Create The Perfect Hockey Player

[NHL WAR]

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but what would be your Frankenstein combination to create the perfect hockey player?

Without putting much thought into it, mine would be:

Hair: Jagr
Brain: Gretzky
Eyes: Rocket Richard
Hands: Lemieux
Wrists: Sakic
Arms: Howe
Legs: Bure

Or, if just cherry picking traits or skills:

Vision/ Passing: Gretzky
Slap Shot: Al MacInnis
Wrist Shot: Sakic
Frame and Puck Handling: Lemieux
Competitiveness: Mark Messier
Recklessness: Bobby Orr
Poise: Jean Beliveau
Speed: Bure
Desire to Score: Ovi
Consistency: Howe
Defensive Ability: Nicklas Lidstrom
Faceoffs: Derek Sanderson

Click to read more...

 

[GMR]

Gretzky brain/vision
Gretzky passing
Lindros size
McDavid speed
Datsyuk stick handling
MacInnis slapshot
Sakic wristshot
Crosby backhand
Brett Hull one-timer
Yanic Perreault faceoffs
Probert fighting skill
Howe durability
Yzerman leadership
Messier competitiveness
Bergeron two-way game

 

[BenchBrawl]

My perfect hockey player would be a player who can play both defense and forward, who would have Gretzky's IQ abilities in the offensive zone, Bobby Orr's all-around skating, Bobby Clarke or Ted Kennedy's faceoff abilities, Doug Harvey's generalship, poise and defensive game from the blueline, Gordie Howe's strenght and durability and longevity, Mario Lemieux's hands and one-on-one and breakaway skills, also Lemieux' height, Jean Beliveau's leadership and dignified persona, Lafleur's flying hair and charisma, Jagr's lower-body strenght and shiftiness, Larry Robinson's composed and disciplined but efficient intimidation factor and strenght (also Howe's), the devastating open-ice hits of Scott Stevens, a hard shot like Bobby Hull or Al MacInnis, the train-like intense physicality of Eric Lindros, the wrist shots of Sakic or Potvin or Bourque, the sniper accuracy of Bossy, and more.

Something like that.

His career arc would be as follow:

1st overall, major hype.
Age 18-28: Play mostly at forward (center) but also some games at defense here and there.10 Art Ross (even though he suffered some injuries), 8 Harts (the other two years he would have deserved it but voters fatigue got in the way), 6 Selkes (voters fatigue), 5 SCs and 3 Smythes (also voters fatigue, in reality he was MVP every time).Breaks the 100 goals in a season barrier, breaks Gretzky's 215 pts record.
Age 29-38: Switch to the defense due to how the lineup evolved.Wins 8 Norris (voters fatigue the other years), 5 Harts (voters fatigue), 4 Art Ross, 4 SCs and 3 Smythes.Beats Bobby Orr's record of 139 pts for a defenseman, and breaks the 50 goals barrier as a D.His impact when on the ice is unparalleled.
Retires on top

Total: 14 Art Ross, 13 Harts, 8 Norrises, 6 Selkes, 9 SCs (two dynasties), 6 Smythes.

Such a player would be possible, but once-in-a-century if not two centuries type.

The first half of his career is not unlike Gretzky's.Now imagine Gretzky being great defensively in his Edmonton days, physical too, then imagine him switching to being a defenseman in LA and winning 8 Norris and starting another dynasty largely build around him.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Passing Gretzky
Wrist shot sakic
Stickhandling Lemieux
Backhand Crosby
Hockey IQ Gretzky
Speed Mcdavid
Slap shot Brett Hull
Breakaway ability Lemieux
Defensive awareness Clarke
Skating Orr
Longevity Howe
Hand eye Crosby

 

[Frelimo]

Visions of Chara's size and McDavid's speed and agility are dancing in my head and it is too unreal

 

[MadLuke]

Usually there is not much free lunch in biology and I wonder if some those combo are litteraly impossible, Chara with Mcdavid speed for example.

