Highest hockey IQ

[swedehollow]

Stamkos should have been on this list.

 

[VinikToWinIt]

Crosby and Kucherov seem to be on a different level for IQ.

McDavid just oozes skill/natural talent. Not that he is a slouch in hockey IQ either. I haven't watched quite enough of Pettersson to accurately judge him among his peers.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Kane should have way more votes. His instincts on when to speed up or slow down a play are phenomenal. Made his living on seeing plays develop faster than everyone else.

Not saying I'd vote for him but Gaudreau should be in the poll. His IQ has been carrying the Flames' offense for years.

 

[Fig]

I think if I were to break down some of this as IQ (intelligence) and BQ (body), I'd argue that the names that stick out to me are Crosby and Kane.

Purely as a discussion in this tier (and not the entire league), I'd say Crosby and Kane show elements to their IQ where they completely dominate within the confines of how everyone else plays. That is why Crosby is sometimes called the generational grinder. Kane on the other hand slows things down in a completely bonkers manner and works on dominating the other team when they make a misstep. They do all the little basics exceedingly well and fast enough to do them at the NHL level consistently. These same things are likely doable for a ton of the bottom 6 players when playing against beer league scrubs. I'd argue the way they play within their confines is more of a higher level IQ argument and example than a few of the guys above.

CMD and Mack on the other hand are more BQ. They have skill sets that other players and teams never ever hope to match. This is no knock on their IQ, but I'd argue with their game breaking speed, they are able to play at a level higher than the confines of how everyone else plays and thus do not have to rely as much on IQ to succeed to accomplish their goal (pun intended).

Crosby and Kane on the other hand require constant processing of IQ because they don't possess these singular game breaking talents. Their game breaking aspects are based on their overall package and their consistency.

If I were to make a comparison here, I'm leaning towards a power to weight ratio for cars and fuel economy, rather than something like raw horsepower. I'd be arguing that although most specs are really damn close, I like Crosby and Kane's power to weight ratio and their fuel economy. I'd argue that CMD and Mack are really damn close in those categories and perhaps have slightly more horsepower, but both edged out slightly by Crosby and Kane in fuel economy and power to weight ratio.

I can't decide on Crosby or Kane. Both are my finalists.

 

[Flying Dego]

McDavid dummies defenders like no other
it's McDavid

You seem confused. He dummies defenders with speed and skill not necessarily IQ. He literally has to use very little IQ operating at his pace as others have trouble keeping up.

BTW thats not a knock on McDavid, he doesn't need to be the highest IQ in hockey.

 

[McFlash97]

You seem confused. He dummies defenders with speed and skill not necessarily IQ. He literally has to use very little IQ operating at his pace as others have trouble keeping up.

BTW thats not a knock on McDavid, he doesn't need to be the highest IQ in hockey.

talk about contradicting yourself.

I believe its you thats confused. He dummies defenders by using his hockey IQ along with his speed. He has been operating at half his speed this season and still turnstiles defenders at will. He knows when to stop, when to go when to pass when to deke, and when to change directions causing players to flop all over the ice. He finds open ice at will on any given shift. He has defenders draped all over him yet he still dummies them by finding open ice.


thats hockey IQ 101 for you.

 

[Flying Dego]

talk about contradicting yourself.

I believe its you thats confused. He dummies defenders by using his hockey IQ along with his speed. He has been operating at half his speed this season and still turnstiles defenders at will. He knows when to stop, when to go when to pass when to deke, and when to change directions causing players to flop all over the ice. He finds open ice at will on any given shift. He has defenders draped all over him yet he still dummies them by finding open ice.


thats hockey IQ 101 for you.

It's really ok for McDavid to not have the highest on ice IQ in the league. Sure he's at the top not saying he's 'dumb' It doesn't take away from him being the best player.

I believe the poll is showing that you are in the minority here. Again no reason to be upset. If he were the most cerebral player + his skills Gretzky may start sweating.

 

[North Cole]

Bergeron for sure

Edit: now I'm seeing the poll is asking for offensive hockey IQ only. I'd go with Crosby for that. Man, it helps to make polls and titles match up.

Biggest peeve of mine on this site, its exceptionally annoying

 

[BruinsBtn]

IMO there should be more players on that list that are limited physically but are at star/superstar levels because of what's between their ears.

I feel like David Krejci has no more athletic talent than the average highschool 'star' player. He has hockey IQ and nothing else. Marchessault is another though he has decent wheels.

Conor Garland is a young guy doing well who doesn't strike me as particularly gifted with anything other than hockey IQ.

 

[MightySelanne8]

Crosby, McDavid and Bergeron.

 

[authentic]

It's really ok for McDavid to not have the highest on ice IQ in the league. Sure he's at the top not saying he's 'dumb' It doesn't take away from him being the best player.

I believe the poll is showing that you are in the minority here. Again no reason to be upset. If he were the most cerebral player + his skills Gretzky may start sweating.

If hockey IQ was mostly limited to being subtle then you would have a point. Along with reading and reacting to the play, vision, anticipation, deception, etc. It's about utilizing your skillset to the best of your abilities. Why would McDavid need to play in such a subtle manner when he has the best speed and deking at top speed the game has ever seen? Even still he makes sneaky passes and has insane vision and anticipation. McDavid IMO has roughly equal offensive IQ to Crosby, perhaps Crosby has a slight edge at best. People are talking about Crosby like he wasn't one of the best skaters and best puck protecters the game has ever seen with top 10 hands and unbelievable backhand and wrist shots. Crosby literally oozes physical strength and ability, and peak Crosby had more speed and tenacity to go with it.

 

[Flying Dego]

If hockey IQ was mostly limited to being subtle then you would have a point. McDavid IMO has roughly equal offensive IQ to Crosby, perhaps Crosby has a slight edge. People are talking about Crosby like he wasn't one of the best skaters and best puck protecters the game has ever seen with top 10 hands and unbelievable backhand and wrist shots. Crosby literally oozes physical strength and ability, and peak Crosby had more speed and tenacity to go with it.

I'm saying I think Crosby is definitive #1 overall on this. McDavid is certainly not far off, just don't think he's the highest.

 

[authentic]

I'm saying I think Crosby is definitive #1 overall on this. McDavid is certainly not far off, just don't think he's the highest.

Fair enough, I was just illustrating that I think it's debatable and not such a clearcut answer. I do not believe you are wrong for choosing Crosby.

 

[Flying Dego]

Fair enough, I was just illustrating that I think it's debatable and not such a clearcut answer. I do not believe you are wrong for choosing Crosby.

Sure and I understand your point. TBH I also get that fans who watch McDavid every game and see today's Crosby would assume McDavid is untouched.

They'd have been awesome to watch play each other in their early 20's.

 

[psycat]

Sid or Kane. It's really hard to accurate measure though. Kane is less physically "talented" than Sid but then again, Sid is the better offensive player. So for me, it's sort of a "pick your poison" kind of a deal. I'll vote for Crosby since when in doubt, vote for Crosby. It can't be that far off.

While I agree with your point you should really look up what that expression is used for.

 

[Plural]

While I agree with your point you should really look up what that expression is used for.

Pick your poison? Yeah, it's not really a good one here. Unless it's in context of choosing which one will tear your team a new one.

 

[Sasso09]

Marner and Pettersson belong nowhere near this list. They're more talent than IQ

 

[Alex K]

He's not retired yet, so...

 

[authentic]

Marner and Pettersson belong nowhere near this list. They're more talent than IQ

This is an interesting opinion. How so?