NHL's best athletes

[teravaineSAROS]

Do you think that any brawlers could fight in MMA?

Physically they're good enough, but a lot in MMA comes down to technique so they'd lose out of lack of experience

 

[justafan22]

McDavid is a lot like Gretzky in that he can play insane minutes and still seem to have that extra push in the tank late in shifts. Exceptional endurance.

Still though honestly for sheer athleticism or "this guy could totally play in 3-4 other sports if he wantede to", I think the NBA takes the cake.

Then I'd say NFL at certain positions, then NHL, then MLB being last. Soccer is probably roughly equivalent to hockey.

It's actually not too surprising though that hockey players might be good at an event like a 100 meter dash ... skating is all about short bursts of explosive acceleration and pushing hard on those first 3-4 steps (strides) to top speed, so on that while yeah it might surprise some to see Gretzky in that '82 video win, it also kinda makes sense.

Hockey players practice that explosive short burst motion via skating every game, every practice, thousands and thousands of times again and again.

]Mcdavid isn't built like a tank. He has some muscle, but for his height he's average for weight, no?

 

[SergeiSamsonovFan]

Nurse
Subban
Iginla
Simmonds
Jagr

I'm seeing a common theme here.

 

[Gabe the Babe]

That's just wrong. Crosby has insane core/lower body strength and extremely high level hand-eye coordination. He might have the best sense of balance in the NHL as well. No doubt in my mind that Sid is one of the best athletes in the league.

You and I have two different definitions of athleticism then, dog. I equate it to fast twitch type two muscles and raw power. Speed and strength. Combine stuff.

Crosby is a mediocre athlete. He’s the best hockey player. It can be both. Same as Gretzky was a mediocre athlete. But the best of all time.

 

[Drake744]

I'm too lazy to read the whole thread but wasn't Anders Lee some kind of athletic stud in high school?

Seth Jones also could've likely excelled in whatever sport other than hockey that he felt like.

 

[Heldig]

After watching Crosby bat the puck out of the air so many times and just his general show of athleticism I think he has to be up there as one of the best athletes in the world let alone in the NHL. I feel like he could have gone pro in almost anything if he would have played that sport instead of hockey. What are some other incredible athletes in the NHL you think could have done well in other sports if that had focused on the instead of hockey?

This batting the puck amazement needs to calm down. Saw highlights from a Tuscon Roadrunners game where Lawson Crouse batted the puck past a defender then again past the goalie while skating at full speed. Way more impressive than Crosby's eye hand coordination display. Dont think it means Crouase is good enough for major league baseball.

Elite athletes are typically athletic. I imagine many would be very good at other sports if they dedicated to it the way they did hockey.

However, most elite hockey players are elite skaters. That is what sets them apart from the rest of us (as well as elite eye hand coordination, dedication, and other skills). McDavid was asked if he was fast at running like he is skating and he laughed and said not at all.

 

[Tasteless Beaver]

Byfuglien- 6'5", 265 pounds, still can play 30 minutes a game with surprising foot speed. Guy could've been crazy good at football with that build, and probably an Olympic fisher too.

 

[BallardEra]

Anyone remember John Kruk or David Wells? The word "athlete" has less of a meaning in some cases when it comes to baseball.

 

[TheJadePipe]

I'd think McDavid could also be a very good baseball or soccer player.

Ryan Reaves, Dustin Byfuglien, Victor Hedman are the ones I can name off the top of my mind that can genuinely play in the NFL.

No chance

 

[Dion TheFluff]

Matthews was a pretty incredible baseball player from what I've read.
I think i read something about Hall Gill being a pretty good football player before.

 

[Tofveve]

Yup and let's not forget the Associated Press named him athlete of the decade at the end of the 80s. Think about that for a second, in the era of Magic Johnson and early Michael Jordan, Gretzky was selected by an American publication as athlete of the decade. Sports Illustrated also named him along with Joe Montana best athlete from 84' to 94'.

People saying hockey players aren't as athletic as other pro sports players are crazy, Hockey requires all of the athletic abilities the other sports do, then adds in the hurtle of skates. I always fantasize about playing an athlete at their chosen sport but only if they lace up the skates with me after. I could fake any sport FAR better than someone who's never skated can fake hockey.

I couldn't help but notice he had tree trunks for legs too. Amazing.

 

[NoMessi]

The talent pool in hockey is relatively small so it makes sense to think that NHL players aren't as good athletes as the best in more competitive sports.

Hockey is #2 sport in Sweden. Soccer is the clear #1. Yet they generate a continuous flow of elite NHL talent and almost nothing in soccer (aside from Zlatan). Competition is just several dozen times tougher.

