Did Ovechkin become close to what Lindros was supposed to be ?

[psycat]

Ovechkin's 2008 campaign was better than any season McDavid has had to date. And him from 05-2010 is probably at worst, equal to current McDavid.

Adding to that Mario Lemieux played after Lindros.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Ovie blows Lindros' doors off

 

[CartographerNo611]

Prime lindros was 10 times more intimidating than Ovechkin. Ovechkin can't fight, Lindros did and did it well. Now if were are talking about Toronto Lindros, well yeah Ovie any day lol.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Lindros was only an above average skater among peers. All of his strengths are outlawed and all of his handicaps are more important than ever.

Lindros was quite a good skater for a man his size. Also, he had a lot of skill besides being a physical force. His snapshot was incredible.

No Lindros would not have a significant role in NHL nowadays. His skillset is completely wrong for today.

That is quite a statement.

If anything, I think Lindros would be even more effective today and with the league stopping the insane headshots that he took, his longevity would be better too.


Oh, and in answer to the thread: No, Ovi didn't become what Lindros was supposed to be. Not even close.

 

[The Panther]

I'm not sure about the "prime-Lindros-in-today's-game" scenario. Of course he could play today and probably be an all-star, but I think there might be a bit of the Milan Lucic disease where, even 8 or 9 years ago, Lindros would have been more effective, and in the last few years he'd be looking slower and thus, less effective.

The lack of physicality today is double-edged: Lindros couldn't play that fearsome style that made space for him, but on the other hand he wouldn't be getting killed by head-shots and would dress for all the games.

 

[Zuluss]

So here is my question, could Ovechkin physically destroy someone to the point where it almost makes them examine their style of play?

Ovechkin got suspended every time he tried, so he soon gave it up. Before he gave it up, he did break a few of Brian Campbell's ribs in 09/10 and nearly took out Gonchar's knee in 2009 PO. Had the League let him go with that, he could have tried more of that nasty stuff, even though he does not come across as particularly mean. But in a different environment (like 80s and early 90s) he could have evolved into a player with some destroyed/changed careers to his name.

 

[ted2019]

Wow, pictures.

 

[streitz]

Wow, pictures.

 

[Johnny Engine]

The NHL's feeder systems have not been producing anyone who is exactly like Lindros for a while now. That has no bearing on whether a hypothetical Lindros clone could parachute into the league and play effective hockey. Allowing such hypotheticals, I see no reason why he'd be less able to use his skills as a playmaker and scorer in today's NHL than a Getzlaf, Staal or Thornton, and were he to lose some physical edge in transition, that's only a part of who he was as a player.

For all the talk of the NHL getting smaller, there are twice as many centres playing today over 6'4" than there were in Lindros's rookie season.

 

[The Panther]

For all the talk of the NHL getting smaller, there are twice as many centres playing today over 6'4" than there were in Lindros's rookie season.

So, four instead of two?

 

[tony d]

Lindros, had he stayed healthy, probably would have been a top 5-10 player all time. Ovie's a good 1 but not sure he's top 5-10 all time.

 

[cupcrazyman]

I don't get it? You posted a link that disproves your point.

 

[heretik27]

Not really. Ovechkin has a big hitting game but he isn't nearly the physical threat that Lindros was. I've long suspected that either Lindros was actually heavier than his listed weight or he just had a freakish level of muscle relative to his body, which would match the stories regarding Lindros being told to stop lifting, because of how powerful he was even compared to the large players of his day. Stylistically pretty different players as well, with Lindros being much more of a cycle player and Ovechkin much smarter positionally. Younger versions of Lindros and Ovechkin were more similar than later versions and would probably have been great linemates.

Hmm who to put on the other wing with Lindros at Center and Ovechkin on the LW. Jagr? Good luck stopping those three together lol. Even prime Iginla would be insane there.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Hmm who to put on the other wing with Lindros at Center and Ovechkin on the LW. Jagr? Good luck stopping those three together lol. Even prime Iginla would be insane there.

Cam Neely

 

[heretik27]

Cam Neely

Yeah, that'd about do it.

 

[unknown33]

The average height in the league during the whole duration of Ovechkin’s career is greater than or equal to the average height of the league during Lindros’ first 5 seasons. Hence where I said “in his early days” and from those days the average size has gone up, like the raw numbers say in the article. Like holy **** this is not difficult.

Let me show you your conversation:

Some guy: "It's not true, average height of NHL players has been stagnating since mid-90's and average weight has even decreased."

Your reply: "Yes it is"

NHL Player Size From 1917-18 to 2014-15: A Brief Look

You posted a graph where average height is stagnating and average weight is decreasing.

Do you see what's wrong here?

 

[Whaleafs]

Let me show you your conversation:

Some guy: "It's not true, average height of NHL players has been stagnating since mid-90's and average weight has even decreased."

Your reply: "Yes it is"

NHL Player Size From 1917-18 to 2014-15: A Brief Look

You posted a graph where average height is stagnating and average weight is decreasing.

Do you see what's wrong here?

What did I say originally in the OP ?

And how do the last recorded numbers compare to Lindros’ first few seasons (hint)?

I don’t know what to tell you guy. This passes just the eye test. Ovechkin & Lindros are almost the same size, on paper at least, and Lindros looked like a monster in his early days and Ovie looks a bit above average size.

 

[Whaleafs]

 

[GoGoSens]

Yeah 20 game suspensions would let him try to train skating. Lindros was only an above average skater among peers. All of his strengths are outlawed and all of his handicaps are more important than ever.
No Lindros would not have a significant role in NHL nowadays. His skillset is completely wrong for today.

Lindros would be a force in any Era of hockey, you have obviously never even watched him play if you believe that.

 

[arrbez]

Lindros was the ultimate rarity, because there just isn’t a comparable at the centre position. The only high end players who were comparable physically that I can think of were goal scoring wingers.

It would be like a young Milan Lucic’s pure physical intimidation mixed with...idunno, like a more offensively dynamic Kopitar or something.

 

[Johnny Engine]

Lindros was the ultimate rarity, because there just isn’t a comparable at the centre position. The only high end players who were comparable physically that I can think of were goal scoring wingers.

It would be like a young Milan Lucic’s pure physical intimidation mixed with...idunno, like a more offensively dynamic Kopitar or something.

One guy I know used to say all the time that "Lindros was the only guy I ever saw throw a hit and carry the puck at the same time", and while that shouldn't be taken as any kind of fact, it is an nicely illustrative way to describe the difference between a physically intimidating centre and an equally intimidating winger. Think about a power winger doing something really badass - is he battling for position in front of the net, shoving a defenseman's stick out of the way before burying a rebound, maybe crunching someone in the corner on a dump in? All those are things you do when you don't have the puck, and all require your a teammate to carry at least a certain amount of mail if to be effective. It's an entirely different effect on the game if the guy who carries the puck the most is just bowling through people like a running back.

That's not to say that no winger has ever done something like that, but it does illustrate why a centre who plays that way is a uniquely exciting prospect.