Who is the fastest skater in NHL history?

[LeBlondeDemon10]

Its well known Lafleur's knee injury in 1980 affected his skating from then on in his career. However, after the disastrous end to his 1984 season, it appears in this video (early in the 84-85 season) that he had regained some of the speed and agility he had lost. Unfortunately, he could not score like he used to and his reduced ice time by Lemaire resulted in his retirement soon after this game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS8q_1HGEe8&feature=player_embedded

 

[Up the Irons]

I'll go with Russ Courtnell. crazy fast.

anyone mention the Roadrunner, yet? there's a reason they called him (Cournoyer) that.

 

[Up the Irons]

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

whew. great list.

 

[VMBM]

whew. great list.

And suddenly... there was love for Murray Wilson.

 

[Scotty B]

I'll go with Russ Courtnell. crazy fast.

anyone mention the Roadrunner, yet? there's a reason they called him (Cournoyer) that.

There's an oft repeated story , sorry I'm a little hazy about exact details, but basically Cournoyer steals puck from Orr, during one of Bobby's many forays up ice. There's a HUGE gap between Yvan and Bobby, but Bobby not only catches him from behind, he deftly steals the puck right back, and calmly heads back up ice with it And yes, the Roadrunner was one of the fastest guys in the league

***
EDIT: Woops, didn't read thru thread... somebody already mentioned the above, plus remembered the details better NICE job Killion !

 

[capebretoncanadien]

Maybe not fastest ever but watching Coffey skate was a thing of beauty. So effortless.

 

[sr edler]

There's an oft repeated story , sorry I'm a little hazy about exact details, but basically Cournoyer steals puck from Orr, during one of Bobby's many forays up ice. There's a HUGE gap between Yvan and Bobby, but Bobby not only catches him from behind, he deftly steals the puck right back, and calmly heads back up ice with it And yes, the Roadrunner was one of the fastest guys in the league

Youtube or it didn't happen. No, but this anecdote has a touch of urban myth to it. Not saying it didn't happen, only that the story probably transforms a little in shape when it's passed on.

 

[feffan]

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.

Nice read. Two thing sticks out is that the old choices are almost only all time greats... and Inge Hammarstrom and Dan Laabraten.
Dan was known as a fast skater back in Sweden, didn´t know he was regarded that high in the NHL. And in his first season in the leauge (of course they heard about him before, playing in the WHA and Canada Cup...) and all. Groin-injury during trainingcamp before 80/81 destroyed his chances of a NHL-legacy for swedes. Couldn´t skate as well after that. Wonder if Nedomansky (still being the better player...) drop in points could also be argued because of that injury, as him and Laabraten had some outspoken great chemistry.
Inge played an skillbased kind of hockey and for many was the face of "chicken swede". Maple Leafs Ballard once said the famous "Hammarstrom could go into the corner with a dozen eggs in his pocket and not break any of them." So surprised he got recognition even if he probably deserved it.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

Fedorov was faster than Bure, not to mention being a much better player overall and a 200 ft player.

 

[Theokritos]

Youtube or it didn't happen. No, but this anecdote has a touch of urban myth to it. Not saying it didn't happen, only that the story probably transforms a little in shape when it's passed on.

The original story seems to be from the HHOF website:

Larry Robinson recalled a particular game played against the Bruins in which the speedy Cournoyer intercepted a pass and was off on a breakaway with a 15-foot lead on Orr. Bobby caught Cournoyer and stripped him of the puck. "That's when I realized just how great a skater Orr was," Robinson said.

 

[Scotty B]

Maybe not fastest ever but watching Coffey skate was a thing of beauty. So effortless.

Yup THE GLIDE...really fast skater for sure...Just zipped around guys and made it look effortless, simply Awesome...Still 7's just a one tricked pony compared to #4, pale imitation for sure

he Coffey couldn't move laterally in either direction, or get guys going the wrong way with a subtle shake of hips, or change speeds like Orr, much less circle back with the puck, toy with opponents and leave them exasperated and exhausted before delivering the coupe de gras, by way of a goal or assist...Deadly on pk

+ Damn he could really fight too!

 

[Fred Taylor]

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...

depending on criteria, the fastest skater in NHL history might very well be some guy barely remember, who got a cup of coffee in the league because he skated freakishly fast but didn't stick because he couldn't do anything else. rico fata, for example, was unbelievably fast. but the best skater in NHL history is bobby orr.

Good post. I agree with everything here.

 

[Killion]

...depending on criteria, the fastest skater in NHL history might very well be some guy barely remember, who got a cup of coffee in the league because he skated freakishly fast but didn't stick because he couldn't do anything else. rico fata, for example, was unbelievably fast.

Absolutely. Coulda been Russ Courtnall. If that guys stick work & shot had ever been in sync with his speed instead being left ten miles back down the highway, who knows?

Youtube or it didn't happen. No, but this anecdote has a touch of urban myth to it. Not saying it didn't happen, only that the story probably transforms a little in shape when it's passed on.

Ya. Not "makin stuff up" edler. I mentioned that story as well and Robinson is not one to be telling Porkies.... I on the other hand? Mebbe. Mebbe not huh?

The original story seems to be from the HHOF website:

My source for it. edler dont surf Theo. Googles your friend. Very odd for an Aussie.... some killer big waves out there at Pedra Branca in Tasmania.

 

[capebretoncanadien]

Yup THE GLIDE...really fast skater for sure...Just zipped around guys and made it look effortless, simply Awesome...Still 7's just a one tricked pony compared to #4, pale imitation for sure

he Coffey couldn't move laterally in either direction, or get guys going the wrong way with a subtle shake of hips, or change speeds like Orr, much less circle back with the puck, toy with opponents and leave them exasperated and exhausted before delivering the coupe de gras, by way of a goal or assist...Deadly on pk

+ Damn he could really fight too!