You are correct but almost all the best athletes choose Hockey before Football. Hockey was also almost as big as Football before 1994, most notable in our capital Stockholm where Hockey was once very strong but is now Football first and second.

And "almost nothing in soccer" is not exactly true. Pretty far from it actually. We have won 2 bronze and 1 silver in the Fifa World Cup. 8th most medal in the world, 7th most top 4 finishes and produced a lot of very good players like Gren, Nordahl, Zlatan, Brolin, Larsson, Ljungberg, Hamrin, Liedholm etc.

A country that just lost Zlatan just knocked out Italy and Netherlands to clinch a spot in the World Cup 2018. Also beat France in the group stages. And won the u21EM just a couple of years ago.

To wander away a little bit more from the topic our arguably best athlete actually played Table Tennis. Jan-Ove Waldner.

 

[Newsworthy]

Anders Lee should be in the discussion.

 

[TimeZone]

Bo Jackson.
Dion Sanders.
Crosby couldn't crack a NFL team ever.
NFL players are athletic freaks.

lol k

 

[LeHab]

Decathletes for the most versatile athletes.

As for the single most versatile athlete: Jim Thorpe

Thorpe is, hands down, the greatest multi-sport athlete of all time. He is considered one of the most versatile athletes in modern sports. He won Olympic gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon, starred in college and professional football, played Major League Baseball, had a career in basketball, and was the NFL's first ever president which now is called commissioner . What more could you ask of someone? No one will ever surpass him.

The 10 Greatest Multi-Sport Athletes of All Time

With how specialized athletes are these days no chance someone comes even close.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

You are correct but almost all the best athletes choose Hockey before Football. Hockey was also almost as big as Football before 1994, most notable in our capital Stockholm where Hockey was once very strong but is now Football first and second.

And "almost nothing in soccer" is not exactly true. Pretty far from it actually. We have won 2 bronze and 1 silver in the Fifa World Cup. 8th most medal in the world, 7th most top 4 finishes and produced a lot of very good players like Gren, Nordahl, Zlatan, Brolin, Larsson, Ljungberg, Hamrin, Liedholm etc.

A country that just lost Zlatan just knocked out Italy and Netherlands to clinch a spot in the World Cup 2018. Also beat France in the group stages. And won the u21EM just a couple of years ago.

To wander away a little bit more from the topic our arguably best athlete actually played Table Tennis. Jan-Ove Waldner.

Yea as someone brought up in Sweden I always felt hockey was a tad bit extra more serious sport in terms of development investment. The average hockey player i knew of put way more time and emotional investment into hockey than the average soccer player (albeit my town was more of a hockey and bandy town). Also we're beasts up in Norrland

I can't think of anyone in Sweden's national football/soccer team who's as athletically impressive as a Peter Forsberg, Gabriel Landeskog or a Victor Hedman.

 

[TheAngryHank]

lol k

You thought that through,lol

 

[Josepho]

I'm pretty sure all of the Sedins, Luongo and Demitra had to pick between hockey and soccer.

The Sedins in particular are extremely hard-working and I think they would've done really well.

 

[maacoshark]

After watching Crosby bat the puck out of the air so many times and just his general show of athleticism I think he has to be up there as one of the best athletes in the world let alone in the NHL. I feel like he could have gone pro in almost anything if he would have played that sport instead of hockey. What are some other incredible athletes in the NHL you think could have done well in other sports if that had focused on the instead of hockey?

I don't consider having great hand eye coordination makes you athletic.

 

[TimeZone]

You thought that through,lol

The NFL is full of failed athletes from other sports as well. The best QB of all time may be slower than the average sloth .

 

[Snippit]

Eichel is a beast



Him at 16

 

[Amazinmets73]

A lot of pro athletes are quite athletic and really could probably go different directions depending on where heir effort is place. That said there are some athletic freaks in the NHL like Chris Kreider and Jack Johnson just to name a couple

Jack Johnson? Why him in particular?

 

[Amazinmets73]

Nurse
Subban
Iginla
Simmonds
Jagr

Seems to be a trend here...

 

[Amazinmets73]

You and I have two different definitions of athleticism then, dog. I equate it to fast twitch type two muscles and raw power. Speed and strength. Combine stuff.


Crosby is a mediocre athlete. He’s the best hockey player. It can be both. Same as Gretzky was a mediocre athlete. But the best of all time.

Yea "athlete" is relatively vague. For example world-class ironman distance triathlethes would perform very poorly in fast-twitch dominant athletic competitions. In spite of that they're still elite athletes

 

[stevo61]

Jack Johnson? Why him in particular?

Hes 6'1, about 230 lbs and has carved out an NHL career mostly just on his physical tools. Dude is an absolute workhorse