That said Lebron James and JJ Watt do exists.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

Usually there is not much free lunch in biology and I wonder if some those combo are litteraly impossible, Chara with Mcdavid speed for example.

That said Lebron James and JJ Watt do exists.

Physically speaking, the athletes are out there. Hockey just doesn't have the reach to discover many of them.

The true rarity would be finding an athlete that has the noggin to go with those physical traits. It's a lot to ask for a human to have all of those categories combined. LeBron is probably the best example out there today.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

actually i think the perfect hockey might have been denis potvin. he did everything at an elite level and was flawless.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Visions of Chara's size and McDavid's speed and agility are dancing in my head and it is too unreal

adjusting for era, eric lindros wasn’t that far off tbh. but achilles had a heel.

 

[The Panther]

I think basically Mario is your ideal physical specimen of a hockey player.

Huge body, speed, softest hands ever, arsenal of shots, incredible reach.

Of course, Mario was not known as an "all around player", didn't play a physical game (nor should he have), and possibly didn't take care of his health/fitness as much as he should have. But if you're just looking at a physical specimen of physical potential, I think it's him.

 

[VanIslander]

ELBOWS: Gordie Howe
FISTS: Bob Probert
TEETH: Alex Burrows

 

[Pominville Knows]

We need to get some Sean Avery atagonism and mischievousness in there, as well as some Claude Lemieux teammate grace. Simply world class skills right there.
Only beta males will try to point out that these two traits in any way would be a detriment to a team.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Not sure if this has been discussed before, but what would be your Frankenstein combination to create the perfect hockey player?

Without putting much thought into it, mine would be:

Hair: Jagr
Brain: Gretzky
Eyes: Rocket Richard
Hands: Lemieux
Wrists: Sakic
Arms: Howe
Legs: Bure

Or, if just cherry picking traits or skills:

Vision/ Passing: Gretzky
Slap Shot: Al MacInnis
Wrist Shot: Sakic
Frame and Puck Handling: Lemieux
Competitiveness: Mark Messier
Recklessness: Bobby Orr
Poise: Jean Beliveau
Speed: Bure
Desire to Score: Ovi
Consistency: Howe
Defensive Ability: Nicklas Lidstrom
Faceoffs: Derek Sanderson

I don't think of a player that "paced himself" as much as Messier to be The Most competitive.

Derek Sanderson's faceoff ability is overblown.

 

[NHL WAR]

I don't think of a player that "paced himself" as much as Messier to be The Most competitive.

Derek Sanderson's faceoff ability is overblown.

Yeah, I originally had Messier for leadership, but then I put Beliveau with poise... I though poise and leadership might be a bit too similar, so I swapped leadership for competitiveness without taking the time to think of a different player than Mess.

 

[psycat]

I will keep it simple and not trying to go all out superhuman but instead picturing someone that would have a good chance to be in conversation for greatest of all time while certainly being the most entertaining.

A Lindros sized Forsberg with the shot of Ovechkin, durability/endurance of Gretzky and Bureésque speed/explosiveness.

 

[Thenameless]

My perfect hockey player would be a player who can play both defense and forward, who would have Gretzky's IQ abilities in the offensive zone, Bobby Orr's all-around skating, Bobby Clarke or Ted Kennedy's faceoff abilities, Doug Harvey's generalship, poise and defensive game from the blueline, Gordie Howe's strenght and durability and longevity, Mario Lemieux's hands and one-on-one and breakaway skills, also Lemieux' height, Jean Beliveau's leadership and dignified persona, Lafleur's flying hair and charisma, Jagr's lower-body strenght and shiftiness, Larry Robinson's composed and disciplined but efficient intimidation factor and strenght (also Howe's), the devastating open-ice hits of Scott Stevens, a hard shot like Bobby Hull or Al MacInnis, the train-like intense physicality of Eric Lindros, the wrist shots of Sakic or Potvin or Bourque, the sniper accuracy of Bossy, and more.

Something like that.
Retires on top

Total: 14 Art Ross, 13 Harts, 8 Norrises, 6 Selkes, 9 SCs (two dynasties), 6 Smythes.

