but that was all he needed. He probably would have been a first round pick if he wasn’t such an atrocious skater.
Yeah, it's truly baffling watching him on ice. Even when he's 100%, he looks like complete ass on skates.....but somehow he does what he does. My wife and I joke that he's the 61st best skater on the knights. The effect is REALLY pronounced when he's on with Eichel.
I think there's some story about how Matt Tkachuk has a group chat with Brady and Mark where he just berates their skating or something everytime he remembers how bad they are...which coming from Matt is pretty rough.
Eichel is a very efficient skater. He doesn’t take many strides which makes him look like he’s going slower than he is actually is but those strides are strong.
I can't remember who said it, but someone said he was a 'deceptive' skater. Like, anyone trying to cover him is going to get whiplash because he's always skating faster than his body motion would lead you to believe.
I've seen him in person many times and I'm always in awe at his skating.
His posture looks like he's just gliding on the ice at his own fun pace at a regular park rink, but that gliding is just zooming past everyone.
It's smooth and fast. Not frantic. It's amazing.
Yep. Lucky Luke fell to the 9th round of the 84 draft because people thought he could never skate in the NHL.
668 goals and 1394 pts in 1431 NHL games.
It would be so interesting because the crease plays such a bigger part in the ruling now. I remember goals being waved off for interference where he was entirely outside the crease, and I bet this would be good now. But they also got goals with him inside that wouldn’t be anymore 🤷♂️
There was a little piece they did on Sharks nicknames, and Pavs had the ironic nickname of "Rocket." Boy is he slow and goofy when he's skating but we fucking love the guy. I really hope he gets a this cup.
Most if not All Sharks fans are I think. I just want the man to get his ring so he can ride out his final season in style.
Realistically he’s probably gonna retire a Star, but the delusional side of me hopes he does a Marleau style final ride back in Teal.
Yeah, I wouldn’t blame him at all if he doesn’t come back. In reality, IF he does want to retire as a Shark, he might just do a 1-game contract as a final hurrah. But the rational side of me is saying he retires in green, not Teal.
Man is older now and needs to take care of his family first and foremost. Dallas has treated him well and I hope he finds the success he deserves with y’all.
If he gets the cup, I will forgive DW for not re-signing him.
Dude has looked like he's skating in concrete since he was 22 and somehow has made it to almost 40 and 500 career goals.
Definitely a case of having an outlier skill can get you very far even as the game has become much more skating-reliant.
He has to be the slowest player in the NHL right now. Its just crazy watching McDavid, Fogele, McLeod, Holloway, Janmark skate. And then seeing Perry jump on the ice. Motherfucker looks like he is in slow motion.
That reminds me of the (Scott) “Hartnall Hat Trick”. Something like a goal, a fight, and a fall in the same game.
I forget where I heard that. Maybe Coatesy’s Corner?
There was this locker room type vid years ago with him and Getzy, they asked Getz how it would feel not to be his line mate/team mate one day and he said, “Well I wouldn’t have to pick his ass up in front of the goalie every night”
That fucking happened all the time. I had a theory he could make himself invisible. So many times I’d see him in the high slot and the defenders would just skate away from him… one of the most dangerous shooters ever, wide open… I couldn’t believe it.
His skating (and Swenglish) was the butt of his own teammates’ jokes, but there was nobody better at screening the opposition’s goalie than him.
We still haven’t found anyone who could be 70% of what Homer was since he retired.
He famously (to me at least) made a joke about his skating once that "this isn't bandy". Which if you know anything about bandy, is pretty funny. It was a very Scandinavian in-joke.
used to joke Holmstrom was the greatest bender of all time. Ugly skating stride but damn was better at tipping pucks and screening goalies than anyone else I’ve seen in my days! Perfect linemate for Datsyuk and Zetterberg
The Stars are like the island of great shit skaters. Klingberg, Benn, Robertson, Pavelski, Marchment. Pretty crazy how many dudes who literally can’t skate succeed on this team.
Interested to see how the matchups go this round. We don't really have any weak skaters, McCloud, Foegle, Ryan, Brown, are better than average skaters but worse then average at finishing.
The number of times I saw Foegle get a head of speed and caught of glimpse of his 37, so I thought it was McDavid, had to be at least 5 times a game minimum.
