Who is the fastest skater in NHL history?

[Iain Fyffe]

Pre NHL Ken Mallen was apparently super fast. He beat Cyclone Taylor in a speed race in the early years of the PCHA. Then worked as a speed skate instructor.

If we go pre-NHL there were some hockey players who were speed-skating champions. Jack Brannen and Jack McCulloch come to mind. McCulloch for one was far more renowned as a speed skater than a hockeyist.

 

[Scintillating10]

Gartner as I understand has the official record, but what do you think? Also any possible statistics would help.

Cournoyer....known as the Roadrunner

 

[SealsFan]

Mats just beat me to it - took until page 2 to mention Cournoyer?

Other speedsters - Orr (of course), Reggie Leach

 

[BraveCanadian]

I am somewhat confident that the fastest players of today are the fastest players ever... what with their neverending training and ever improving technique, skate technology, ice improvements, etc.

You'd be incorrect. I think the average players are better now but diminishing returns set in at the top end:



1992 Sergei Fedorov 14.363
1993 Mike Gartner 13.510
1994 Sergei Fedorov 13.525
1996 Mike Gartner 13.386
1997 Peter Bondra 13.610
1998 Scott Niedermayer 13.560
1999 Peter Bondra 14.640
2000 Sami Kapanen 13.649
2001 Bill Guerin 13.690
2002 Sami Kapanen 14.039
2003 Marian Gaborik 13.713
2004 Scott Niedermayer 13.783
2007 Andy McDonald 14.03
2008 Shawn Horcoff 14.395
2009 Andrew Cogliano 14.31
2011 Michael Grabner 14.238

Also I recently turned up an article about Syl Apps and
Lynn Patrick being the last two standing in a speed competition in the NHL in 1942. Apps ended up just barely beating Patrick.

Their times around the rink?

Lynn Patrick
Lap 1: 15s flat, Lap 2: 14 4/5s, Lap 3 (tiebreak): 15s flat

Syl Apps
Lap 1: 15s flat, Lap 2: 14 4/5s, Lap 3 (tiebreak): 14 4/5s.

Very competitive with the more recent times above -- especially considering the skates and condition of the ice they had in the 40s.


My money is on one of Cyclone Taylor, Syl Apps, Bobby Orr or Paul Coffey for straight up speed.

If you consider speed with the puck then you have to add in possibilities like Maurice Ricard, Bure etc. too.

 

[JA]

lots of guys were faster than bure if they didn't have to stickhandle, and if they were just doing a straight line or a lap around the rink. two of his teammates, grinder garry valk and defensive defenseman bret hedican, at times beat bure in skills competitions.

but yeah, fastest in a game context? since i've been watching, it's bure. but a lot of that isn't pure speed; it's agility, ability to change directions on a dime, reflexes and knowing where the puck is going before the other guy, ability to switch "gears," endurance...

Many believe Pavel did not offer much effort at the 1992 Canucks Superskills fastest skater competition. In fact, five players placed better than him in the fastest skater event, none of whom even eclipsed the 15 second mark.

Bure no fast-skating blur in superskills qualifying: [1* Edition]
Pap, Elliott. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 02 Dec 1992: D9.

We all know Pavel Bure is the fastest skater on the Vancouver Canucks, maybe in the entire NHL, right? Well, that all depends.

On Tuesday, the Canucks held a preliminary round for the all-star weekend's Superskills Challenge and Bure didn't even place among the top five in a one-lap skate.

Robert Kron led the qualifiers, followed by Trevor Linden, Garry Valk, Geoff Courtnall and Tom Fergus.

What happened? Seems Bure knows he'll be appearing in the all-star game anyway, based on fan voting and his tremendous first half, so he dogged the skate to leave the door open for a teammate.

"Notice that the fifth line all made the top five," said Valk, referring to himself, Kron and Fergus. "We have to thank (assistant coach) Stan Smyl for keeping us in shape."

There was much merriment among some players - and bets to be won - when Gino Odjick beat Dana Murzyn in the timed event. One cynic suggested they use an hour-glass, rather than a stop watch, to clock the slow-footed Murzyn.

There were no qualifiers declared in the hardest shot event ( faulty radar gun) but eight players advanced in the rapid-fire and accuracy contests.