Such a player would be possible, but once-in-a-century if not two centuries type.

The first half of his career is not unlike Gretzky's.Now imagine Gretzky being great defensively in his Edmonton days, physical too, then imagine him switching to being a defenseman in LA and winning 8 Norris and starting another dynasty largely build around him.

Good to know that I'm not the only one who has weird visions. I picture something slightly different. A player supremely talented mentally and physically, with the following two weaknesses: his endurance is not that great, and he tends to float at times. He has a giant ego like Deion Sanders.

He breaks into the league and easily wins the Calder with a 50 goal/100 point season. He maybe doesn't win the Art Ross, but he probably wins the Rocket - he is a Selke candidate, but the voters don't want to give it to an unproven rookie. His second season is similar, but this time he is the runaway Selke winner apart from his scoring prowess. He keeps boasting about two things: I can score whenever I want, and the other team doesn't score when I'm on the ice. The latter is reflected in Bobby Orr type plus/minus numbers - his detractors say that he is playing on a very strong team. For the whole season, no opposing team scores a powerplay goal when he is on the ice penalty killing.

At the start of his third season, he claims that the mark of a great goal scorer is a 50 goal season and goes onto to say that he can score twice that. As good as he is, the media are basically laughing at him. He goes on to have a 100 goal, 150+ point season. People are in utter awe.

Here's the kicker. Because of his not-so-great endurance but blazing speed and quickness, he has the most "first" goals and most first period goals in history. If they hold the lead after the second period, he puts on goalie equipment and becomes a 4 x 6 piece of plywood in the third period - he never gets scored on. The league won't give him the Vezina because he plays one period for about 55-60 games a year, but he is clearly far and away the best goalie in the league when he's in net.

His peak is that third year above, his seventh year where he score 101 goals (just to show the media that the first wasn't a fluke)/150+ points, and his 13th year. In his 13th season, he reminds everyone that he can score whenever he wants, and goes on to score a goal in every playoff game en route to another Stanley Cup victory and another Conn Smythe.

Legacy is extremely important to him, as he looks to a future with the organization after retirement. He meets with ownership, management, and the team's best core players. He accepts a lower salary than market value (leading by example), and the other core players do the same, in order to keep the team together. In a handshake deal, he is promised minority ownership (1-2%) and a front office position on retirement. And the team makes good on this promise for all that he's done.

He plays 17 seasons for one team, missing very few games to injury. He's not an ice-time hog and actually tells his coach often when he can't go, and needs an extra shift or two to get his legs back. He wins 10 Stanley Cups, and is an astounding 10-time Conn Smythe winner, with some of the strongest Conn Smythe wins in history as both a goal scorer and a goalie. Some of his weaker regular seasons left something to be desired, but overall he still won a good share of the Art Ross, Hart, Selke, and Lindsay count during his playing career. He does however, retire with the most Rockets in history, and the most goals in history. People have trouble deciding if his goal scoring prowess, his defensive play, or his play as a goalie was most important to the team. The media chides him about never reaching Gretzky/Lemieux type point levels, and he playfully answers with things like "I'm a goalie", "They wouldn't score if I was on the ice", or "I count Cups, not points".

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I will keep it simple and not trying to go all out superhuman but instead picturing someone that would have a good chance to be in conversation for greatest of all time while certainly being the most entertaining.

A Lindros sized Forsberg with the shot of Ovechkin, durability/endurance of Gretzky and Bureésque speed/explosiveness.

Isn't that Bobby Orr?

 

[Namba 17]

Perfect goalie will have rectangular body with 6 ft and 4 ft sides.

 

[Boxscore]

The "perfect" hockey player is in the eye of the beholder, but mine would go something like this... starting with heart and soul...