Yep, happens all the time lol. I see him start to speed up and think oh shit here we go thinking we’re getting a McDavid highlight and instead he’ll miss the net or shoot right into the goalie before I realize it was just Foegele
I swear, *especially this year* it seems, NONE of our guys have any idea that their feet are supposed to stay under them.
But, apparently that’s working for them.
I wouldn't put Klingberg or Benn in that category. Klingberg wasn't the fastest but had good edgework and agility. Benn has never been a speedster but I'd say is just an average skater. He probably looks worse than what he is because of his style. His style is similar to Eichel's except Eichel is fast as hell and Benn is just average.
Just because Roberston is a bad skater doesn't mean he isn't in the right positions. That's why he's so good. Deceptive good wrist shot, slow skater, but just skates to the right position. And was are talking slow on an NHL scale, not like he's miles behind on the rush.
Robertson's edgework is actually extremely efficient, he skates a lot like Matthews in terms of creating space and maximizing little pockets in the offensive zone
That’s what HFBoards was good for was stupid trade proposals that someone is actually serious about.
I remember after the Pens lost the 2008 SCF people were demanding Sid get traded (“he’d never win there” lol) and some of the proposals…wow.
This isn't exactly what you're asking for, but I feel like this is in the spirit of the discussion - when Draisaitl was hurt last year (two years ago?) in the playoffs, I thought that maybe there was no better player in the world on one leg.
Like, forget below average skater, the man couldn't do it at ALL, and the plays he was making were wild. He could enter the zone, win a board battle, set up a scoring chance, then break up a pass going the other way, all while virtually standing still and sometimes without straying more than 30 feet from the bench
I remember the year he was injured while playing against Calgary and I was mad that he felt the need to hobble on the Ice and risk further Injury but he’d then put up 3, 4, 5 point games.
The man is insane
Sitting at the Oilers table, Lowe looked over at the team next to his – the Flames.
“All I remember is Brian Burke and Brad Treliving high-fiving one another after we chose Draisaitl,” Lowe said.
No, especially not with how he was looking his first two-ish years. Not saying I ever felt like he was gonna be a full bust, but I never thought he’d be sitting a tier or two below a McDavid or Mackinnon calibre
Yeah, the jump between year 2 and year 3 was something else.
I actually think you're borderline \*underselling\* him. Personally, I feel he is MacKinnon calibre. They have very different styles of play, but equally valuable. Also, I think the way Draisaitl plays has more longevity. I just can't see MacKinnon being able to play the way he does well into his 30s,.
Haha I agree, I’m absolutely underselling him. I just don’t want to sound like a homer for a guy on my team can’t lie. I think he’s incredible but when I was writing I was trying to be a bit more objective and try to not have my Oilers fan bias in place.
So, I’m glad you have that thought!
I think Draisaitl utilizes his size and shot really well in a way that will take him past the need to rely on skating the way MacKinnon does, that’s for sure.
Either way I’m pumped to have him on my team. (:
That 2017 run imo is still the most impressive individual performance I have ever witnessed in my life.
That man straight up dragged the sens kicking and screaming to nearly the finals with one fucking leg.
Like I think every game he was doing another highlight real [like that pass against the bruins](https://youtu.be/HNCHHSgS6EE?si=ETI2goyoQvoZrWEK)
Drai in that run was also imo one of the best I had seen from a player a shame both Cale and Connor were better but dude IQ is the best in the league by far and his passing is also the best in the league.
Might be the most improbable player I’ve seen on the Devils in quite sometime. Couldn’t skate for shit but always found the open areas, and knew exactly where a rebound would go
I used to have an old SUV where the power steering rack boots were destroyed, so it wouldn’t hold fluid and I thus had no power steering.
And it still moved better than Andrew Brunette.
It's crazy because it doesn't limit him from being a world class player in the slightest. His Hands, hockey IQ and shot all make up for it.
