Best slow skaters to play in the NHL

[Canadiens1958]

Terry said that, as a young player today, he doubts that he could have even MADE IT to the NHL because of his skating. Don't want to change the subject but that's an interesting admission and would weigh in on the eternal argument about how good the old timers would be in the modern game? Bobby Orr also said he wouldn't be able to do HALF the things today that he did in his era.

O'Reilly no different than Milan Lucic. Orr managed to play with O'Reilly without negative impact.

Drew Doughty had to work on his skating to raise it to NHL levels

Orr wouldn't have to do as much today since the game features much more linear skating as opposed to his time which featured arcs, dance moves, etc.

 

[streitz]

Terry said that, as a young player today, he doubts that he could have even MADE IT to the NHL because of his skating. Don't want to change the subject but that's an interesting admission and would weigh in on the eternal argument about how good the old timers would be in the modern game? Bobby Orr also said he wouldn't be able to do HALF the things today that he did in his era.

Old players literally always say stuff like that.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Some of the greatest players of all-time prior to the short shift game sometimes looked “slow” but were brilliantly managing the pace of the game. For instance, Doug Harvey was anything but a slow player but he didn’t always go full throttle like many players today. The ability to change speeds as circumstances require is, in my opinion, a demonstration of elite hockey IQ. The current game would benefit from more of this.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

Kjell Samuelsson

 

[Canadiens1958]

Peter Popovic

 

[VanIslander]

As a Canucks fan,... Yzerman on one friggin' leg in 2002 comes to mind.

 

[Nick Hansen]

Peter Popovic

6'6 and 230 pounds. Current coach of Tre Kronors defensemen. Was he all that good, though?

Seems very 90's NHL to me... big and bad.

 

[Canadiens1958]

6'6 and 230 pounds. Current coach of Tre Kronors defensemen. Was he all that good, though?

Seems very 90's NHL to me... big and bad.

Played small, hunched over. Did not use his size like Hal Gill. Serviceable. Should have been better

 

[psycat]

Not one mention of Jagr?

Was a bit faster when he was young, but was never really fast, uses his big butt, protects the puck well.

Well Jagr was fast in his heyday.

 

[Gee Wally]

Chara.
Uses wingspan and cutting down angles.

 

[Vanzig]

TIM KERR wasn’t fast at all, But man you couldn’t knock him outta the SLOT at all (Just Like ESPOSITO).

He had 4 (50 Goal) Seasons and could of had easily at least (6) 50+ Goal Season which woulda put Kerr in the TOP 5 All Time for “50 Goal Seasons” but he was never the same after his kid died young and his WIFE who also defied as well he had over 10+ Major Surgeries!!! He played nearly the same amount of Games as NEELY and a lot of others in the HOF yet he will never get a sniff, i have no reason why, his stats are killer, Def a great player to have and especially on power play. GO KERR (LOL)

 

[crobro]

If the HHOF created another two spots per year for modern era players these guys deserve to be in

Bernie Nichols
Rick Martin
Rick Middleton
Tim Kerr
Charlie Simmer
Ulf Nilsson/Anders Hedberg

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Ulf Nilsson/Anders Hedberg

i would ride for these two

 

[David Bruce Banner]

TIM KERR wasn’t fast at all, But man you couldn’t knock him outta the SLOT at all (Just Like ESPOSITO).

He had 4 (50 Goal) Seasons and could of had easily at least (6) 50+ Goal Season which woulda put Kerr in the TOP 5 All Time for “50 Goal Seasons” but he was never the same after his kid died young and his WIFE who also defied as well he had over 10+ Major Surgeries!!! He played nearly the same amount of Games as NEELY and a lot of others in the HOF yet he will never get a sniff, i have no reason why, his stats are killer, Def a great player to have and especially on power play. GO KERR (LOL)

Kerr was awesome, but IIRC, it was a chronic shoulder injury that finally did him in.

