Best Stickhandlers Ever

[Staniowski]

Forsberg was impressive but the king of stickhandling in a phone booth was the lacrosse star Joe Nieuwendyk.

I've seen people say Nieuwendyk was the most talented lacrosse player of all-time. I have no idea if it's true, and of course he only played when he was young. But he was certainly one of the niftiest hockey players ever, incredible in front of the net, great on deflections, tips, etc.

 

[crobro]

Rick Middleton anyone

 

[paracord]

If you're talking about chopping up the ice like a typewriter, then that would be Jagr, Kane, Kovalev, players like that.

If it's Cadillac smooth dekes, toe drags, out-in, in-out destruction of opponents, and overall control of the puck on his stick, then Lemieux is #1 and Gretzky and Orr are there too.

Lemieux was massive, with a super-human reach, and could bring the puck side to side and shield it from opponents better than any player in history. He was also the most lethal 1 on 1 vs. the goalie player in history by a good margin, with devastating backhand dekes or feigns of the deke and then top shelf glove side making the goalie look foolish.

He could catch passes and roof them on the backhand or forehand with equal ease from a foot out, and just overall had the softest hands of any player ever.

This isn't really that close with Lemieux vs. everyone else.

 

[Albatros]

Now that's a name you don't see too often here!

Jarkko is a legend of SM-sarja/SM-liiga and for two teams (Tappara, TPS), no less, but he never did that much on the Finnish national team. His international stats aren't awfully bad, though, when compared with other Finnish star players of his era. Still, I guess he just wasn't very high on practising/conditioning, which didn't help his international career.

From my understanding, Jarkko wasn't much of a skater, but indeed had great hands and really could make a defenceman or a goalie look bad.

It was said that he learned to play hockey largely without skates and would then always play like that. In any case he had an awful work ethic and was fairly immobile even by 1980s German standards, but also had magic hands and great vision as his saving grace. Had the size to keep the puck even with his poor skating too, albeit not a physical player otherwise and didn't play much defense. I don't have any statistics, but many of his points must have been on power play. The kind of player that sold tickets and the next generation grew up idolizing, but whom the coaches thought much less highly of.

 

[Leksand]

Now that's a name you don't see too often here!

Jarkko is a legend of SM-sarja/SM-liiga and for two teams (Tappara, TPS), no less, but he never did that much on the Finnish national team. His international stats aren't awfully bad, though, when compared with other Finnish star players of his era. Still, I guess he just wasn't very high on practising/conditioning, which didn't help his international career.

From my understanding, Jarkko wasn't much of a skater, but indeed had great hands and really could make a defenceman or a goalie look bad.

Lars-Gunnar "Krobbe" Lundberg.

Can't find a video of him, illustrating the anti-1970's-Swedish-superstars bias of the internets. He had some fantastic Swedish championship game for Brynäs (ugh) I remember to this day due to his deking and stick handling.

Seems to be underrated here.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Denis Savard should, at least, get a mention.

 

[Lexus]

I'll add Linus Klasen to the mix.

 

[Overrated]

damn never known Ruzicka was such a sick stickhandler

 

[Lexus]

damn never known Ruzicka was such a sick stickhandler

I really liked the background music of this highlight package