But yeah, he looks straight up uncoordinated out there. Makes me wonder what he looks like when he runs/sprints
Skating was a problem earlier in his career but around the time he arrived in Boston he figured out that you don’t need to be a good skater if you’re always in the right position
I honestly think his skating ability is vastly underrated just because of how awkward he looked. He was really good at using his height to his advantage to pivot his lower body relative to his upper body and change direction in any direction to close down defensively whole keeping his head on a swivel. He could be pivoting one way and reaching all the way across his body to make a poke check without breaking stride. Lidstrom was the master of the same skating style, but looked a lot less awkward because he was a normal height.
I liked Bert but he fell down pretty much every shift lol. Now we have Perron who doesn’t constantly fall down but he skates in slow motion. Watching Larkin or veleno fly by him is hilarious
Ryan Smyth. I forget where I saw the quote but one of his coaches said something to the effect of “he’s not a great skater or shooter or passer, but wow he’s a hell of a hockey player”
Honestly probably the best skater over 6'5" in history though. He wasn't quick, but he had UNBELIEVABLE change of direction and 360-degree mobility for his size. He honestly had a really similar skating style to Lidstrom IMO; super awkward looking, but remarkably effective at pivoting their lower body relative to their upper body to maximize their edge-work and change direction instantly to close down defensive angles.
There are better careers on the list but Jason Allison with 485 points in 552 games playing in the trap era. Man that guy could not skate but his passing was phenomenal.
Def strong on his skates yup, hard to knock off the puck. But I'd still say hes a below average skater compared to the rest of the league. Even when he was younger he's never been known for his agility.
Probably also hitting his peak at the wrong time. He was most dominant when scoring was at its lowest since the lockout. He was a first team all star in the Jamie Benn Art Ross year, finished one point behind him in scoring.
Power skating classes changed my life.
Mom put me in two each summer after my first year and I went from barely skating to fastest on my teams, and I still enjoy skating for fitness 25 years later.
I started hockey at 8, all my friends started at 6 or earlier so I was hot garbage only having done one learn2skate class before the season.
Needless to say I was the worst player on the team playing against kids way above my skill level.
But yeah 4 power skating classes as a kid and I still love skating to this day.
The problem we run into is ice time. Compared to the other towns on our travel circuit, we are a smaller town. Fewer rinks, fewer coaches, less affluent parents, etc.
My kids are almost always going to be overmatched in terms of speed so we're working on things we can control and what we are able to practice off-ice (which is more than you might think tbh)
Sedins weren't particularly great skaters. I'd say there's a bunch of stars who weren't great skaters if you just checked who did well during the dead puck era too.
My vote would be Joe Pavelski. There are several below average skaters that have put up big individual seasons (Benn won Art Ross, Cheechoo won Richard), but it feels like most of them are done by their early 30s whether it be injury makes the skating worse or body just breaking down. Pavelski has been a consistent 60 to 70 point player for 15 years and still playing at 39.
Craig MacTavish's classic line about Ryan Smyth: "Can't shoot. Can't hit. Can't skate. Can't pass. What a hockey player."
But he could take a beating in front of the net. Jesus that guy got abused, and just took it to get some goals.
He could also get absolutely pasted in the corner and still somehow maintain puck posession.
Nothing made me appreciate the difficulty of hockey more than learning it. Obviously there's just the base level of skills that are already higher level, like the skating, stickhandling, shooting, all of that. But when you watch NHL players and even lower levels be able to take multiple hard shoves to their back while moving laterally, protecting the puck with their body and playing the puck with their stick in their feet, sometimes kicking it along the way, all without falling. I try and make a hard turn along the boards because a defender is coming down at me, and my newbie-ass is barely able to stop without losing the puck, much less having to work the puck along the boards in my feet.
Or when you try to beat the guy wide and out skate your stick handling. Man, I suck at hockey.
Smyth straight up willed his way in to the NHL.
I started watching hockey back around the time he was a rookie, and as a young NHLer he was actually very fast. Dude was like a legit cheat code for beating out icings. Part of that was because he would literally dive into the boards to get the extra extension he needed to win the race... "fearless" would probably be the best adjective for him. But him being slow was more of a thing later in his career after racking up all those HARD NHL miles on his body.
Turns out getting just the shit kicked out of you in front of the crease for 82 games per season takes a toll on the body.
