Nick Hansen
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- Sep 28, 2017
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Yeah, Bertuzzi was damn smooth for his size and his style overall. Really surprised you at times.
Best Stickhandlers Ever
- Thread starter ChiefWiggum
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Yeah, Bertuzzi was damn smooth for his size and his style overall. Really surprised you at times.
Omark is a top player in the KHL, and Schremp was a dead meat in that league as well.
Neither made it in the NHL because they were labeled too one dimensional, top notch with the puck but not defensive minded or physical enough. Omark has had more success in the KHL while Schremp has done well in the other Euro leagues (lesser competition) putting up good numbers and showcasing his offensive abilities.
Jim MacDonald
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- Oct 7, 2017
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I'll go 1. Pavel Datsyuk 2. Steve Yzerman 3. Denis Savard 4. Mario Lemieux 5. Jaromir Jagr. Not to disrespect guys from the past, this is just what came to my mind from highlights in my mind's eye (and a little "favoritism" too. I'll take crap on it but will do my best to defend it) 
BenchBrawl
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- Jul 26, 2010
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I already posted about George Boucher in this thread, but now that I have a much deeper knowledge of his career, I am dead certain that he belongs to the very upper echelon of all-time stickhandlers.
Big Phil
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Mario
Jagr
Beliveau
Savard
Datsyuk
Honourable mention...........Orr
With Gretzky it comes down to being great obviously at stickhandling but so much of what he did was vision first, then everything else. Ditto for Bure. When I think of him it is speed first, then stickhandling.
By the way, sorry, I can't add Kovalev here. He is your classic Harlem Globetrotters skilled player. He took too many games off, or seasons off, and did not do it within the game so much. He reminds me a lot of Kent Nilsson that way. When I pick guys I want them to be the ones who did it within the game. Otherwise, if we are talking speed I am pretty sure Rico Fata is as fast as either one of Cournoyer, Lafleur, McDavid and Gartner.
Jagr
Beliveau
Savard
Datsyuk
Honourable mention...........Orr
With Gretzky it comes down to being great obviously at stickhandling but so much of what he did was vision first, then everything else. Ditto for Bure. When I think of him it is speed first, then stickhandling.
By the way, sorry, I can't add Kovalev here. He is your classic Harlem Globetrotters skilled player. He took too many games off, or seasons off, and did not do it within the game so much. He reminds me a lot of Kent Nilsson that way. When I pick guys I want them to be the ones who did it within the game. Otherwise, if we are talking speed I am pretty sure Rico Fata is as fast as either one of Cournoyer, Lafleur, McDavid and Gartner.
Canadiens1958
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Without the puck speed. Fata did not have with the puck speed.
Likewise stickhandling. Did the stickhandling go hand in hand with the speed or did it detract.
Big Phil
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The very point I was making in the post is that Fata was not like the others speed-wise. In a skills competition I don't doubt Fata skates as fast as anyone. In game, it never translated to the same thing. Same with Kovalev, great skill and your classic Harlem Globetrotter for show, but he never could do it regularly within the game, although obviously better than Fata could use his speed within the game.
Canadiens1958
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Skills competitions may be held with or without the puck. Results will not be the same.
Big Phil
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Howie Hodge
Zombie Woof
Canadiens1958
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No. Just your point lacks substance and reason. We are talking ice hockey skating not a form of speedskating. So Fata simply does not belong in the conversation since his speed was never hockey applicable speed.
vadim sharifijanov
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Big Phil
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And they had the nerve to tell that guy he wasn't going to play anymore games in the series after Game 5. His assist in Game 5 was a beauty too, just like this goal. It just shows you how incompetent that Team Canada was run. We won in spite of some stupidity from the coaches and management.
Big Phil
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He could skate like the wind, he just couldn't do it in a game with the puck on his stick. It would get caught in his feet all the time, even in junior. He could skate as fast as the best to ever lace them up, he just couldn't translate it into hockey plays.
This is the comparison I am trying to make with Kovalev, except on a different scale. He showed glimpses of skill even during the game, but to me he was more of a showman off the ice with his skill than on the ice during a game. He could do things with the puck in a skills competition but not during a game quite like the players that are being mentioned. Makes sense now?
Killion
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- Feb 19, 2010
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Yep, one of the greatest... Denis Savard another awesome stickhandler and for
Warp Speed stickhandling, guy who could rip you out of your seat, Pavel Bure'.
And for fun going way back, Billy Gilmour, 5X SC Winner with Ottawa 1903/09...
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- Jan 22, 2007
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Lemieux, Makarov, Kovalev, Datsyuk, Nilsson, Kane, Orr, Perreault, Kharlamov.
VMBM
And it didn't even bring me down
Yep, like always, Canada had all the inconveniences.
Hope you're not basing this opinion just on a couple of highlight reel scoring plays. IIRC, Perreault also did some 'stickhandling exhibitions' that ended with him losing the puck and the Soviets getting a counter-attack. Canada lost the two games in which Perreault played, and won the last three without him; not that the two things are connected, but just saying.
Killion
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That Johnny Gaudreau isn't too shabby either!Yes indeed.... More modern & current era, Datsyuk & Kane, absolute treats to watch.
El Cohiba
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That's because Robbie is hockey's version of a parlor trick. Aside from being a good playmaker here and there (mainly in junior on a stacked London team with SK74 and Dave Bolland), his dangles are his only trick. They're insane, but utterly useless against professionals. I hate to talk bad on him since he helped me learn how to do his lacrosse move when I was a bantam, but he only had one tool. An awesome one, but one that is useless when under pressure from real defensemen.
Robbie has never been a great skater. Slow as hell. Has a good shot, but a slow release. Doesn't process the game quickly enough at the professional level. Other than that, I'd kill to play a game of drop-in with him.
Big Phil
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Lots of reasons why we lost the games Perreault played in. Game 4 we were never in that game from the start. Game 5 was a horrible collapse in the 3rd period. We sent back the best player that could skate with the Russians. It didn't make sense to me. I know we still won the last three, but by margins of the slimmest portion possible. Plus, look at how Perreault performed in 1976, or 1981 before he got hurt. This is off topic, but there was some nasty backdoor politics on Team Canada 1972.