Sergio Momesso, Petr Nedved, Geoff Courtnall, Anatoli Semenov, Dave Babych, Cliff Ronning, Murzyn and Bure moved on in rapid fire (against live goalies) while Doug Lidster, Greg Adams, Jim Sandlak, Murzyn, Ronning, Courtnall, Babych and Kron advanced in accuracy (hitting stationary targets).

Canuck team finals in all events will be held Saturday, 7:30 p.m., at the Pacific Coliseum.

None of the skaters who placed ahead of him recorded strong times. Geoff Courtnall, who placed fourth, finished with a time of 15.48 seconds.

I don't think Pavel believed much in the event. He didn't participate in the 1993 NHL All-Star fastest skater event -- nor did Alex Mogilny, actually. In fact, Pavel only ever participated in the 1997 and 1998 fastest skater events. In 1998, he recorded a time of 13.98 seconds. There used to be footage of Pavel's run on YouTube -- I don't think he was skating at his best that night either. The average speed at that event was 13.88 seconds; Pavel did not provide his best effort.

http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/hockey/nhlallstar/allsuperskills.htm

Sandlak probable for Thursday's tilt against Edmonton: [1* Edition]
Luba, Frank. The Province [Vancouver, B.C] 02 Dec 1992: B2.

...

The Canucks ran things themselves Tuesday, but couldn't complete the six-part contest because the police radar gun was having trouble measuring their shots. Saturday's event will be run by a company that is testing all the teams to determine four finalists from each conference for the big skills competition that will be run at this year's all star game Feb. 6 in Montreal.

Included in the competition are a puck control relay, breakaway relay, hardest shot, rapid fire (most goals in six shots in seven seconds), fastest skater and most accurate shot. There's an $8 admission charge for adults and $6 for minor hockey players, with an additional price reduction available where Coca-Cola is sold.

Interestingly, Russian Rocket Pavel Bure was not the fastest skater Tuesday. Robert Kron led the way with a lap around the Coliseum ice at 15.15 seconds ahead of Trevor Linden (15.33), Garry Valk (15.38) and Geoff Courtnall (15.48).

...

The results were definitely puzzling:

What the Hull's wrong?: The Golden Brett is as puzzled as anyone by lost scoring touch: [1* Edition]
Pap, Elliott. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 07 Dec 1992: D1.

...

Move over, Pavel Bure. The Russian Rocket was upstaged by bench-warmer Garry Valk in the speed skating event at the Canucks' Superskills night Saturday.

"Must have been a faulty stopwatch," quipped Valk.

...

Here are some comments from November 1992 regarding Pavel's skating:

HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES: ANGEL-FACED PAVEL BURE ANSWERS PRAYERS OF LONG-SUFFERING CANUCKS FANS: [1* Edition]
McDonald, Archie. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 18 Nov 1992: D11.

PAVEL BURE may own hockey's most angelic face. With a hymn book in his hand he could model for the choirboy on Vancouver Canucks Christmas cards. After all, he is on virtually every team publication... It's a perfect image for what he seems destined to become, one of the purest goal scorers in hockey history... The names of Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky, Marcel Dionne and Phil Esposito top the all-time goal scoring list but he is never compared to them. Hockey people put him in the genre of Mike Bossy, Bobby Hull, Steve Shutt, Maurice Richard, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Mike Gartner, gunfighters who could shoot your lights out... And Baby Face Bure just may turn out to be the fastest gun of all.

He has played 83 games in the NHL since arriving one year ago from Moscow as a wide-eyed 20-year-old... In the last 41 games he has scored 40 times - including 18 in 18 this season - which is as fast a pace as anyone has ever set at this stage of a career. He has something of all the great scorers in him but the composite is one of a kind... He can beat three, four, even five defenders on his way to the net the way Gilbert Perreault used to. He can release the puck like Bossy and Shutt and he can carry an opponent to the net like Maurice (Rocket) Richard.

"Right now he is the most powerful and probably the quickest skater in the league," says Canuck veteran Ryan Walter. "So much comes from his legs, they're so powerful. He can anchor that one foot and put on amazing moves. I remember one goal he scored against Winnipeg. He had Thomas Steen draped all over him and he just outpowered him and got the shot away and scored. It is awfully frustrating for a defensive player when you have done your job and he still scores. Even when he comes down on three defenders he is intimidating."