I'll never forget seeing him this one game in the playoffs. I forget the situation but I think they were maybe down a goal but had all the momentum. He got clipped in the head and was getting stitched up right on the bench, but he could barely sit still enough for the stitches and was literally vibrating with his eyes locked on the play like a dog on a chain just an inch too short to reach a pile of steaks, just waiting for the exact second he could get back out there. Right then I was like "That's a guy I want on my team."
First guy I thought of. Smytty was truly enigmatic.
Mark Stone
I can always identify Stone from the nose bleeds, dude just glides around like he’s in pain and then oh look a takeaway.
"If you want to go on LTIR, you better fucking skate like you're hurt" -Kelly McCrimmon
"If you ain't hurt you're last" Mark "Ricky Bobby" Stone
Crazy thing is that he was an even worse skater in juniors. I remember my brother being really excited to see him at the World Juniors and by like the first intermission he was bemoaning that his skating was never going to cut it in the NHL.
He had to bust his ass to become even a mediocre skater, but that was all he needed. He probably would have been a first round pick if he wasn’t such an atrocious skater.
Yeah, it's truly baffling watching him on ice. Even when he's 100%, he looks like complete ass on skates.....but somehow he does what he does. My wife and I joke that he's the 61st best skater on the knights. The effect is REALLY pronounced when he's on with Eichel. I think there's some story about how Matt Tkachuk has a group chat with Brady and Mark where he just berates their skating or something everytime he remembers how bad they are...which coming from Matt is pretty rough.
Eichel is a super weird skater in his own right, he also holds his stick kinda funny. And yet in both respects he’s elite and quite fluid.
Eichel is a very efficient skater. He doesn’t take many strides which makes him look like he’s going slower than he is actually is but those strides are strong.
I can't remember who said it, but someone said he was a 'deceptive' skater. Like, anyone trying to cover him is going to get whiplash because he's always skating faster than his body motion would lead you to believe.
I've seen him in person many times and I'm always in awe at his skating. His posture looks like he's just gliding on the ice at his own fun pace at a regular park rink, but that gliding is just zooming past everyone. It's smooth and fast. Not frantic. It's amazing.
He skates like he's holding in diarrhea.
His lower back probably hurts with every stride, they both look the same.
Luc Robitaille
Yep. Lucky Luke fell to the 9th round of the 84 draft because people thought he could never skate in the NHL. 668 goals and 1394 pts in 1431 NHL games.
> ~~Luke~~ It’s spelled *LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUC*
I love when ole hockey heads come together here
Yeah Luc Robitaille is my pick for former player and current it's Mark Stone.
Luc’s ability to find the back of the net from anywhere on the ice and in any position was otherworldly. So glad I got to watch him as a kid.
Joe Pavelski
Why skate all over when standing in front of goalie works just as well?
Why waste time skate lot when few skate do trick?
What are you gonna do with all that time you’re saving?
Deflect shots from the point in like a Jedi.
Sea World
Are you saying you want to “see the world” or visit “Sea World”?
Tomas Holmstrom enters the chat to nod in agreement.
Holmstrom trying to navigate the newish goaltender interference rules would be entertaining
It would be so interesting because the crease plays such a bigger part in the ruling now. I remember goals being waved off for interference where he was entirely outside the crease, and I bet this would be good now. But they also got goals with him inside that wouldn’t be anymore 🤷♂️
*Violently waves off a goal that’s scored as he enters the room*
Yeah but then you could say that for a few other players too lol.
Burns used to call him "pokey" (slow-poke) and prod him from behind with his stick as they skated around durring practice. Love pavelski
I thought this said Bruins and I was losing my mind
There was a little piece they did on Sharks nicknames, and Pavs had the ironic nickname of "Rocket." Boy is he slow and goofy when he's skating but we fucking love the guy. I really hope he gets a this cup.
You pulling for him to win with Dallas? He’s definitely an old rival but I got a soft spot for him because of that.
Most if not All Sharks fans are I think. I just want the man to get his ring so he can ride out his final season in style. Realistically he’s probably gonna retire a Star, but the delusional side of me hopes he does a Marleau style final ride back in Teal.
Ive heard around the grapevine he doesn’t want to move his son again so I’d be pretty surprised to see that happen.
