Power Forwards?
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mcphee
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To me, it's a winger, who will take the puck and go wherever the hell he wants to with it with a combination of speed and strength. He can establish position and d men either can't or prefer not to move them.
I know when I think of the term power forward, I think of someone who is usually BIG, TOUGH, STRONG. A player that can bowl you over to get to the net, or make a fancy play and deke you off your pants.
Players that live in and around the crease. Stylewise, think Keith Tkachuk, Todd Bertuzzi, Tomas Holmstrom, Rick Nash, Cam Neely, Maurice Richard, Jason Arnott, Brendan Shannahan, Eric Lindros, Brendan Morrow, Jarome Iginla etc..
Guys who get a lot of their goals by crowding the net and hard work. They have the skill to finish and set up plays, but are primarily finish men.
Players that live in and around the crease. Stylewise, think Keith Tkachuk, Todd Bertuzzi, Tomas Holmstrom, Rick Nash, Cam Neely, Maurice Richard, Jason Arnott, Brendan Shannahan, Eric Lindros, Brendan Morrow, Jarome Iginla etc..
Guys who get a lot of their goals by crowding the net and hard work. They have the skill to finish and set up plays, but are primarily finish men.
Sens Rule
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- Sep 22, 2005
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I think a power forward is a guy who is physically dominant and usually a winger. Who will take abuse in front of the net and win battle on the boards. He doesn't have to fight but many do. Eric Lindros is an example of a Centre being a power forward. Forsberg too. Gordie Howe is the best Power forward ever and he was as dirty and tough as anyone ever was. Neely was a great Power Forward who wasn't really dirty but was as tough as nails and would fight. For me Hossa is a power forward. He isn't dirty and never fights but he is very strong on the puck and rarely loses a battle on the boards.
An example of a player who was awesome in the crease and took a ton of abuse but who wasn't a power forward (IMO) was Mike Bossy. He was tough as can be in taking abuse to score goals in the crease but he wasn't physically dominant enough, he was more finesse and less brute strength. Many 3rd liners and goons have the physical presence to be power forwards but I don't consider a player to be a power forward unless they have great offensive skills. Tim Kerr and John LeClair were pure power forwards. Neither would fight but both were always in the crease and could not be moved, both were insanely strong and both scored a ton of goals through Physical Dominance around the net.
Joe Thornton is often mentioned as a power forward. He has the size and strength to be one but doesn't play the style. He plays a peripheral game and is happier to set up goals than to score dirty goals himself in the crease. He is not a power forward. Mario Lemieux is not mentioned as a Power Forward. He had the size and Strength to be one though he also preferred to play a peripheral game like Thornton, and of course it worked for him, but he could have played the role of a power forward if he wanted to do it.
Perhaps others have different ideas but this is just my opinion. Power forward is a hard definition.
An example of a player who was awesome in the crease and took a ton of abuse but who wasn't a power forward (IMO) was Mike Bossy. He was tough as can be in taking abuse to score goals in the crease but he wasn't physically dominant enough, he was more finesse and less brute strength. Many 3rd liners and goons have the physical presence to be power forwards but I don't consider a player to be a power forward unless they have great offensive skills. Tim Kerr and John LeClair were pure power forwards. Neither would fight but both were always in the crease and could not be moved, both were insanely strong and both scored a ton of goals through Physical Dominance around the net.
Joe Thornton is often mentioned as a power forward. He has the size and strength to be one but doesn't play the style. He plays a peripheral game and is happier to set up goals than to score dirty goals himself in the crease. He is not a power forward. Mario Lemieux is not mentioned as a Power Forward. He had the size and Strength to be one though he also preferred to play a peripheral game like Thornton, and of course it worked for him, but he could have played the role of a power forward if he wanted to do it.
Perhaps others have different ideas but this is just my opinion. Power forward is a hard definition.
Power forward has become synonymous with a goal scoring ,hard nosed fighting forward.Keith Thachuk most readily springs to mind,yet I think the best powerforwards the past decade,have been LeClair and Jagr.Both use their strength and balance to create their own space, and each has superb hands.That to me is power, while the media definition is more about toughness and fighting.I'd take a guy who can drive to the net,park himself there,draw penalties,lean on the D, and get 40+ goals,over someone who can get 30+ goals,but spend over 100mins in the sin bin.I want him on the ice,not resting in the box.
SoundwaveIsCharisma
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You don't necessarily need to be the biggest guy, but a power foward is a guy with a definite chip on his shoulder. He'll hit, in fact he loves to hit. Start scrums, all in all, he's the ultimate on ice jerk.
Rushes to the front of the net, people prefer to stay away from them then play against them, good goal scorer. Most importantly, intimidation.
Rushes to the front of the net, people prefer to stay away from them then play against them, good goal scorer. Most importantly, intimidation.
PurpleShamrock
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Question
Would you consider Phil Esposito a power forward? He wasn't known for dropping his gloves too often, but he did fit some of the other criteria: To wit, he was a big, strong forward who lived in front of the net, and had a great pair of hands to boot. Moreover, once he was camped in the slot, he was all but impossible to move from it (as any defenseman who jostled with him in his day would testify). What say ye?