I don't doubt this one bit.

Bobby Orr is arguably one of the greatest ever.

Shame I never got to see him play at all except on video and years past highlight packages.

 

[Up the Irons]

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...

depending on criteria, the fastest skater in NHL history might very well be some guy barely remember, who got a cup of coffee in the league because he skated freakishly fast but didn't stick because he couldn't do anything else. rico fata, for example, was unbelievably fast. but the best skater in NHL history is bobby orr.

Like a Toddy Marchant. I don't know if I ever saw a faster skater without the puck in a straight line. but with the puck or at everything else in hockey? barely, senior men's AAA calibre.

I haven't seen Paul Kariya mentioned yet. he was right up there.

best I ever saw live? Coffee or Federov. Only saw Orr in the '76 Cup, i don't really remember him being crazy fast (late in his career), but he was far and away the best player in that Tourney.

 

[Crosbyfan]

^^^ 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.

Guarantee you there was never a point in the sequence that matched those conditions.

Momentum is everything, especially on skates. Orr, nor anyone else, would not have caught the slowest player in the league under those conditions...

He might catch me...but if Orr made up 15 feet on Cournoyer the momentum was reversed, and Orr had the jump...guarantee you

 

[Vitkovice*]

Radek Dvorak

 

[habitue*]

Bure and Mike Gartner were really quick. Anderson in Edmonton was a tremendous skater.

Yvan Cournoyer was not named the Roadrunner for no reason, too.

 

[habitue*]

I'll go with Russ Courtnell. crazy fast.

anyone mention the Roadrunner, yet? there's a reason they called him (Cournoyer) that.

Coutnall was called "the Deer" by Pat Burns... and it was not a compliment...

 

[BraveCanadian]

Coutnall was called "the Deer" by Pat Burns... and it was not a compliment...

The problem with Courtnall is that he could skate way faster than he could do anything else. (ie. anything with the puck)

So most of the time it was wasted.

 

[Big Phil]

First name that comes to mind is Bure. It is possible that he was a faster skater WITH the puck, or so it seemed. There are bursts of speed he displayed that leave your jaw open.

Paul Coffey of course comes to mind as well. Effortless. The thing with Coffey is that you rarely saw him out of position because he could skate backwards faster than forwards could skate forward. The 1987 Canada Cup is an example of this. I have all games on tape, and there is one play in particular (I'll have to look it up) when Coffey makes a mad rush end to end, loses the puck and just as it looks like the Soviets have an odd man rush the other way all of the sudden you see Coffey, gliding................backwards to get back into the play through the neutral zone. Just amazing.

Yvan Cournoyer for sure. I know someone posted a thread about Orr catching him on a breakaway but this is one play we are talking about. In the 1971 playoffs an old Henri Richard picked up a turned over puck near Orr and blew by him like he wasn't even there for a goal in that infamous comeback in Game 2. Was a 35 year old Richard faster than a prime Orr? No, but it was one play, things factor in like length of shift, momentum, position, etc. That being said, Cournoyer was like a bullet. Watch that goal in Game 2 of the 1972 Summit Series of his. That's all you have to know about Cournoyer's speed. I don't know if I've ever seen a player just leave everyone else in the dust and flat footed like he did on that goal.

Bobby Orr for every reason mentioned so far.

Mike Gartner gets mentioned here but I would say his speed was more straight and narrow. Nothing wrong with that as he was always a lethal threat flying down that right wing. He had great outside speed but you saw him use the north-south way of skating more than swooping in and out and going laterally. Maybe Gartner is the fastest from a north/south standpoint though.


I don't really know who the fastest player is in today's game. Gaborik maybe? Taylor Hall? Hard to say. But a human being can only go so fast, so I while I would say the fastest of today are faster than the faster of yesterday, the truth is you can only go so fast in life. The fastest time for the 100m in track is Usain Bolt at 9.58 seconds. In 1936 Jesse Owens ran for 10.3. So in almost a century we have seen a 0.7 second improvement. Apply that to skating.

 

[crobro]

Helmut balderis ?

 

[VMBM]

Helmut balderis ?

Certainly among the fastest Soviet players. The best overall skater at least, if not the fastest. Sergei Makarov is there too - especially with the puck. Other really fast non-NHL Russians: Sergei Kapustin (straight-ahead speed), Viacheslav Bykov, Valeri Kharlamov (with the puck & lateral movement).

Reijo Ruotsalainen had very fast feet too; Herb Brooks used to rave about his skating.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

The fastest skaters I've seen during game play that come to mind are Bure and Coffey off the top of my head.

Bure's acceleration was just amazing. It was a thing of beauty just to watch how many defenders got flat footed just because Bure turned on the jets and turned them inside out. He was one of those guys as a defenseman you had to be aware that he was on the ice because he'd make you look silly with his speed. It was like he had video game speed and he'd hit a speed burst and go right past you.

Coffey was another animal in a different way. He's probably the only defenseman I've seen do this so many times in his prime (mid 80's to early 90's) where he'd go end to end on a rush, many a times being so fast he'd beat the forwards and being the deepest into the offensive zone when he was carrying the puck, then the other team would counter attack and have a 2 on 1 or breakaway because he was in the offensive zone when the other team countered...and then he'd blaze back to get back into the play after being so far behind and then break up the odd man rush.

 

[57special]

Glenn Anderson was usually named as the fastest skater on the great Oiler's teams. Hard to believe, with Coffey and Messier, but he could fly. Bobby Hull was really fast , but part of his mystique was that he was also really strong, so once he got up to full speed he would just sort of shed would be defenders.

Bob Gainey was really, really fast.

I seem to recall Ralph Backstrom being considered a great skater.