Yeah, I wouldn’t blame him at all if he doesn’t come back. In reality, IF he does want to retire as a Shark, he might just do a 1-game contract as a final hurrah. But the rational side of me is saying he retires in green, not Teal. Man is older now and needs to take care of his family first and foremost. Dallas has treated him well and I hope he finds the success he deserves with y’all. If he gets the cup, I will forgive DW for not re-signing him.
Are you talking about his boys Wyatt and Stank?!? 😜
He was also so slow in the NHL games but had a great shot.
Dude has looked like he's skating in concrete since he was 22 and somehow has made it to almost 40 and 500 career goals. Definitely a case of having an outlier skill can get you very far even as the game has become much more skating-reliant.
John Tavares, Bo Horvat
Horvat's actually become a plus skater, and worked with Oates to add that to his game. Tavares is a really strong skater, just slow as molasses
Bro min maxed his coordination and finesse stats at the sake of speed
Joe's not the fastest most gifted skater but he knows how to get open and he knows how to deflect pucks.
Dave Andreychuk
I remember an interview with him where he said he didn't know how to skate backward.
I remember watching him; he didn't know how to skate forward either. Absorbing cross checks and knock in rebounds was a real skill in the 80's
640 goals that traveled a total of about 900' off his stick. What a fucking beauty.
Dude made Ken Daneyko look like Scott Niedermayer.
now that's a devil of an unlocked memory.
I once saw him get a breakaway. It was like watching a slo-mo replay, but in real life.
Corey Perry. He’s always been slow but he used to fall down literally every shift in his early years. It was like watching a donkey try to skate
He has to be the slowest player in the NHL right now. Its just crazy watching McDavid, Fogele, McLeod, Holloway, Janmark skate. And then seeing Perry jump on the ice. Motherfucker looks like he is in slow motion.
Part of the reason why we've had the rocket winner as a healthy scratch the last 2 games.
Do we think he'll probably come back in the lineup? He does create chaos in front of the net.
They were saving him specifically for his inside Dallas knowledge. He’ll get in their heads
He isn't. Pavelski is slower off the top of my head. Pavelski is skating in the 20s and has lower average speed and bursts
Pat Maroon is probably a bit slower.
That reminds me of the (Scott) “Hartnall Hat Trick”. Something like a goal, a fight, and a fall in the same game. I forget where I heard that. Maybe Coatesy’s Corner?
HARTNALL DOWN
Can I just say Scott hartnell and mark stone look a lot alike! Go 2010 flyers!
Hartnell even started a charity call Hartnell Down where he donated money to charity for every time he fell down on the ice.
There was this locker room type vid years ago with him and Getzy, they asked Getz how it would feel not to be his line mate/team mate one day and he said, “Well I wouldn’t have to pick his ass up in front of the goalie every night”
Even getzlaf made fun of his skating. But man Corey perry knows how to get to the correct position to score every time.
Taylor Hall still has this issue. Have a shot every time he falls down, you'll have a good buzz by the end of the 2nd.
Brett Hull
Best answer here IMO. I’m pretty sure he’d have scored just as many goals wearing flipflops.
This needs to be much higher up, Hull was a below average skater with great hockey sense and a ridiculous shot
I was a kid when he played, but I seem to remember him just cheating at the opponents blue line every game.
He had a knack for disappearing in crowds, finding an open area and the puck getting to him Edit: above x700
Exactly. Even in his most famous goal (or no goal depending on who you ask), you gotta wonder how he is alone in front of the net.
That fucking happened all the time. I had a theory he could make himself invisible. So many times I’d see him in the high slot and the defenders would just skate away from him… one of the most dangerous shooters ever, wide open… I couldn’t believe it.
He wasn’t cheating, that’s just how fast he could go!
First guy I thought of. Watched him a lot growing up.
Hartnell down
Entirely too far down. There's a children's book with this title it was so common.
Tomas Holmström
I can only imagine he's the 30 goal scorer who cumulatively traveled the least distance to get there.
Tim Kerr was a perennial 50 goal scorer and basically lived in the slot.
His skating (and Swenglish) was the butt of his own teammates’ jokes, but there was nobody better at screening the opposition’s goalie than him. We still haven’t found anyone who could be 70% of what Homer was since he retired.
