Best Overall Skating Ability Among Active Players #1

[Regal]

Grabner, Mikheyev, Helm, Wood, Kilger too. Maybe not so much on the 4way mobility and edges but for straight line speed I’ve seen them beat guys like McD and MacK stride for stride. In Kilgers case it was less top-5 speed and more top-15 speed moving a 235 pound body like a homing missile towards some poor defenseman retrieving a dump-in.

I think that’s the thing with McDavid though. Some others can probably keep up with his straight line speed but unlike most he can change direction without slowing down, and is at that speed so quick he can change pace to keep defenders off balance.

 

[Martin Skoula]

I think that’s the thing with McDavid though. Some others can probably keep up with his straight line speed but unlike most he can change direction without slowing down, and is at that speed so quick he can change pace to keep defenders off balance.

I kind of hope McDavid loses his hands when he ages so we can see 230 pound human missile grinder McDavid.

 

[Buck Naked]

McDavid might have won some nice without puck and without game on competition (which MacK didn't even attend to) but stats (NHL edge) say it's clearly MacKinnon who should be on the lead.

- 71 35kmh+ bursts this season, second highest is McDavid's with 43!

- 448 32kmh+ bursts this season, second highest is Point with 294

- 3rd highest maximum speed this season after Tippett and Point

-One of the greatest at using his edges on small spaces and offensive zone as well

Just think how overpowered MacKinnon is according to these stats.

Guys, wanna explain why every poster says McDavid while MacKinnon has ridiculous 3.5% of votes?!?

If overall skating ability was only judged by the amount of bursts.

 

[ijuka]

I voted for McDavid, but there are too few votes for MacKinnon.

McDavid might have won some nice without puck and without game on competition (which MacK didn't even attend to) but stats (NHL edge) say it's clearly MacKinnon who should be on the lead.

- 71 35kmh+ bursts this season, second highest is McDavid's with 43!

- 448 32kmh+ bursts this season, second highest is Point with 294

- 3rd highest maximum speed this season after Tippett and Point

-One of the greatest at using his edges on small spaces and offensive zone as well

Just think how overpowered MacKinnon is according to these stats.

Guys, wanna explain why every poster says McDavid while MacKinnon has ridiculous 3.5% of votes?!?

MacKinnon has the strongest explosiveness. But there still is more to skating than just explosiveness. I think McDavid's skating is more multifaceted.

A bit surprised that Point is that high up, though. For some reason, while I know he's a good skater, I haven't thought of him as one of the very best ones.

 

[Stephen]

Grabner, Mikheyev, Helm, Wood, Kilger too. Maybe not so much on the 4way mobility and edges but for straight line speed I’ve seen them beat guys like McD and MacK stride for stride. In Kilgers case it was less top-5 speed and more top-15 speed moving a 235 pound body like a homing missile towards some poor defenseman retrieving a dump-in.

Think straight line speed and sprinting is not as visually obvious as when someone like McDavid can combine his speed with controlled puckhandling. He can’t be beat in that respect. Makar is close.

 

[OKR]

McDavid add Stutzle.

Stützle is a great skater and is elite at some aspects of it like speed, but his overall skating isn’t amongst the elites of the world, he falls on his own more than the average player.

And no, i’m not talking about the diving, but just falling during skating.

 

[sr edler]

Kuznetsov.

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

In a phone booth Quinn Hughes in an open field McDavid. Mack is another too many great choices these days.

MacKinnon is disgustingly fast but he isnt anywhere near some of the best skaters in this league in terms of overall capabilities

McDavid, the Hughes brothers (not quite yet, Luke) and Barzal are the clear top-4 without much debate; for defenseman ill include Makar and Dahlin

 

[Golden_Jet]

MacKinnon is disgustingly fast but he isnt anywhere near some of the best skaters in this league in terms of overall capabilities

McDavid, the Hughes brothers (not quite yet, Luke) and Barzal are the clear top-4 without much debate; for defenseman ill include Makar and Dahlin

I checked Dahlin on NHL “Edge” and for top speed, and speed bursts.
Ranked below 50th percentile in league for last 3 years.
Jake Sanderson and Makar are very close though for defense. Sanderson a few percentiles ahead this year and Makar A few percentiles ahead last year. Ranking around 90th percentile average over last 2 years.

 

[GreeningOil]

McDavid might have won some nice without puck and without game on competition (which MacK didn't even attend to) but stats (NHL edge) say it's clearly MacKinnon who should be on the lead.

- 71 35kmh+ bursts this season, second highest is McDavid's with 43!

- 448 32kmh+ bursts this season, second highest is Point with 294

- 3rd highest maximum speed this season after Tippett and Point

-One of the greatest at using his edges on small spaces and offensive zone as well

Just think how overpowered MacKinnon is according to these stats.

Guys, wanna explain why every poster says McDavid while MacKinnon has ridiculous 3.5% of votes?!?

If it was a max burst speed competition lol. Overall skater? Watch McDavid do his thing when he’s got the puck. The edgework, spins, elusiveness that starts with tricky footwork is unmatched.

