Speculation: The Worst Penguins Skaters of All Time (and maybe some of the good ones too)

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

Jordan Staal way back when He had nights where He looked like He was skating in mud..Jordan Staal is pretty good today.

Heh, that reminds me of Ryan "Taters" Malone.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Yes. Dome could skate, the rest never materialized for him.

I saw him play with Slovan Bratislava when I was studying there and I have to say, he looked really good for a while.

Kraft was not a great skater though.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Also good call on Sydor. I absolutely forgot he even played for us.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Steve McKenna was pretty bad. The only reason he didn't lose more fights outright was because he'd fall over after the first punch was thrown. The guy made Sheary look like Jagr in terms of being able to stay on your feet. I'd say he was a much much worse skater than Douglas Murray. Murray at least had balance going for him.

Too often speed=god skater in many people's minds. I've heard Sheary described as a great skater but to me his poor balance washes out his speed, I'd consider him average at best. Then I heard guys call Kovalev (in his prime) not a very good skater because he lacked the top end speed yet to me he was a very very good skater. His edge work, balance and ability to make sharp, quick cuts was fun to watch.

Which is one of the things I respected about Laraque-- he wasn't a great skater, but he wasn't a terrible bender, just a BIG dude who was really really stable on his feet. Back when he was here on the Pens I remember emailing him because someone mentioned that he did judo as a kid, and I asked him about it and he actually wrote me back.

 

[Ugene Magic]

I saw him play with Slovan Bratislava when I was studying there and I have to say, he looked really good for a while.

Kraft was not a great skater though.

I'm going from what I remembered from being at the draft and his minimal stints in camp and season. I still have the draft hat with his auto on it. Thornton got whisked away to get his, though.

 

[StaalForOne]

Morrow was pretty rough in his short time here. Probably didn't help he was playing without a knee cap or whatever.

 

[DeadPuckEra]

Oliwa.

 

[Pens x]

Bjugstad or Jordan Staal.

 

[TNT87]

First guy I thought of was Leroux but then saw Caufield's name and I was reminded of how poor of a skater he was.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Bjugstad or Jordan Staal.

This is the Bad Skater thread, not the Average one.

 

[Rossi Rat]

I remember ripping shots with Crankshaft... sigh. Prime Shero years.

 

[billybudd]

Either Steve MacIntyre or Steve McKenna. McKenna had the worst balance of any player I've ever seen and MacIntyre had the turning radius of an aircraft carrier. Caufield was pretty bad, though.

 

[billybudd]

Which is one of the things I respected about Laraque-- he wasn't a great skater, but he wasn't a terrible bender, just a BIG dude who was really really stable on his feet. Back when he was here on the Pens I remember emailing him because someone mentioned that he did judo as a kid, and I asked him about it and he actually wrote me back.

Yeah, Laraque's balance totally disqualifies him for this poll. You could tie a bungee cord to his skates while he wasn't looking and it wouldn't make him wobble.