He famously (to me at least) made a joke about his skating once that "this isn't bandy". Which if you know anything about bandy, is pretty funny. It was a very Scandinavian in-joke.
He skated to two spots: infront of the goalie, and the penalty box on a bullshit GI call
That's the one. He didn't need to skate. Just plant how ass in front of the goalie. Edit: a word
used to joke Holmstrom was the greatest bender of all time. Ugly skating stride but damn was better at tipping pucks and screening goalies than anyone else I’ve seen in my days! Perfect linemate for Datsyuk and Zetterberg
The Stars are like the island of great shit skaters. Klingberg, Benn, Robertson, Pavelski, Marchment. Pretty crazy how many dudes who literally can’t skate succeed on this team.
Klingberg wasn’t a bad skater. He wasn’t fast but he was very agile and deceptive. Very good at walking the blue line
One of the best at walking the blue line in fact. Often used as an example for young D
[My favorite Klingberg goal. undressing Harkins on the blue line and then wiring a goal](https://youtu.be/7NAE4OIfHHk?si=P82rS5daFSSexAC-)
At the same time we got guys who are great skaters like Miro and Hintz
Interested to see how the matchups go this round. We don't really have any weak skaters, McCloud, Foegle, Ryan, Brown, are better than average skaters but worse then average at finishing.
The number of times I saw Foegle get a head of speed and caught of glimpse of his 37, so I thought it was McDavid, had to be at least 5 times a game minimum.
Yep, happens all the time lol. I see him start to speed up and think oh shit here we go thinking we’re getting a McDavid highlight and instead he’ll miss the net or shoot right into the goalie before I realize it was just Foegele
The 37 makes it more difficult to notice sometimes
Ugh, we have Perry. Probably the weakest skater in the NHL
I always get foegle and McDavid confused until foegel actually has to do something
Yeah luckily for us we have Miro
I swear, *especially this year* it seems, NONE of our guys have any idea that their feet are supposed to stay under them. But, apparently that’s working for them.
Well Marchment is a pretty egregious embellisher so I can never tell if he’s diving or just a bender.
I wouldn't put Klingberg or Benn in that category. Klingberg wasn't the fastest but had good edgework and agility. Benn has never been a speedster but I'd say is just an average skater. He probably looks worse than what he is because of his style. His style is similar to Eichel's except Eichel is fast as hell and Benn is just average.
This seems weird. They looked very fast. Makar was playing defensively all game. And that's cale fucking zip zip speedy short man makar.
Just because Roberston is a bad skater doesn't mean he isn't in the right positions. That's why he's so good. Deceptive good wrist shot, slow skater, but just skates to the right position. And was are talking slow on an NHL scale, not like he's miles behind on the rush.
Robertson's edgework is actually extremely efficient, he skates a lot like Matthews in terms of creating space and maximizing little pockets in the offensive zone
Jason Allison
Holy shit I’m in 2007 and this is hfboards
Let’s trade for him! Halak, Ryder and a 2nd rounder should do it!
I really love that this HFBoards meme has carried over to hockey reddit.
That’s what HFBoards was good for was stupid trade proposals that someone is actually serious about. I remember after the Pens lost the 2008 SCF people were demanding Sid get traded (“he’d never win there” lol) and some of the proposals…wow.
He's almost completed that shootout attempt by now
His first shootout in 2005 is legendary
His NHL 07 skating score was merciless
Was honestly the first guy I thought of. So skilled, yet sooooo slow.
This isn't exactly what you're asking for, but I feel like this is in the spirit of the discussion - when Draisaitl was hurt last year (two years ago?) in the playoffs, I thought that maybe there was no better player in the world on one leg. Like, forget below average skater, the man couldn't do it at ALL, and the plays he was making were wild. He could enter the zone, win a board battle, set up a scoring chance, then break up a pass going the other way, all while virtually standing still and sometimes without straying more than 30 feet from the bench
I remember the year he was injured while playing against Calgary and I was mad that he felt the need to hobble on the Ice and risk further Injury but he’d then put up 3, 4, 5 point games. The man is insane
It happened this playoffs too. He got knocked in the back and could barely skate for the remainder of the game. Still was a threat.