One great attribute doesn’t make up the difference in this overall poll.

 

[Hischier and Hughes]

I checked Dahlin on NHL “Edge” and for top speed, and speed bursts.
Ranked below 50th percentile in league for last 3 years.
Jake Sanderson and Makar are very close though for defense. Sanderson a few percentiles ahead this year and Makar A few percentiles ahead last year. Ranking around 90th percentile average over last 2 years.

Id take a guess and say Adam Fox likely isnt anywhere near the 90th percentile in any category related to speed; yet id still have him in my top-10 skating defenseman

And the opposite is true of MacKinnon who likely ranks 99th percentile in such categories yet cant hold a candle to some of his peers in terms of overall skating

That is why the Hughes' or McDavid or Barzal are other-worldly; they are in the top percentiles for speed and are elite at other ends of the skating spectrum as well

Sanderson along with Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, David Jiricek, Simon Edvinsson, etc.. are the new age of defenseman and will all be elite skaters as this is now necessary to be a top defenseman in the NHL

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

McDavid
Barzal
Makar
MacKinnon
Q Hughes

Those would be my top 5 skaters

 

[authentic]

I voted for McDavid, but there are too few votes for MacKinnon.


MacKinnon has the strongest explosiveness. But there still is more to skating than just explosiveness. I think McDavid's skating is more multifaceted.

A bit surprised that Point is that high up, though. For some reason, while I know he's a good skater, I haven't thought of him as one of the very best ones.

Point can absolutely fly. Definitely one of the fastest players I’ve seen with the puck.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Id take a guess and say Adam Fox likely isnt anywhere near the 90th percentile in any category related to speed; yet id still have him in my top-10 skating defenseman

And the opposite is true of MacKinnon who likely ranks 99th percentile in such categories yet cant hold a candle to some of his peers in terms of overall skating

That is why the Hughes' or McDavid or Barzal are other-worldly; they are in the top percentiles for speed and are elite at other ends of the skating spectrum as well

Sanderson along with Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, David Jiricek, Simon Edvinsson, etc.. are the new age of defenseman and will all be elite skaters as this is now necessary to be a top defenseman in the NHL

Post 17, I put a link where you can check each player.

 

[authentic]

Id take a guess and say Adam Fox likely isnt anywhere near the 90th percentile in any category related to speed; yet id still have him in my top-10 skating defenseman

And the opposite is true of MacKinnon who likely ranks 99th percentile in such categories yet cant hold a candle to some of his peers in terms of overall skating

That is why the Hughes' or McDavid or Barzal are other-worldly; they are in the top percentiles for speed and are elite at other ends of the skating spectrum as well

Sanderson along with Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, David Jiricek, Simon Edvinsson, etc.. are the new age of defenseman and will all be elite skaters as this is now necessary to be a top defenseman in the NHL

I wouldn’t say MacKinnon couldn’t hold a candle to anyone in the league, including McDavid. He could probably hold a candle and light their fire. Very few are better overall skaters or utilize their skating to their advantage as well as MacKinnon. When you’re basically the fastest player with the puck and you use that speed more than anyone to be the best even strength scorer in the NHL then you’re one of the best overall skaters.

 

[Miro4Norris]

If it was a max burst speed competition lol. Overall skater? Watch McDavid do his thing when he’s got the puck. The edgework, spins, elusiveness that starts with tricky footwork is unmatched.

One great attribute doesn’t make up the difference in this overall poll.

Unfortunately there are no spins and edgework stats but I'd say acceleration and max speed are best possible stats available to measure skating skills as most important thing in skating after all is the speediness. I don't know if you've watched MacK then but his agility, spins, strength/balance and so on are absolute elite. He can go past anyone with his fast change of direction

 

[OKR]

Heiskanen imo deserves more recognization for his skating, he has zero real weaknesses in his skating.

He isn’t as fast as the fastest skaters but he isn’t far behind in that aspect either, but his skating is absolutely effortless, his turns and glide are elite and not many players are as strong on their skates as he is.

 

[LakeLivin]

Not saying anything about overall skating, but when it comes to edge work Skinner has to be up there.

 

[Juxta Position]

I do feel like I’ve seen that somewhere, tbh.

Tyson Barrie is also my age, and not a massive burner. The race is also started forward and with a transition to backwards skating at the blue when McDavid was already a step ahead.

Unless you mean another vid?

well of course it's transitioning from forward to backward. not sure if you've skated before, but do you really think Makar or anyone else for that matter would beat anyone in the NHL staring from a dead stop skating backwards?

Part of what makes an elite skater elite, is transitioning from forwards to backwards and not losing any speed in the transition, much like McDavid does in that video.

and Tyson Barrie is 32 years old...he's not 40, he's definitely still an NHL caliber skater.

Skating ability isn't just straight line speed, which McDavid has in spades, but it is also functional speed, forwards and backwards, edgework, use of crossovers, lateral movement, and speed while handling the puck and maintaining control.

Makar and Hughes are elite for sure, but nobody does McDavid can do out there, he's the best skater with and without the puck the game has ever seen.

