Lowest hockey IQ players in the NHL

[ziggyjoe212]

Letang. It’s always been letang.

Letang was a Norris favorite last season before his injury, and a Conn Smythe favorite in 2016. He's been an elite dman for years. You don't reach that level by having low hockey IQ.
Sure he's no Lidstrom or Crosby, but he clearly knows what he's doing out there. He has an aggressive style and sometimes he gets burned.

 

[Sasso09]

As far as defensive hockey IQ goes it’s gotta be Morgan Rielly. People complain about guys like Burns and Karlsson but they are nothing compared to the dumpster fire that is Rielly.

Agreed 100%. Guy has a highlight reel against him every game.

Rielly
Laine
Hall
Hagg
Letang
Burns
Gusev
Hughes ( I don't expect this to be a norm)
Risto

 

[Sasso09]

Letang was a Norris favorite last season before his injury, and a Conn Smythe favorite in 2016. He's been an elite dman for years. You don't reach that level by having low hockey IQ.
Sure he's no Lidstrom or Crosby, but he clearly knows what he's doing out there. He has an aggressive style and sometimes he gets burned.

Nah, his hockey IQ has always been very poor. Letang has the best tools in the game with no box. Despite his IQ he's had tremendous success... Scary.

 

[Baxterman]

Darnell Nurse

 

[Sasso09]

What's weird is I'd swear his billing and reputation were the complete opposite when we got him. Nothing flashy, but a good decision maker and a stable presence on the backend. Liked the move at the time, but yeah, he's brutal to watch.





I honestly don't watch enough Pens to know- what makes Letang good then? Skating and shot? I feel like he finds angles for his shot pretty well, is his passing bad? Or is it just defensive decisions?

The guy has ALL the tools. High high talent level. He's good at everything but just has poor awareness and low IQ. He'll look like Bobby Orr and Brett Lindros on the same play.

 

[Empoleon8771]

There are some really weird names being thrown out in here. I think Virtanen is a good one, but I think Jack Johnson is another contender. The dude literally didn't know how to play defense coming out of college, that's the words of his first GM.

Dude was the stereotype for the "all tools, no toolbox" player back when he was good, and at this point, he's a "no tools, no toolbox" player.

 

[Jumptheshark]

hockey IQ? Who is judging the subject? those who have played? Those who have watched? or those who played EA sports and think they understand analytics?

 

[deca guard]

brendan smith is a good skater , hes rugged , he hustles , hes athletic , plays with heart . if he had lidstrom brain he'd be better than lidstrom . instead hes a very low hockey iq ands borderline nhler . there are very very very few guys that can thrive in nhl on physical dominance like you could in football or baseball , basketball . without VERY quick logical thinking in the nhl your road kill . the best guys in nhl think fighter pilot quick . its a unique sport in that your on slippery ice trying to control a small puck with a long stick while moving fast and being hunted by opponants while also having to avoid crashing into walls , it takes quick thinking at the maximum level

 

[DFC]

Not sure if it's still the same, but when Richard Panik was with TB, it felt like he had the skillset to be the best out of himself, Ondrej Palat, and Tyler Johnson (they came up kind of like a trio). It always felt like his hockey IQ couldn't keep up with everyone else though, which is why he eventually ended up on waivers. That guy had, and still has, I assume, a great skillset that he'll likely never use to its fullest.

 

[Sasso09]

The guy with 10 points?

Laine without a doubt deserves to be on every list of low Hockey IQ. His point total irrelevant.

 

[BennsGonnaGetYou]

Laine without a doubt deserves to be on every list of low Hockey IQ. His point total irrelevant.

IQ should be required to post in forums.

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

Nah, his hockey IQ has always been very poor. Letang has the best tools in the game with no box. Despite his IQ he's had tremendous success... Scary.

Playing with Crosby and/or Malkin can help in that regard

 

[JackSlater]

There are some really weird names being thrown out in here. I think Virtanen is a good one, but I think Jack Johnson is another contender. The dude literally didn't know how to play defense coming out of college, that's the words of his first GM.

Dude was the stereotype for the "all tools, no toolbox" player back when he was good, and at this point, he's a "no tools, no toolbox" player.

Yes, Johnson is a very good pick for this.