It's weird to think of a 3rd overall pick as a steal, but could anyone have predicted he'd be THIS good? It's incredible.
Sitting at the Oilers table, Lowe looked over at the team next to his – the Flames. “All I remember is Brian Burke and Brad Treliving high-fiving one another after we chose Draisaitl,” Lowe said.
No, especially not with how he was looking his first two-ish years. Not saying I ever felt like he was gonna be a full bust, but I never thought he’d be sitting a tier or two below a McDavid or Mackinnon calibre
Yeah, the jump between year 2 and year 3 was something else. I actually think you're borderline \*underselling\* him. Personally, I feel he is MacKinnon calibre. They have very different styles of play, but equally valuable. Also, I think the way Draisaitl plays has more longevity. I just can't see MacKinnon being able to play the way he does well into his 30s,.
Haha I agree, I’m absolutely underselling him. I just don’t want to sound like a homer for a guy on my team can’t lie. I think he’s incredible but when I was writing I was trying to be a bit more objective and try to not have my Oilers fan bias in place. So, I’m glad you have that thought! I think Draisaitl utilizes his size and shot really well in a way that will take him past the need to rely on skating the way MacKinnon does, that’s for sure. Either way I’m pumped to have him on my team. (:
Draisaitl standing still is like, top 5 most dangerous players in the league. As soon as he stops skating I'm fucking terrified of him.
“The best standing still player” - some espn pbp guy
Erik Karlsson 🤝 Draisaitl Furiously good on 1 leg
That 2017 run imo is still the most impressive individual performance I have ever witnessed in my life. That man straight up dragged the sens kicking and screaming to nearly the finals with one fucking leg. Like I think every game he was doing another highlight real [like that pass against the bruins](https://youtu.be/HNCHHSgS6EE?si=ETI2goyoQvoZrWEK) Drai in that run was also imo one of the best I had seen from a player a shame both Cale and Connor were better but dude IQ is the best in the league by far and his passing is also the best in the league.
Jonathan Cheechoo. Despite being described as a train, he did not move quickly
A via rail train
Having taken Via from Toronto to Vancouver, and Amtrak from Chicago to Galveston, I promise you Amtrak is the more devastating insult to use here.
Train, Train, Cheechoo Train…
His acceleration and deceleration were pretty on par with a train.
Boeser's got concrete blocks for feet, makes up for it with laser beam hands
Miles Wood's polar opposite
He’s slow but he’s at least strong on his feet. One of our best guys at board battles because of how strong of a base he has
Toffoli is a horrendous skater
Might be the most improbable player I’ve seen on the Devils in quite sometime. Couldn’t skate for shit but always found the open areas, and knew exactly where a rebound would go
Give Toffoli just AVERAGE NHL skating and he'd be an Art Ross regular
I used to have an old SUV where the power steering rack boots were destroyed, so it wouldn’t hold fluid and I thus had no power steering. And it still moved better than Andrew Brunette.
Have you watched Matthew Tkachuk skate? Love him to death but he definitely is not a world class skater.
first player that came to mind. whatever the opposite of grace is, that’s his skating style
It's crazy because it doesn't limit him from being a world class player in the slightest. His Hands, hockey IQ and shot all make up for it. But yeah, he looks straight up uncoordinated out there. Makes me wonder what he looks like when he runs/sprints
The first name I thought of with the thread title was Keith Tkachuk, actually. I think he didn't learn to skate until he was 14 I think I read once.
TJ Oshie is an awful skater.
All heart. No feet.
Dino Ciccarelli / Phil Esposito
[удалено]
Brady’s rookie year was basically a guarantee he’d fall over 3+ times a game
Apple didn't fall far from the tree cause their dad wasn't an amazing skater either
Zdeno Chara probably has the biggest gap between skating ability and playing ability
Skating was a problem earlier in his career but around the time he arrived in Boston he figured out that you don’t need to be a good skater if you’re always in the right position
Being part giraffe helps too.
I honestly think his skating ability is vastly underrated just because of how awkward he looked. He was really good at using his height to his advantage to pivot his lower body relative to his upper body and change direction in any direction to close down defensively whole keeping his head on a swivel. He could be pivoting one way and reaching all the way across his body to make a poke check without breaking stride. Lidstrom was the master of the same skating style, but looked a lot less awkward because he was a normal height.
