Does Pavel Datsyuk have the greatest highlight reel of all time?

[DannyGallivan]

My highlight reel top would probably be

1. Datsyuk
2. Bure
3. Mario
4. Fedorov
5. The Green Unit
6. Hasek
7. Jagr
8. Orr
9. Harlamov,
10. Ovechkin

Yeah, it's very Russian-heavy, but what can I do? They produced some of the more visually exciting players.

1. Orr
2. Mario
3. Datsyuk
4. Denis Savard
4. Jagr
5. Gilbert Perreault
6. Lafleur
7. Jean Beliveau
8. Crosby
9. Coffey
10. Bure

Yeah, it's very Canadian-heavy, but what can I do? They produced some of the more visually exciting players.

 

[streitz]

Underrated was more like it.

Datsyuk is basically the 2000's version of Foresberg.



'Youtube Europeans' that are overrated
Foresberg
Bure
Fedorov
Datsyuk
Ovechkin

ect



By the same metric there's the media loved 'gritty canadians' who are also overrated

Messier
Lindros
Gilmour


ect.



Every single one of those guys is a great player, but all overrated by fans because of either 'flash' or 'grit'.

 

[Sentinel]

1. Orr
2. Mario
3. Datsyuk
4. Denis Savard
4. Jagr
5. Gilbert Perreault
6. Lafleur
7. Jean Beliveau
8. Crosby
9. Coffey
10. Bure

Yeah, it's very Canadian-heavy, but what can I do? They produced some of the more visually exciting players.

By all means, bro. Especially if you find 1/4 of Datsyuk's moments for Beliveau. Actually, feel free to make that reel. I'd watch it.

 

[GMR]

And by the same token, Datsyuk is one of the most overrated players historically because of his grace and flash

He's the only player to ever win two Selke trophies in seasons where he finished top 5 in scoring. He was an incredible two-way player. If he didn't care so much about the defensive side of the ice, he could have scored even more points consistently.

My biggest complaint with Datsyuk was that he was often unselfish and passed the puck more than he should have, instead of shooting more.

Something I've always thought that was interesting........He's probably the only Russian star forward in NHL history that I've never heard anyone call selfish or lazy. You seem to hear that with every other Russian star at some point (Ovechkin, Fedorov, Bure, Kovalchuk, Yashin, Kovalev, etc). Not with Datsyuk. A universally liked player by his teammates and opposing players.

 

[FerrisRox]

For me it's Mario Lemieux.

The one thing that really stands out to me watching his hilights, moreso than any other player is this: it often looks like he's playing against children. There's something about his combination of staggering skill but being performed at a strangely leisurely level of effort. He makes it look so easy and so natural that watching a full hilight reel seems to lull you into the notion that this is a man playing against boys.

 

[frisco]

I'd say for players I've seen: 1) Perreault. 2) Jagr (young Jagr pre-KHL return). 3) Lemieux.

My Best-Carey

 

[streitz]

He's the only player to ever win two Selke trophies in seasons where he finished top 5 in scoring. He was an incredible two-way player. If he didn't care so much about the defensive side of the ice, he could have scored even more points consistently.

My biggest complaint with Datsyuk was that he was often unselfish and passed the puck more than he should have, instead of shooting more.

Something I've always thought that was interesting........He's probably the only Russian star forward in NHL history that I've never heard anyone call selfish or lazy. You seem to hear that with every other Russian star at some point (Ovechkin, Fedorov, Bure, Kovalchuk, Yashin, Kovalev, etc). Not with Datsyuk. A universally liked player by his teammates and opposing players.

[MOD]

Truth be told watching those wings teams in 06-09(last time I really watched hockey) I always thought Zetterberg was better defensively and should of won at least 1 selke.



Not sure about Kovalchuk either, every time I watched him he seemed to play a good overall game, aside from screwing over NJ which I think is hilarious.

[MOD NOTE: Try again without the generalized wording.]

 

[Troubadour]

He's probably the only Russian star forward in NHL history that I've never heard anyone call selfish or lazy. You seem to hear that with every other Russian star at some point (Ovechkin, Fedorov, Bure, Kovalchuk, Yashin, Kovalev, etc). Not with Datsyuk. A universally liked player by his teammates and opposing players.

Is he a Russian though?

EDIT: For some reason, I thought he was of some other descent. Now I see he was born in Yekaterinburg, so nevermind.

 

[Khomutov]

Datsyuk is of ukrainian descent. Same with Kovalchuk, Hawerchuk, Andreychuk.

 

[Troubadour]

Datsyuk is of ukrainian descent. Same with Kovalchuk, Hawerchuk, Andreychuk.

Thanks!

 

[GMR]

Is he a Russian though?

EDIT: For some reason, I thought he was of some other descent. Now I see he was born in Yekaterinburg, so nevermind.

That's right, he is of Ukranian descent, but grew up in Russia and represents Russia. Technically, there are no Canadian or American hockey players either.

 

[Troubadour]

That's right, he is of Ukranian descent, but grew up in Russia and represents Russia. Technically, there are no Canadian or American hockey players either.

I know he represented Russia but thought that maybe his roots had something to do with a slightly different mindset. But it probably has nothing to do with nationality. It always seemed to me he never acted like a star and never bought into his own hype. Well, he never had much hype, come to think of it. Guys like him are gold.

 

[PenguinSpeed]

-I could almost guarantee I could post Sidney Crosby highlights that would destroy Datsyuk. When people say best highlights, it means something very few, or, in rare cases, no one else has ever done or could do before. Steve Yzerman has better goals then Datysuk. Mario Lemieux would top my list since no player could ever come close to scoring the Nordiques goal which consisted of 8 different penalties before he scored. But getting back to Crosby, lets start with this little gem.

