The closest thing to Bobby Orr ?

[Houndpower]

I've yet to see a defenceman who can be Orr's equal but I'd have to say Paul Coffey would be pretty close......any others ?

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[Dark Shadows]

Offensively, Coffey is the only one that comes to mind(Offensively only. Coffey Defensively could not hold Orr's Jock).

As far as Two way play goes, nobody even remotely comes close, but the usual top runners are Eddie Shore, Doug Harvey, Ray Bourque, Denis Potvin, Nick Lidstrom, Larry Robinson, Red Kelly, Viacheslav Fetisov, and Brad Park.

 

[Houndpower]

Offensively, Coffey is the only one that comes to mind(Offensively only. Coffey Defensively could not hold Orr's Jock).

As far as Two way play goes, nobody even remotely comes close, but the usual top runners are Eddie Shore, Doug Harvey, Ray Bourque, Denis Potvin, Nick Lidstrom, Larry Robinson, Red Kelly, Viacheslav Fetisov, and Brad Park.

Some great defenceman in that list.

 

[Dark Shadows]

Some great defenceman in that list.

Well, that is my top 10(Not in that order). Chelios is 11, and Coffey 12

 

[Houndpower]

Well, that is my top 10(Not in that order). Chelios is 11, and Coffey 12

Old school defence I would have to go with Ed Van Impe....he wasn't blessed with blazing speed, flashy puck-handling skills or an offensive touch but he was the ultimate defensive defensemen.

 

[the_speedster]

Bryan Fogarty.. if not for his emotional/alcohol issues he could've given coffey/bourque a run for their money

 

[VelvetJones]

Coffey is the only one that compares to Orr.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

No one compares Orr.

If we had video footage, maybe when Cyclone Taylor played defence, maybe...

 

[Stonefly]

Forget defensemen. The only Hockey Player that comes close to Orr's all around excellence is Gordie Howe. And even then you'd have to put jets in Howe's skates to make it close.
As Nalyd Psycho said, no one compares to Orr.

 

[Loto68]

Bryan Fogarty.. if not for his emotional/alcohol issues he could've given coffey/bourque a run for their money

I'm gonna go ahead and agree with you on that. Just reading quotes about him, I can only think of a handful of players in any sport were a player's peers spoke with such reverence of his talent.

 

[Ajaton Azer]

Jesus "El Savior" Christ.

 

[Shoalzie]

Paul Coffey, ma'am...like the drink, just spelled different.

 

[BNHL]

Please,someone scrub this thread before it dies a miserable death.

 

[Trottier]

I've yet to see a defenceman who can be Orr's equal but I'd have to say Paul Coffey would be pretty close......any others ?

Going one way up the ice, only.

And he wasn't pretty close, overall.

Denis Potvin, for one, was much more rounded than Coffey. Though his style was cerebral, while Orr's and Coffey's was dynamic, with regard to overall game, his towered Coffey's, and as such, was closer to Orr's.

 

[85highlander]

When another defenseman wins an Art Ross, while playing a more than capable, tough defense, maybe there will be someone to talk about in comparison...

And while Orr was a "defenseman", I'm not even sure that it's accurate to assess him primarily as such. He played the entire ice, first one up, first one back, and would skate around, between, or through you from side to side. He truly re-invisioned, or re-imagined the defensive position and created something unique that has yet to be matched.

Just think about this: Defenseman = Art Ross champ (twice), and second several more times to his teammate Esposito.

SICK all-around hockey player, who happened to play defense (and everything else on the ice).

 

[CanuckistanFlyerfan]

Old school defence I would have to go with Ed Van Impe....he wasn't blessed with blazing speed, flashy puck-handling skills or an offensive touch but he was the ultimate defensive defensemen.

Long time Flyer fan here. I'm sorry, but...Ed Van Impe?....compared to Bobby Orr?!?! No, seriously, don't go there.

 

[greatgazoo]

Scott Niedermayer would be the closest to Orr, in the skating dept at least, since Coffey retired. Jay Bouwmeester has great wheels too.

 

[Jumptheshark]

No mention of ray bourque yet???

 

[canucks4ever]

Gordie Howe is the closest when it comes to all-around play. For defensemen its Eddie Shore.

 

[Houndpower]

Long time Flyer fan here. I'm sorry, but...Ed Van Impe?....compared to Bobby Orr?!?! No, seriously, don't go there.

No way was I comparing Van Impe to Bobby Orr....try to keep up.

 

[KnucklePuck96]

skating, offensive awareness and ability, coffey

 

[mrhockey193195]

Scott Niedermayer would be the closest to Orr, in the skating dept at least, since Coffey retired. Jay Bouwmeester has great wheels too.

Leetch as well. He was a great skater.

 

[mcphee]

There's a lot of talk about orr's speed, and there have been a lot of great skating d men, J-Bo [my poor spelling prompts me to use the nickname], Niedermayer,Coffey, but the difference with Orr is that he used pace. You'd seldom see him in a sprint, turning a corner on a guy, blowing by anyone, he'd just go to where he needed to be, controlled the puck, made you slow down, catch you flat footed, beat you a dozen differnt ways.

No one played from his own end to the opposing net with the puck on his stick like that. I often remember him beating 5 guys but doing it at his own pace, weaving in and out.

I saw Brett Burns make a move this year that made me think of Orr, I thought Doughty's skating style was a bit similar, but that's all it is, similarities.

 

[BNHL]

There's a lot of talk about orr's speed, and there have been a lot of great skating d men, J-Bo [my poor spelling prompts me to use the nickname], Niedermayer,Coffey, but the difference with Orr is that he used pace. You'd seldom see him in a sprint, turning a corner on a guy, blowing by anyone, he'd just go to where he needed to be, controlled the puck, made you slow down, catch you flat footed, beat you a dozen differnt ways.

No one played from his own end to the opposing net with the puck on his stick like that. I often remember him beating 5 guys but doing it at his own pace, weaving in and out.

I saw Brett Burns make a move this year that made me think of Orr, I thought Doughty's skating style was a bit similar, but that's all it is, similarities.

I could not disagree more with your first paragraph. I saw the man,as a season ticket holder,blow by people in 4th or 5th gear regularly,going both ways.

 

[mcphee]

I could not disagree more with your first paragraph. I saw the man,as a season ticket holder,blow by people in 4th or 5th gear regularly,going both ways.

Maybe it's the way I said it, I'm not in any way saying he didn't have top end speed, but he often seemed to calmly beat you, never seeming to sweat while doing it.

You know how a wide receiver can make a db run at his pace then leave him in his dust ? I always thought he had a gear to go to that he didn't use as he seldom needed it. He skated as fast as he had to skate, that's the image I have anyways.