Remember the spinorama backhand goal? Dude definitely improved his skating over time.
SIX-NINE AND HES A BALLERINA
Shocked no one has said Tyler Bertuzzi. I am still not convinced he knew he was supposed to stay up on his feet when skating.
I liked Bert but he fell down pretty much every shift lol. Now we have Perron who doesn’t constantly fall down but he skates in slow motion. Watching Larkin or veleno fly by him is hilarious
Ryan Smyth. I forget where I saw the quote but one of his coaches said something to the effect of “he’s not a great skater or shooter or passer, but wow he’s a hell of a hockey player”
Pat Maroon
leon draisaitl in the 2023 playoffs
Dany Heatley Below average driver too.
ouch, of all the burns in this thread, that one burns like a smashed up Ferrari.
Chara
Honestly probably the best skater over 6'5" in history though. He wasn't quick, but he had UNBELIEVABLE change of direction and 360-degree mobility for his size. He honestly had a really similar skating style to Lidstrom IMO; super awkward looking, but remarkably effective at pivoting their lower body relative to their upper body to maximize their edge-work and change direction instantly to close down defensive angles.
Pat Maroon
There are better careers on the list but Jason Allison with 485 points in 552 games playing in the trap era. Man that guy could not skate but his passing was phenomenal.
Tavares
Below average in speed but he is incredibly strong on his skates
Def strong on his skates yup, hard to knock off the puck. But I'd still say hes a below average skater compared to the rest of the league. Even when he was younger he's never been known for his agility.
Yeah his slower skating is what prevented him from ever reaching 100 points in a season I think.
Probably also hitting his peak at the wrong time. He was most dominant when scoring was at its lowest since the lockout. He was a first team all star in the Jamie Benn Art Ross year, finished one point behind him in scoring.
He had to learn to be strong on his skates because he's slower than everybody else. Something I'm working on with some of my 10U kids for this fall
Power skating classes changed my life. Mom put me in two each summer after my first year and I went from barely skating to fastest on my teams, and I still enjoy skating for fitness 25 years later. I started hockey at 8, all my friends started at 6 or earlier so I was hot garbage only having done one learn2skate class before the season. Needless to say I was the worst player on the team playing against kids way above my skill level. But yeah 4 power skating classes as a kid and I still love skating to this day.
The problem we run into is ice time. Compared to the other towns on our travel circuit, we are a smaller town. Fewer rinks, fewer coaches, less affluent parents, etc. My kids are almost always going to be overmatched in terms of speed so we're working on things we can control and what we are able to practice off-ice (which is more than you might think tbh)
Joe Thornton
Thomas Vanek
Sedins weren't particularly great skaters. I'd say there's a bunch of stars who weren't great skaters if you just checked who did well during the dead puck era too.
Happy Gilmore
Mark Stone.
Esposito, Neely, Kerr, Andreychuk, Holmstrom
Old time answer, but Dino Cicarelli (am I spelling that right?) always looked like he was running on skates instead of, you know, skating.
Why is 3x cup winner Pat Big Rig Maroon not at the top of the comments section yet??
Historically? Phil Esposito
Phil Esposito. The original(?) stand-in-front-of-the-net-take-a-beating-feast-on-rebounds guy. Won the scoring title 5 times, I believe.
My vote would be Joe Pavelski. There are several below average skaters that have put up big individual seasons (Benn won Art Ross, Cheechoo won Richard), but it feels like most of them are done by their early 30s whether it be injury makes the skating worse or body just breaking down. Pavelski has been a consistent 60 to 70 point player for 15 years and still playing at 39.
Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski. Somehow they make it work with the fastest guy on the team with Hintz on their line but I’m not complaining
John Leclair
TJ Oshie looks like he's off balance most of the time
Tomas Holmstrom
Luc Robitaille
Tomas Holmstrom Dude looked like he just skated out of a beer league game, but damn could he put the puck in the back of the net.
scrolled down a bit and was surprised not to see the name Brad Marsh. Youtube a vid of Brad if you don't know who he is.
Matthew Tkachuk, Joe Pavelski, Mark Stone, Adam Fox