 

[Rich Nixon]

Command+F "Brayden Schenn"

 

[ChurchOfMatthews]

i think those are two very different things. Guys that buckle under pressure do dumb stuff in high pressure situations. Guys that do dumb stuff from game 1 to game 82 are low IQ.

That's definately Jake Gardiner.

 

[McClelland]

Dont need to rack down on players with less talent! More focus on players with skills, then Taylor Hall must be top ten!

So many injurys he could avoid with a better hockey IQ, a running expresstrain with no brakes, a toedrag in his toolbox!

Yes i know he won a hart and he was my favorite Oiler because of his sprit out there, but think if he had .. ?

 

[phillydownsouth]

Biznasty 2.0

IYKYK

 

[ijuka]

That's definately Jake Gardiner.

What? He's a high IQ player. Sheesh.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

There are some really weird names being thrown out in here. I think Virtanen is a good one, but I think Jack Johnson is another contender. The dude literally didn't know how to play defense coming out of college, that's the words of his first GM.

Dude was the stereotype for the "all tools, no toolbox" player back when he was good, and at this point, he's a "no tools, no toolbox" player.

Honestly I was surprised I didn't see more Jack Johnson mentions in this thread before your post.

Brendan Smith might be stealing his thunder here because he is the poor man's Jack Johnson.

 

[Billdo]

Miles Wood

 

[Whoshattenkirkshoes]

I have to through Gus Nyquist on this list. He's got so much skill but is so frustrating to watch.

This could be because he played with absolute trash in Detroit

 

[Seanaconda]

What's weird is I'd swear his billing and reputation were the complete opposite when we got him. Nothing flashy, but a good decision maker and a stable presence on the backend. Liked the move at the time, but yeah, he's brutal to watch.





I honestly don't watch enough Pens to know- what makes Letang good then? Skating and shot? I feel like he finds angles for his shot pretty well, is his passing bad? Or is it just defensive decisions?

its def not defensive decisions or his shot.

the guy is a monster and can skate full speed for an entire game whenever he is healthy.

his shot is okay but not the best option on the pens blueline.

so yeah id say skating and motor

 

[Paperbagofglory]

Are we talking about a complete game or just IQ in general? Because some players have great offensive IQ but have no idea what to do in their own end. There are a few players in the NHL that just coast on talent and not much else. Taylor Hall is a perfect example of a guy that's amazingly gifted but even offensively he makes bone headed plays or tries to be way too fancy and costs himself and his team. Like last night where he tried some between the legs bullcrap to score that resulted in a miss opportunity. If he had a decent hockey brain he would easily be a top 5 NHLer today. Its amazing how good he is despite the deficit in hockey awareness.

Hes the perfect example for me of a guy that plays and tries hard, has the talent, is a top NHL forward, but he could be so much more. I guess its not a great example because hes still a great NHL player, maybe i should talk about someone that does not live up to their potential at all and just plain sucks? I don't know, i just believe he could have been an all time great forward with all he has in his tool box.

 

[ijuka]

Are we talking about a complete game or just IQ in general? Because some players have great offensive IQ but have no idea what to do in their own end. There are a few players in the NHL that just coast on talent and not much else. Taylor Hall is a perfect example of a guy that's amazingly gifted but even offensively he makes bone headed plays or tries to be way too fancy and costs himself and his team. Like last night where he tried some between the legs bullcrap to score that resulted in a miss opportunity. If he had a decent hockey brain he would easily be a top 5 NHLer today. Its amazing how good he is despite the deficit in hockey awareness.

Hes the perfect example for me of a guy that plays and tries hard, has the talent, is a top NHL forward, but he could be so much more. I guess its not a great example because hes still a great NHL player, maybe i should talk about someone that does not live up to their potential at all and just plain sucks? I don't know, i just believe he could have been an all time great forward with all he has in his tool box.

I also feel like Malkin's kind of a low hockey IQ player, which makes no sense because of how ridiculously good he is but he makes bonehead plays all the time. He's immensely talented, but sometimes I still wonder just how good he could have been.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Honestly I was surprised I didn't see more Jack Johnson mentions in this thread before your post.

Brendan Smith might be stealing his thunder here because he is the poor man's Jack Johnson.

Brendan Smith is the not as poverty stricken version of Jack Johnson.