And he has an itchy trigger finger. "Incredible fast hands," says Walter. "He can beat you more ways than anyone. He is a wonderful player to watch."

Injured defenceman Dave Babych was watching from the the press box last week when the Canucks played San Jose. He couldn't stop talking about the way Bure moved about 10 feet laterally on Doug Wilson at top speed and then at the precise moment the defenceman's feet became crossed he flipped the puck past him, danced around, and scored.

Stan Smyl sees something in his eyes. "If you could zero in on him when he has an opportunity to go to the net, you would see the determination on his face. He smells blood," says Smyl, who retired with Canuck scoring records for most goals and most assists when he became an assistant coach... "He never lets up around the net. He doesn't want to score on the second opportunity. He wants to score on the first one."

...

At the All-Star game in Philadephia last year two Soviets, Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Mogilny were the finalists in the speed skating competition. The press box found-ins were suitably impressed. "And they aren't even the fastest guys" piped up Howie Meeker, "Pavel Bure would beat them easy as pie." Bure probably will get to prove that claim at the All-Star game in Montreal Feb. 6.

Works Cited

Luba, Frank. "Sandlak Probable for Thursday's Tilt Against Edmonton." The Province: 0. Dec 02 1992. ProQuest. Web. 17 Mar. 2014 .

McDonald, Archie. "HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES: ANGEL-FACED PAVEL BURE ANSWERS PRAYERS OF LONG-SUFFERING CANUCKS FANS." The Vancouver Sun: 0. Nov 18 1992. ProQuest. Web. 17 Mar. 2014 .

Pap, Elliott. "Bure no Fast-Skating Blur in Superskills Qualifying." The Vancouver Sun: 0. Dec 02 1992. ProQuest. Web. 17 Mar. 2014 .

Pap, Elliott. "What the Hull's Wrong?: The Golden Brett is as Puzzled as Anyone by Lost Scoring Touch." The Vancouver Sun: 0. Dec 07 1992. ProQuest. Web. 17 Mar. 2014 .

 

[Reindl87]

Konstantin "The Russian Rocket II" Koltsov

 

[sr edler]

If we go pre-NHL there were some hockey players who were speed-skating champions. Jack Brannen and Jack McCulloch come to mind. McCulloch for one was far more renowned as a speed skater than a hockeyist.

Yes, Empire of Ice says Mallen won the "1912 quarter mile speed skating championship of the pacific coast", whatever that was. The other two fast PCHA players he beat in that speed race was Si Griffis & Moose Johnson. Johnson was apparently pretty fast despite his stocky frame.

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

Enjoyed that post JetsAlternate. Can anyone provide any insight into why the Russians of the 90's and earlier were so good at shifting their forward momentum in a split second laterally? I don't see it as much from the Russians in the NHL today, but it may be that everyone's lateral skating has improved that its just not as noticeable.

 

[BobbyAwe]

Reggie Leach

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

You'd be incorrect. I think the average players are better now but diminishing returns set in at the top end:

Well put. And not just for speed...

Also I recently turned up an article about Syl Apps and
Lynn Patrick being the last two standing in a speed competition in the NHL in 1942. Apps ended up just barely beating Patrick.

Their times around the rink?

Lynn Patrick
Lap 1: 15s flat, Lap 2: 14 4/5s, Lap 3 (tiebreak): 15s flat

Syl Apps
Lap 1: 15s flat, Lap 2: 14 4/5s, Lap 3 (tiebreak): 14 4/5s.

Very competitive with the more recent times above -- especially considering the skates and condition of the ice they had in the 40s.

Do you have a link to the article?

 

[Rhiessan71]

Bure didn't have the highest top end. What Bure had was insane acceleration.
Fedorov and Coffey were faster overall IMO and Gartner faster than them.

Not sure if anyone compares to a pre-surgery Orr though. Top end, lateral movement, acceleration...Orr had it all in spades.

Honourable mention to Lafleur as well. There were times where he would pass the puck blueline to blueline and look as if he had teleported himself up the ice to receive the return pass.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Do you have a link to the article?

It was from the Globe and Mail archives.

