What is a skill anyway? Isn't deflecting pucks on insane angles a skill? Is owning the puck along the boards using great skating, your stick, and feet a skill?
I think sometimes we just get an idea that if a player can do 3 things like snipe, deke, and quickly skate around a guy then he's skilled and then ignore other less traditional things that are skills in and of themselves. Crosby has skills that other players who do the more traditional "pretty" things often lack. Like Semin's comment a few years ago implying that if you aren't flying down the wing and sniping to get your hockeying done then you're lesser somehow when there's plenty of other skills that players can perform that end up with the puck in the net instead. There's no asterisk on your Rocket trophy that 30 of your goals weren't just blowing it by the goalie picking a corner.
Dan's got rocks in his head, but the way this is phrased makes me feel like Wyshynski is probably taking him out of context for clickbait purposes. Also, that Wyshynski is the one reporting this makes me think that.
He's likely the best board player to have ever played the game, which is where most of today's game is played anyway.
and they are skillsCrosby's "skill game" is never what has made him better than other guys. Sure he's super skilled, but it's the other things about his game that make him the best.
He rarely "dangles" people, or pulls fancy dekes. His vision, board play, puck protection, hand-eye coordination, hockey IQ, edge-work, etc... These are the things that set him apart from his peers.
Yeah, I like Joss Whedon. Not really sure about him as a human, but appreciate him as an artist.Love the Buffy gifs
Crosby took on a safer style after the concussion issues. I don't doubt he could still play like he did when he was 22 but I don't think he wants to. I think people mistake how he chooses to play the game with the limitations of his skill. His mentality and approach changed and so we see different skills.
Had PTSD listening to his voice.
Anyhow, if anyone was interested, the context of the quote was: Wysh asked Byslma about Crosby's ability to analyze, process, and change his play between shifts in a game. DB, who has apparently been spending too much time in media dropping 'hot takes', decides to answer this question with "Crosby is NOT the best hockey player in the world... [pause]... skill wise". He goes on to talk about how Crosby is good at finding details that can be improved, works at it, and executes it by the next game. Nothing out of the norm... but still vaguely condescending.
Also, it's crazy how much that man loves Brooks Orpik.
And bizarrely dismissive of Malkin.
All one has to do is watch his play pre and post concussion problems. He changed his game dramatically.
Kovalev comes to mind too.And it could be said that Bure was more skilled than Fedorov. Or Forsberg was more skilled than Jagr. But i'd still take the latter of the two examples on my team any day.
I thought that the shattered face was a significant factor.This just isn’t true. The only injuries that affected Crosby’s game were the broken wrist and ankle. 2010-2013 Crosby was a static level of dominance. He got his wrist injury late 2014 and by the time he recovered he was already under the defensive tyranny of Mike Johnston. Maybe now he changed his game from last year, but Crosby was by and large playing “his game” at 29 years old.
I thought that the shattered face was a significant factor.
This just isn’t true. The only injuries that affected Crosby’s game were the broken wrist and ankle. 2010-2013 Crosby was a static level of dominance. He got his wrist injury late 2014 and by the time he recovered he was already under the defensive tyranny of Mike Johnston. Maybe now he changed his game from last year, but Crosby was by and large playing “his game” at 29 years old.