Maurice Richard and Bobby Hull?

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Hughes J Laffy

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Mar 22, 2002
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Hello, I want to learn more about this 2 player and I was hoping for someone who have seen them play tell me a little more about them.

I know both were superfast and great goalscorer. But what about their other part of the game? like defense play, physical play and so on.

Also who in the 90s would you compare to those 2? Bret Hull with better speed? Pavel Bure?
 

mcphee

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Feb 6, 2003
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Roberto Luongo said:
Hello, I want to learn more about this 2 player and I was hoping for someone who have seen them play tell me a little more about them.

I know both were superfast and great goalscorer. But what about their other part of the game? like defense play, physical play and so on.

Also who in the 90s would you compare to those 2? Bret Hull with better speed? Pavel Bure?
I saw a lot of Bobby Hull as a kid. He was the 1 guy in the mid 60's league that had to be shadowed. Howe too, I guess, but every team had aspecialist to stick to Hull. You can't really compare him to a modern player because the game is different. Maybe Iginla would be the closest thought Iginla is a grittier player. He would look for the puck behind his net and take off on end to end rushes. If he crossed the line with any room, he'd let fly. Goalies were notorious for ducking as he wound up. The game is played differently and he'd never get the space to play the same way. Yeah, the more I think about it, Iginla combines power and skill, in sort of the same way. If you want to know more about the rocket, I'd suggest buying old books with player profiles. From all I've been told, he would do anything to score a goal. If he got the puck from the blueline in, good luck. He was fearless and the books I mentionned are full of stories about goals he scored with guys hanging on his back. Remember when Kariya came back to score after that big hit from Stevens. Imagine a guy taking shots every night and coming back to score.
 

Chili

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Jun 10, 2004
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Red Fisher was saying he only saw 5 years of the Rocket, it might be hard to find a good opinion of him here. He's before my time.

I saw alot of Hull in his prime and he was the dominant scoring forward in the league for a number of years. Hull in full flight down the wing, letting go that slapper is not something I've really seen since. As McPhee said the game has changed, so he would need to make some changes to his game but I have no doubt he would still be a dominant player from what I saw. The combination of speed, skill and incredible shot doesn't compare to anyone else I've seen. He had quite the chiseled physique, and that in the days before 'roids.

Off topic but I saw Gordie Howe a couple of years back. The man was still in great shape, still looks like an athlete. I know that Jean Beliveau also still works out on the treadmill regularily.
 
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Quiet Robert

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Feb 3, 2005
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I'm disapointed I never got to see the Rocket play, being too young and all, but living in Montreal it's impossible not to learn about him. There's an incredile myth around him. First 50/50 player, first to get to 500 career etc. As mcphee suggested I'd find a book about him, or one about the old Habs teams in general. Or try to find someone who saw him play, they'll usually have amazing stories about a particular goal or fight.

Although it's the cbc and generally they annoy me, here are a few links that you might find interesting.

http://archives.cbc.ca/300c.asp?IDCat=74&IDDos=85&IDLan=1&IDMenu=74

The second one is in french, but if you speak it, some of the clips really give you an idea what he meant to hockey fans and especially French-Canadians in the 40's and 50's. The title says it all: The Rocket-A People's Hero.

http://archives.radio-canada.ca/IDD-0-18-62/personnalites/rocket_richard/

Hope this helps a bit.
 

Chili

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Jun 10, 2004
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I believe it was recorded at 118.3 mph?

I found an old article on him thats interesting (Sports Illustrated, 1965)...(link)

Hull stands 5 feet 10 inches and weighs 195 pounds. His biceps measures 15½ inches--bigger than that of either Cassius Clay or Floyd Patterson.

"There are days," says Glenn Hall, "when you just step aside and leave the door wide open. It is a simple matter of self-preservation."
 

Psycho Papa Joe

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Feb 27, 2002
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Funny story about Bobby. He was playing the Bruins and Cheevers lost his mask. Hull winds up for one of his patented slap shots, and Cheevers is nowhere to be seen. Hull notices Cheevers has darted from the net and was hiding behind one of his d-men. Hull breaks out laughing and flubs on an open net.
 

God Bless Canada

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Jul 11, 2004
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Won't insult either of these players by trying to compare them to guys from the 1990s. 'Nuf said there.

Maurice Richard stands out from anyone in league history in two areas: goal scoring ability and intensity. Put him in the goal-happy 1980s and watch him score 100 goals. While not the fastest skater or the hardest shooter, he had unparalled heart, drive to the net and goal-scoring instincts. He loved to score goals. But many will remember him for his incredible intensity. People talk about looking into his eyes. He was ferociously competitive and had a passion to win. He was also one of the strongest players in his era. All in all, one of the top 5 players ever to play the game.

While Bobby Hull's off-ice struggles have been well documented, the guy is the greatest offensive left winger of all time. His slapshot has never been matched, nor will it be. I think it's been documented above. Another guy who would have scored at least 80 goals playing in the 1980s. When he uncorked a slapshot, 1 of three things happened: a goal, it missed the net or it hit the goalie. The goalie couldn't really make an effort to stop it, he could only stand there and hope it hit him, or get out of the way.
 

vandoo

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Feb 9, 2005
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Roberto Luongo said:
Hello, I want to learn more about this 2 player and I was hoping for someone who have seen them play tell me a little more about them.

I know both were superfast and great goalscorer. But what about their other part of the game? like defense play, physical play and so on.

Also who in the 90s would you compare to those 2? Bret Hull with better speed? Pavel Bure?

I saw both play many times. Both were very strong. Bobby Hull was very fast and had a great slap shot. He could hold off a big defenceman and blow by him for a shot. Richard was also very strong, very intense, and had the instincts of a pure scorer. He knew how to beat a goaltender in any situation. In a critical situation I would take the Rocket over Hull, but both were great players. Rocket was somewhat like Iginla, a natural leader. Hull was a dominant physical presence and the only player who could contain him was Claude Provost of Montreal who was about as strong. The Rocket was the hero of every French Canadian and when he was suspended it caused a riot. He was a tough customer and one of the best fighters in the league. The true measure of the two was that when they got the puck in open ice, every fan in the stadium held their breath. They were both great franchise players.
 

jiggs 10

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No one from the 90's (or any other era) compares well to these two. Maybe only Bure could compare to Bobby Hull for pure speed going down the ice, but he didn't have anywhere NEAR the shot Hull did. 118.3 MPH says it all. Plus, he's the fastest recorded SKATER of all time, clocking in at 29 MPH (well above Mike Gartner or Pavel Bure's top speeds of around 24 MPH). The most feared shooter of all time, he made Al MacInnis's shot seem kind of slow!
The Rocket was just the most dangerous goal scorer of the time. He lived to score, and would do so with players riding on his back, or slashing him in the head (to which he usually returned the favor!), or shadowing him. From the blue line in, he really couldn't be stopped, maybe only contained a bit.
 
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