I'll give you the info here so that you can look it up but I can't link the article because I got it through a library access:

SYL APPS SKATES WAY TO NHL SPEED-TEST TITLE: Extended by Lynn Patrick, Leaf Ace Wins in Race-off -- The Globe and Mail, Jan 31, 1942, pg 12, Vern DeGeer

Jack Portland, Max Bentley, Tommy Anderson, Syd Abel, Flash Hollett also participated but it came down to Apps and Abel in a tiebreaker. Each team was represented after having their own internal competition -- I think I sent you the info about the Leafs competition where Apps edged out your ATD guy.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

It was from the Globe and Mail archives.

I'll give you the info here so that you can look it up but I can't link the article because I got it through a library access:

SYL APPS SKATES WAY TO NHL SPEED-TEST TITLE: Extended by Lynn Patrick, Leaf Ace Wins in Race-off -- The Globe and Mail, Jan 31, 1942, pg 12, Vern DeGeer

Jack Portland, Max Bentley, Tommy Anderson, Syd Abel, Flash Hollett also participated but it came down to Apps and Abel in a tiebreaker. Each team was represented after having their own internal competition -- I think I sent you the info about the Leafs competition where Apps edged out your ATD guy.

Interesting. I always suspected Abel was a decent skater before WW2, but didn't realize he was one of the fastest in the league. All the mainstream profiles of him talk about how he lost his speed during the war and was really slow by the time the Production Line was put together. But nothing about how fast he actually was before the War.

 

[IMLACHnME]

Mats just beat me to it - took until page 2 to mention Cournoyer?

Other speedsters - Orr (of course), Reggie Leach

No mention of Bobby Sheehan? Turn in your Seals fan club membership card.

Imagine Dave Keon with today's skates and training regimen.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Cournoyer and Bure are the fastest I've seen with the puck. HM to Orr.

Without the puck... well, there's a pretty good argument for Gartner.

 

[Killion]

Orr
B.Hull
Lafleur
Bure
Cournoyer
Gartner
Coffey
Mohns
M.Wilson
Perrault
Fedorov
Gaborik

 

[Primary Assist]

what about Pat Lafontaine?

 

[JA]

What are your thoughts on Bob Bourne compared to some of the other names mentioned in this thread?



This article, written on May 26, 1981, refers to Bourne as one of the fastest skaters in the NHL at the time.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19810526&id=UdFKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XukMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4248,9461475

 

[Killion]

^^^ Ya, Bob Bourne could really fly. Serious wheels on that guy.... I included Murray Wilson in my list above, not a guy really remembered for much but according to legend was as fast if not faster than Lafleur. Played for a couple of seasons with two other speed merchants in Jacques Lemaire & Yvon Cournoyer, reputedly the fastest line in the league when they really turned it on.

Early in the league, Fred Cyclone Taylor & Hec Kilrea (a former speedskater) well worth including in this discussion, along with Howie Morenz. According to long time Hockey Night in Canada Producer Ralph Mellanby who saw Morenz play, up until the 60's Howie the fastest skater he;d ever seen, until Bobby Hull came along. He said that Hull & Morenz were like one & the same, two peas from the same pod, Morenz in his day like Hull's in his & both the fastest he'd ever seen & well into & past Expansion, the 80's.

Though its hard for me to be entirely objective, I did see plenty of Hull through the 60's & early 70's, to me a toss-up between he & Orr, though for short burst & lateral acceleration, definitely Id go with Orr. Consider that in a game against Montreal, Cournoyer had a 15' jump on Orr with a breakaway going full out just past Center, Orr practically stationary, turns it on & catches him in about 5 strides cleanly stripping him of the puck. This is Yvan Cournoyer were talking about here. The Roadrunner.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Orr
B.Hull
Lafleur
Bure
Cournoyer
Gartner
Coffey
Mohns
M.Wilson
Perrault
Fedorov
Gaborik

funny that the initial doesn't help with the confusion between hall of fame father and son (though i guess it rules out uncle dennis), but we all know which hull you mean.