Would you consider Phil Esposito a power forward? He wasn't known for dropping his gloves too often, but he did fit some of the other criteria: To wit, he was a big, strong forward who lived in front of the net, and had a great pair of hands to boot. Moreover, once he was camped in the slot, he was all but impossible to move from it (as any defenseman who jostled with him in his day would testify). What say ye?
There have been power forwards for decades. Guys like Gordie Howe, Clarke Gillies, even Jean Beliveau would fit the description we would ascribe to power forwards. The term "power forward" in hockey really came about in the 1980s, due to the explosion in popularity of the NBA.
In terms of on-ice/on-court performance, we were kind of looking for our equivalent to Charles Barkley or Karl Malone. (Again, performance-wise, not personality-wise). Barkley and Malone were big, strong players who could run by you or over you, possess that deft scoring touch, and dominate in rebounds. The hockey equivalent was a big, strong forward (usually a winger), with some speed, an excellent scoring touch and an ability to dominate physically. Fighting ability would be an asset.
Neely is often described as "the first power forward," and while he had an almost unmatched combination of goal scoring ability and physical play, he's far from being the first player in NHL history who fit the description. Guys like Shanahan, Tocchet and an in-his-prime Kevin Stevens were also the prototypes for the NHL power forward.
In terms of on-ice/on-court performance, we were kind of looking for our equivalent to Charles Barkley or Karl Malone. (Again, performance-wise, not personality-wise). Barkley and Malone were big, strong players who could run by you or over you, possess that deft scoring touch, and dominate in rebounds. The hockey equivalent was a big, strong forward (usually a winger), with some speed, an excellent scoring touch and an ability to dominate physically. Fighting ability would be an asset.
Neely is often described as "the first power forward," and while he had an almost unmatched combination of goal scoring ability and physical play, he's far from being the first player in NHL history who fit the description. Guys like Shanahan, Tocchet and an in-his-prime Kevin Stevens were also the prototypes for the NHL power forward.
Long before Cam Neely, there was Tim Kerr of the Flyers. He is the first player I ever heard referred to as a "power forward". A player who goes to the front of the net and STAYS there until the puck comes to him. Or bulls his way to the puck and makes a play afterward. Thornton & Bertuzzi aren't power forwards in my opinion, because they play on the perimeter more, and are "cute" with the puck. While that's the kind of hockey I like to see, every team needs at least one guy who is willing to set up in front of the goalie to screen, tip shots, and just open up the ice for the dipsy-doodlers. A Tomas Holmstrom comes to mind.
I'm a Flyers fan but I can say without any bias that Eric Lindros was the protypical power forward.
6'4" 235 lb forward who could hit like a train, fight like an enforcer, and just flat out play the game. His mean streak is what really set him apart though. He would throw himself into any scrum and proceed to pound on any player not wearing orange and black. I have a few video clips of him dropping Barnaby, exchanging word with Chara after he dumped the Slovak on his ***, jostling with Stevens, bloodying Daigle, and beating on Desjardins after Roy slashed Brind'amour. In his glory days he was the most intimidating player not named Scott Stevens, and even that might be a stretch.
6'4" 235 lb forward who could hit like a train, fight like an enforcer, and just flat out play the game. His mean streak is what really set him apart though. He would throw himself into any scrum and proceed to pound on any player not wearing orange and black. I have a few video clips of him dropping Barnaby, exchanging word with Chara after he dumped the Slovak on his ***, jostling with Stevens, bloodying Daigle, and beating on Desjardins after Roy slashed Brind'amour. In his glory days he was the most intimidating player not named Scott Stevens, and even that might be a stretch.
A Basketball Player who will give you a physical presence in the low post to take pressure off the Big Man in the paint and usually leads the team in defensive rebounds, on occasion has a good perimiter shot to keep from being double-teamed.
Or a term the NHL made into a sports cliche' to help market the sport to the expanding fanbase during the early to mid-90's.
Rick Tochett and later Eric Lindros were the first I remember being mentioned as Power Forwards and I have been watching Hockey since 1979. Never was this terminoligy mentioned during the 80's or for that matter "Skill-Player" to describe a guy that can put the puck in the net but has no physical presence or forechecking/backchecking ability (Don't all Hockey players have a certain level of skill that puts them in a different category than the average working stiff?).
Kind of like the term "Point-Forwards" in Basketball.
You're a Center, Left Wing, or Right Wing........simple really.
Or a term the NHL made into a sports cliche' to help market the sport to the expanding fanbase during the early to mid-90's.
Rick Tochett and later Eric Lindros were the first I remember being mentioned as Power Forwards and I have been watching Hockey since 1979. Never was this terminoligy mentioned during the 80's or for that matter "Skill-Player" to describe a guy that can put the puck in the net but has no physical presence or forechecking/backchecking ability (Don't all Hockey players have a certain level of skill that puts them in a different category than the average working stiff?).
Kind of like the term "Point-Forwards" in Basketball.
You're a Center, Left Wing, or Right Wing........simple really.
Last edited:
Panasonic Youth said:
I was going to make a post so similar to this. And I'm a Rangers fan. Lindros in the mid 90's was the prototypical power-forward. No doubt about it.
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