 

[KevinRedkey]

The answer is Makar or McDavid, depending on how much you value backwards skating.

 

[lokomotiv15]

well of course it's transitioning from forward to backward. not sure if you've skated before, but do you really think Makar or anyone else for that matter would beat anyone in the NHL staring from a dead stop skating backwards?

Part of what makes an elite skater elite, is transitioning from forwards to backwards and not losing any speed in the transition, much like McDavid does in that video.

and Tyson Barrie is 32 years old...he's not 40, he's definitely still an NHL caliber skater.

Skating ability isn't just straight line speed, which McDavid has in spades, but it is also functional speed, forwards and backwards, edgework, use of crossovers, lateral movement, and speed while handling the puck and maintaining control.

Makar and Hughes are elite for sure, but nobody does McDavid can do out there, he's the best skater with and without the puck the game has ever seen.

Well that’s on you for saying there’s a video of Mcdavid beating Barrie in a race while he’s skating backwards and Tyson is skating forward. I’m not sure if you’ve written much before, but do you expect me not to take it literally if that’s the way you presented it?

I also know it’s not the point you’re making, but yes, I do think Makar could beat some of the slowest skaters in the league skating backwards vs forwards, both starting from a dead stop. It might only be 3 or 4 of them, but yes.

I’m also aware how old Barrie is, saying he’s my age. My age being 32. I also never said he’s not an NHL calibre skater anymore; I said he’s not a burner.

And coming from someone who must fancy themselves quite the skater and piston-cross over connoisseur to be asking people if they’ve ever skated and then following it up with the most YouTube comment section explanation of what makes a good skater, thinking Mcdavid is objectively the best all around skater in terms of functionality is a tough look. The gap between how much better Makar skates backward functionally vs Mcdavid is much bigger than the discrepancy between the two skating forwards.

But hey, let’s pull out our eliteprospects pages, see who’s is more irrelevant and agree to disagree on this one.

 

[Juxta Position]

Well that’s on you for saying there’s a video of Mcdavid beating Barrie in a race while he’s skating backwards and Tyson is skating forward. I’m not sure if you’ve written much before, but do you expect me not to take it literally if that’s the way you presented it?

I also know it’s not the point you’re making, but yes, I do think Makar could beat some of the slowest skaters in the league skating backwards vs forwards, both starting from a dead stop. It might only be 3 or 4 of them, but yes.

I’m also aware how old Barrie is, saying he’s my age. My age being 32. I also never said he’s not an NHL calibre skater anymore; I said he’s not a burner.

And coming from someone who must fancy themselves quite the skater and piston-cross over connoisseur to be asking people if they’ve ever skated and then following it up with the most YouTube comment section explanation of what makes a good skater, thinking Mcdavid is objectively the best all around skater in terms of functionality is a tough look. The gap between how much better Makar skates backward functionally vs Mcdavid is much bigger than the discrepancy between the two skating forwards.

But hey, let’s pull out our eliteprospects pages, see who’s is more irrelevant and agree to disagree on this one.

oof....

That's quite the statement., I guess if we're talking players with knee or hip injuries maybe. But c'mon man, it's one thing to argue that Makar has the better skating ability, it's another thing to just be flat out ridiculous.

You can clutch your pearls, kick rocks, and punch the air all you want, but the fact is there is not another player that has played this game who can do McDavid does with and without the puck.

 

[lipstickjunkie]

McDavid add Stutzle.

The poll is for best skater, not best diver.

 

[Bileur]

Stützle is a great skater and is elite at some aspects of it like speed, but his overall skating isn’t amongst the elites of the world, he falls on his own more than the average player.

And no, i’m not talking about the diving, but just falling during skating.

I don’t even think his pure speed is his best skating attribute. It’s his agility and ability to change direction without losing much speed. He’s a water bug out there.

I didn’t say he’s next after McDavid. I said add him to the list. He easily belongs.

The poll is for best skater, not best diver.

He is a pretty good embellisher. Skating is probably his best attribute though.

 

[lokomotiv15]

oof....

That's quite the statement., I guess if we're talking players with knee or hip injuries maybe. But c'mon man, it's one thing to argue that Makar has the better skating ability, it's another thing to just be flat out ridiculous.

You can clutch your pearls, kick rocks, and punch the air all you want, but the fact is there is not another player that has played this game who can do McDavid does with and without the puck.

I was just being a combative ass for the most part, tbh, but I really would be curious to see Makar in a goal line to far blue race with Perry, Reaves or even Ovechkin this year. Not gonna bet the house on it, but I'd wager a 20. I did literally say 3, or 4 guys in the entire NHL, age and injuries be damned. I know he isn't going to beat anyone that isn't Eric Godard or George Parros in that race in their healthy mid-20s.

I assume you mean this in terms of how he skates without and without the puck, not actually how effective he is without the puck vs. players like Lidstrom, Makar, Niedermayer, Pronger, etc.
That's probably a more sound hill to die on than, mine, I'll give you that.