 

[shazariahl]

Don't know why it's hard for people to accept Gartner as the fastest. Not only does he have the fastest time in the competition, he also has the 2nd fastest. It's not like he fluked out or had one strong showing or anything. Anyone who ever watched him play in the 80's/90's knew how fast he was. And, as someone else mentioned, today's "faster" skaters couldn't beat his times.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

1934 Writers Poll: Fastest Skater - Howie Morenz 10, Busher Jackson 5, Hec Kilrea 4, Mush March 4, Jimmy Ward 3, Herbie Lewis 2, John Sorrel 1, Cecil Dillon 1, Jerry Shannon 1, Buzz Boll 1, Georges Mantha 1

1958 Coaches Poll: Best and fastest skater - Henri Richard, Montreal (closest thing possible to a unanimous choice)

1965 Coaches Poll: Fastest Skater - Dave Keon (Bobby Hull, Henri Richard, Gilles Tremblay, Ralph Backstrom)

1971 Coaches Poll: Best Skater - Bobby Orr (Dave Keon)

1974 Coaches Poll: Best Skater - Bobby Orr (Yvan Cournoyer)

1976 Coaches Poll: Best Skater - Bobby Orr (Gilbert Perreault, Rick Macleish, Errol Thompson)
1976 Coaches Poll: Fastest Skater - Yvan Cournoyer (Marcel Dionne, Bobby Orr, Gilbert Perreault, Inge Hammarstrom)

1979 Coaches Poll: Best Skater - Guy Lafleur (Borje Salming, Bob Gainey)
1979 Coaches Poll: Fastest Skater - Guy Lafleur (Dan Labraaten)

1984 Coaches Poll: Best Skater - Paul Coffey (Denis Savard, Rick Middleton, Mike Gartner, Gilbert Perreault)
1984 Coaches Poll: Fastest Skater - Glenn Anderson (Mike Gartner, Denis Savard)

1990 Players Poll: Best Skater - P Coffey (53), M Messier (25), D Savard (8), M Gartner (6), P Lafontaine (4)

1993 Coaches Poll: Best Skater: Pavel Bure (8), Mike Gartner (4), Paul Coffey (3), Sergei Fedorov (2), Teemu Selanne (2), Pat Lafontaine (1), Chris Chelios (1)

1994 Coaches Poll: Best Skater: Sergei Fedorov (8), Teemu Selanne (3), Paul Coffey (2), Mike Modano (2), Mike Gartner (2), Pavel Bure (1), Alexander Mogilny (1), Jeremy Roenick (1)
1994 Coaches Poll: Fastest Skater: 1. Sergei Fedorov (10) 2. Pavel Bure (5) 3. (tie) Paul Coffey, Mike Gartner, Mike Modano, Alexander Mogilny (2).
Others: Jaromir Jagr, Nelson Emerson, Phil Housley, Slava Kozlov, Jeremy Roenick.

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

1965 Coaches Poll: Fastest Skater - Dave Keon (Bobby Hull, Henri Richard, Gilles Tremblay, Ralph Backstrom)


1976 Coaches Poll: Best Skater - Bobby Orr (Gilbert Perreault, Rick Macleish, Errol Thompson)
1976 Coaches Poll: Fastest Skater - Yvan Cournoyer (Marcel Dionne, Bobby Orr, Gilbert Perreault, Inge Hammarstrom)

Have to say that I am surprised Keon got the nod over Hull. I've recently learned Keon was fast in another thread, but to beat Hull is quite a feat. And how does Lafleur win it in 79, but not even be considered in 76? It makes me wonder if this was more of a popularity contest than it is about actual results (in the days when there weren't timed contests in the AS game.)

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Have to say that I am surprised Keon got the nod over Hull. I've recently learned Keon was fast in another thread, but to beat Hull is quite a feat. And how does Lafleur win it in 79, but not even be considered in 76? It makes me wonder if this was more of a popularity contest than it is about actual results (in the days when there weren't timed contests in the AS game.)

Seems like reputation pretty much had to be a part of it right? Perhaps the coach's polls lagged a year or two behind actual performance?

 

[Scotty B]

bure or fedorov

Straight line speed is often over rated...

I recall that fedorov ( who was pretty young then ) was assigned to shadow Gretz in one of the Canada Cups ...Probably 91...

Gretzky proved to be a better skater with puck than Fedorov without it.

Gretz literally skated circles around Federov, turning him every which way, till Fedorov fell flat on his butt, then headed straight to the bench with a look of total exasperation.

Gretz ( who certainly wasn't straight line fast ) used to rocker his blades, and probably had the tightest turning radius/ smallest turning arc of any player in NHL history...

***
That being said Bobby Orr gets my vote as best skater...although Bobby Hull was pretty damn fast...

Gilbert Perreault was one of the most beautiful and effortless skaters I ever saw