 

[gumgum]

trent hunter and ryan malone come to mind as guys that were awful technical skaters and took years to get going/accelerate but still managed to produce reasonably well for a few years. malone more so i guess cause i'm fairly sure he potted 20+ at least 5 times.

 

[Bluesguru]

Bernie Federko

No doubt if he had been a gifted skater, he REALLY would of been something ultra special.

 

[feffan]

6'6 and 230 pounds. Current coach of Tre Kronors defensemen. Was he all that good, though?

Seems very 90's NHL to me... big and bad.

Dubbed the "The Gentle Giant" by the media. Never bad, never great. He was as I remember the 2-3 D in Montreal for a time after Schneider and Desjardins where no more. At least Malakhov ahead. A few North Americans probably where "offended" that he didn´t use his size to be mean. But he was actually a good defensive presence in the mid 90´s. He was on the 1996 World Cup team for a reason. Great reach and got opposing players out of the crease (more pushing than punishing...). Traded from Montreal because of they didn´t agree on salary. Moved home because his first born was about to start school. Probably would have lasted until the lockout in the leauge if he wanted, even if he at the end was more a 5-6 than the 2-4 in Montreal. The kind of player that memory doesn´t age well for many, as "soft" and "slow" are easy to put against him. Quite unfair in my mind. To me more "solid" and "smart".

 

[Killion]

Some of the greatest players of all-time prior to the short shift game sometimes looked “slow” but were brilliantly managing the pace of the game. For instance, Doug Harvey was anything but a slow player but he didn’t always go full throttle like many players today. The ability to change speeds as circumstances require is, in my opinion, a demonstration of elite hockey IQ. The current game would benefit from more of this.

Yeah. Solid Post. Totally agree. Slightly shorter Benches over the years as well of course. Much more a Marathon than a Sprint. Chess as opposed to Checkers. Longer careers. Familiarity with one another & most certainly the opposition. Different head space. Rather than single dimensions, players were multi-dimensional, far more utilitarian and "aware". Tool boxes generally pretty full but sure, you had the odd "specialist". Far less micro-management. 1 Ref as opposed to two, the Referee far less intrusive, allowing the players to play, exacting their own forms of retribution & justice. More art, less science. Art, creativity you cannot control. Science, generally speaking, yes, you certainly can.

 

[DowntownBooster]

Yeah. Solid Post. Totally agree. Slightly shorter Benches over the years as well of course. Much more a Marathon than a Sprint. Chess as opposed to Checkers. Longer careers. Familiarity with one another & most certainly the opposition. Different head space. Rather than single dimensions, players were multi-dimensional, far more utilitarian and "aware". Tool boxes generally pretty full but sure, you had the odd "specialist". Far less micro-management. 1 Ref as opposed to two, the Referee far less intrusive, allowing the players to play, exacting their own forms of retribution & justice. More art, less science. Art, creativity you cannot control. Science, generally speaking, yes, you certainly can.

Glad to see you back Killion. It just hasn't been the same on these boards without your participation. Looking forward to reading more posts from you.

 

[BobbyAwe]

O'Reilly no different than Milan Lucic. Orr managed to play with O'Reilly without negative impact.

Drew Doughty had to work on his skating to raise it to NHL levels

Orr wouldn't have to do as much today since the game features much more linear skating as opposed to his time which featured arcs, dance moves, etc.

So you know more about Orr's and O'Reilly's estimates of their own abilities, in comparison to the modern game and modern players, than THEY do?

Also, Lucic is clearly faster than O'Reilly was. He just got lazy sometimes.

 

[Canadiens1958]

So you know more about Orr's and O'Reilly's estimates of their own abilities, in comparison to the modern game and modern players, than THEY do?

Also, Lucic is clearly faster than O'Reilly was. He just got lazy sometimes.

Bobby Orr is rather humble going back to his junior days.

Lucic never had to skate long shifts like O'Reilly did.