-Crosby beats not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 defenders in embarrassing fashion. A true 1 vs 4 goal scored, extremely rare

 

[PenguinSpeed]

A few more extremely rare goals

The tipple ping pong goal against Price-Read the comments section





Sidney Crosby beats 4 defenders again, scores on rare backhander-Read the comments section






Crosby-The Dangling defensive splitting machine

 

[PenguinSpeed]

On second thought,... a complilation of Gretzky's greatest passes would be stunning (too many highlight top-10 lists focus on players' goals).

-Since Wayne Gretzky is the best playmaker in NHL history. How many NHL players All Time have the 6th Sense like Crosby? I mean, there are a few highlights of other players making a few "special 1 of a kind" plays, like a behind the back pass. Crosby is the best passer of this generation, and, its not even close.

 

[PenguinSpeed]

-One Final one. Stick handling and puck control taken to a new level, ice hockey poetry


-When I think of highlights from the best of the best, the videos I posted is what I think a ultimate highlight reel should look like. Scoring, passing, and puck control

 

[Dingo]

-Since Wayne Gretzky is the best playmaker in NHL history. How many NHL players All Time have the 6th Sense like Crosby? I mean, there are a few highlights of other players making a few "special 1 of a kind" plays, like a behind the back pass. Crosby is the best passer of this generation, and, its not even close.

Henrik Sedin is an equal, imo. But Sid is better everywhere else.
and actually, Backstrom. its different thsn Sid, he slows it down and has patience and pinpoint. Sid is quick.... and still pinpoint. Backstrom reminds me of Thornton, Oates, Janney (not joking).
Backstrom has some serious patience, and jujes guys out with fake passes. and his saucer is sooooo good.
i dunno, Sid might be the best passer, but its not a AINEC situation. i feel strongly about this

 

[Iceman]

 

[bobbyking]

McDavid will have the best highlight reel soon enough. His goal against cbj is probably the nicest goal ever

 

[The Kingslayer]

McDavid will have the best highlight reel soon enough. His goal against cbj is probably the nicest goal ever

Yah if you started watching hockey in 2015 it sure would be.

 

[bobbyking]

Yah if you started watching hockey in 2015 it sure would be.

What's ur goat then. Amuse me

 

[Troubadour]

A few more extremely rare goals

The tipple ping pong goal against Price-Read the comments section





Sidney Crosby beats 4 defenders again, scores on rare backhander-Read the comments section






Crosby-The Dangling defensive splitting machine

Man, if nothing else, I would love the greatest highlight reel of all time consisting of dekes and dangles that resulted in a goal. A way too big portion of this is rather anticlimactic.

 

[Big Phil]

I was watching a video of a ruby player with no knowledge of the NHL watching Datsyuk highlights on YouTube and then this thread title came to me. Datsyuk’s ability do things in games that would get you out of your seat was so incredible that anyone who doesn’t watch Hockey will still get why he is a special player by watching just a small sample size of his highlights. There are literally hours upon hours of Datsyuk highlights on the internet to watch and it seems to me that he has the most footage available to put together the most comprehensive highlight reel today of any player.

Now I will break this down into two questions because the biggest thing here is that he was a highly skilled player that begun playing just when YouTube and video sharing was starting to become easily accessible on the internet which is a privilege a lot of greats didn’t have and if there is footage the footage we have isn’t the best quality and is often grainy and discoloured. So with that in mind I have only two simple questions.

1. Which modern day players(1990-2018) do you think has the most impressive highlights?

2. Which players do you think would rival or even surpass the highlights of today’s players if they grew up during the dawn of the internet?

Now I want it to be clear that I know this will be an extremely subjective thread and there really is no definitive answer. I’m just curious to see which players you guys think had the ability to get people out of their seats the most. Anyway, I look forward to your replies and feel free to post YouTube clips if you want as well after all there are a good variety of them spanning from at least the 70s to now.

Datsyuk is great, and he is a human highlight reel but probably because he sacrificed a bit of it to focus on defense he has a bit less than others. Ovechkin and Crosby would have more highlights. Malkin too. McDavid will certainly by the time his career is over and who knows with MacKinnon.

All-time you've got Lemieux, Jagr and Denis Savard who for sure have more highlights. Maybe Gretzky too but in a different sort of way. Throw in Bobby Orr who would have more as well. Others who are right in the mix with him are Perreault, Lafleur, Middleton, etc.

 

[sr edler]

-Crosby beats not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 defenders in embarrassing fashion. A true 1 vs 4 goal scored, extremely rare

He didn't really beat 4 guys on that play, he beat like 1 or 2, the other were just standing there doing nothing. Even the guys he beat didn't try to do much. It's a nice goal, but come on. What's embarrassing in that play is the level of defense displayed. Saying Crosby beat 4 guys in that play is like saying Edler beat 4 guys in the clip below. In my eyes Edler hardly beats anyone on that goal, except the goalie.

 

[grentthealien]

He didn't really beat 4 guys on that play, he beat like 1 or 2, the other were just standing there doing nothing. Even the guys he beat didn't try to do much. It's a nice goal, but come on. What's embarrassing in that play is the level of defense displayed. Saying Crosby beat 4 guys in that play is like saying Edler beat 4 guys in the clip below. In my eyes Edler hardly beats anyone on that goal, except the goalie.

The defensive effort on the Edler goal was porous, but the thing I remember most about that goal is Kevin Weeks call of” Coast to coast and butter on the toast”.