The Peak and Decline of Elite NHL Forwards

[VoluntaryDom]

That ended up working out okay for you guys last season.

 

[Thenameless]

It seems like both Crosby and Ovechkin hit their scoring peak at age 24 or so.

McDavid is closing in on 24. Can he hit another tier and hit a higher point total with the cast he is playing with ?

I try to be a realist who is more on the optimistic side. Something tells me he "can" go way higher. We are now seeing Kucherov going at a clip of around 130 points, and I believe McDavid is much better. I don't worry too much that Kucherov plays on a better team. Great players can do magical things. Guys like Gretzky, Lemieux, Wilt, and Jordan achieved gaudy numbers on weak teams. Now, I'm not saying McDavid is an icon of sport like those guys, but I do believe him to be clearly superior to Kucherov.

 

[Czech Your Math]

I try to be a realist who is more on the optimistic side. Something tells me he "can" go way higher. We are now seeing Kucherov going at a clip of around 130 points, and I believe McDavid is much better. I don't worry too much that Kucherov plays on a better team. Great players can do magical things. Guys like Gretzky, Lemieux, Wilt, and Jordan achieved gaudy numbers on weak teams. Now, I'm not saying McDavid is an icon of sport like those guys, but I do believe him to be clearly superior to Kucherov.

McDavid definitely could hit another level. Forwards tend to peak anywhere from their early to late 20s. Players that rely more on speed, and to a lesser extent goal-scorers, tend to peak in their early to mid-20s. Players that rely more on possession and playmaking tend to peak in their mid-late 20s.

 

[geoo9]

McDavid definitely could hit another level. Forwards tend to peak anywhere from their early to late 20s. Players that rely more on speed, and to a lesser extent goal-scorers, tend to peak in their early to mid-20s. Players that rely more on possession and playmaking tend to peak in their mid-late 20s.

but speedsters are mostly didnt play that long. they have more leg injures during career

 

[Czech Your Math]

but speedsters are mostly didnt play that long. they have more leg injures during career

Richard 23-34
Bobby Hull 21-28
F. Mahovlich 23-25
Cournoyer 25-30
Perreault 21-29
Lafleur 23-28
Gartner 21-32
Fedorov 24-26
Bure 21-22, 26-30
Selanne 22, 25-28
Bondra 26-29
Kariya 21-24
Hossa 24-28
Gaborik 24-27
Ovechkin 22-24
Stamkos 19-22

Orr 21-26
Coffey 22-24
Karlsson 21-26

Most peaked in their ~mid-20s. In more recent times, players that peaked in their late 20s were Bondra and a couple of players who peaked in their early 20s (Bure & Selanne), had injuries, then rebounded to another peak. Meanwhile, a lot of players peaked in their early 20s (Kariya, Ovechkin, Stamkos, Orr, Coffey, Karlsson). I include Ovechkin, because speed was critical to his peak production.

 

[romba]

Meanwhile, a lot of players peaked in their early 20s (Kariya, Ovechkin, Stamkos, Orr, Coffey, Karlsson). I include Ovechkin, because speed was critical to his peak production.

He was a freight train early in his career. Now he's way more patient, a ticking time bomb of a one timer. Amazing to see how much his game has changed and how productive he still is because of it.