Heart/Soul: Bobby Clarke
Brains/IQ: Wayne Gretzky
Size/Physique: Eric Lindros
Imagination/Creativity: Mario Lemieux
Stickhandling: Alex Kovalev
Finesse: Mario Lemieux
Elegance: Jean Beliveau
Skating Ability: Paul Coffey
Speed: Pavel Bure
Passing Ability/Accuracy: Wayne Gretzky
Goal Scoring Prowess: Maurice Richard
Slap Shot: Bobby Hull
Wrist Shot: Joe Sakic
Snap Shot: Eric Lindros
Backhander: Sidney Crosby
Shot Accuracy: Mike Bossy
Release: Mike Bossy
Deking Ability: Mario Lemieux
Hand-Eye Coordination: Dave Andreychuk
Penchant for Scoring In Close: Phil Esposito
Defensive Awareness: Nicklas Lidstrom
Tenacity: Bobby Clarke
Mean Streak: Mark Messier
Durability/Longevity: Gordie Howe
Leadership: Bobby Clarke
Mental Toughness/Confidence: Mario Lemieux
Clutch Factor: Claude Lemieux
Transition Dominance: Bobby Orr
Face-off Ability: Bobby Clarke
Verbal Charisma: Mark Messier
Courage/Relentlessness: Peter Forsberg
Recovery Time: Ray Bourque
Physical Intimidation Factor: Scott Stevens
Fighting Ability: Bob Probert

I'd go to war with this ^ beast of a player.

 

[sr edler]

I think my perfect hockey player would possess the flamingo stature of Zdeno Chara but the low gravity balance of Martin St. Louis. The quick-legged explosivity of Valeri Bure but the thoughtful sliding of Hal Gill. Peter Forsberg's temperament but the sneakiness of Markus Näslund's hollow heart. Mats Sundin's consistency in the NHL and his consistent inconsistency of being inconsistently consistent in international tourneys depending on what round/what game. Sergei Berezin's tunnel vision, unparalleled. Fedorov's graceful balance and Odjick's stumbling legs. Semin's light-hearted snipe, MacInnis heavy slapper and Bobby Clarke's ability to thread a needle around the crease. And, not to forget, Clarke's ability to hide behind bigger teammates.

Throw in Mark Messier's lack of self-consciousness and you have a pretty erratic player that will leave opponents confused of what will happen.

 

[Troubadour]

Brain: Gretzky
Reach: Lemieux
Strength: Lindros

Hands:

Softness: Lemieux
Trickiness: Datsyuk/Kovalev
Ability at full speed: Bure/McDavid
Improvisation: Kucherov/Forsberg/Datsyuk
Quickness: Jagr
Elegance: Nylander

Skating:

Acceleration: Bure
Overall: Fedorov
Full throttle with the puck: Bure
Agility: Coffey/Nylander/Forsberg
Balance: Jagr

Shooting:

Overall power: MacInnis
Accuracy/dexterity: Lemieux
Wrister: Sakic/Naslund/Semin
Slapper: Laine/Ovechkin
Snapshot: Dunno
Backhand: Sid
Sneakiness: Selanne

Passing:

Final PP feed: Forsberg
Improvisation: Gretzky
Quarterback passing: Forsberg
Orchestrating PP: Hmm, maybe Hawerchuk
Sneakiness: Gretzky
Accuracy: Gretzky
Imagination: Gretzky
Backhand pass: Jagr

Special skills:

One on one with more defenders in a row: Bure/Kovalev/Afinogenov
One on one period: Lemieux
One on two: Jagr
Play along the board/puck protection: Jagr/Forsberg
Ability to steal pucks and do something with it: Bure/Forsberg
Hand-eye, overall and defensive awareness: Lidstrom
Intimidation factor: Lindros
Toughness and ability to take abuse (aka the FU factor): Forsberg
Saving the best deke for the goalie: Bure (I see this as very important. Some guys are great at cutting through defense, but they're little boys lost when they reach the goalie)
Visual appeal: If I was to pick only one, I would probably choose Fedorov

 

[FrozenJagrt]

Of players I've watched, I'd give Eric Lindros the durability of Patrick Marleau and the ability to avoid nasty hits of Wayne Gretzky.

 

[steve141]

Bobby Orr with the knees of Alexandre Daigle.