Top 10 skaters + stickhandlers you've seen

Olliemets

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Mar 1, 2018
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Croton on Hudson, NY
Think this list needs to be a top 20 at least. or 50. Lots of names keep being added that I almost forgot about..Denis Savard, Gil Perreault, Dionne, and those guys were unreal. Aside from the Soviets, My top are Orr, McDavid, Bure. But then, I am reminded of everyone else........Bure reminds me of Lafleur, Orr of Paul Coffey, McDavid of #99. Where to put Jagr and #66? Its tough.
 

gtrower

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Feb 10, 2016
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Not a Top 10, but peak Ovi deserves a mention. Once he got up a head of steam, man. His one-man rushes were a thing of beauty.



 
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Riddum

Registered User
Nov 5, 2008
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Montreal
Some great names posted but we need to differentiate the styles.

For example, McDavid, Bure and Prime Ovi and Kovalchuk should be in one category. Explosive, top speed handling skills.

Jagr, Lemieux, Malkin in another. Ridiculous hands, reach, puck placement.

Panarin, Gaudreau, Kane and Datsyuk, Denis Savard in another. Magicians.

Why because these 3 groups all have distinct styles. For example, McDavid wouldn't be able do some of the stuff guys like Datsyuk can and vice versa.

Anyway, I nominate Sergei Makarov. Crosby's puck handling style reminds me of prime Makarov.
 

The S5

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Jul 27, 2017
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McDavid's combo of speed and skill are hard to beat.
Dennis Savard was amazing.
Kovalev may have had the best hand and shot of anyone, but his skating wasn't as good as McDavid's.
Mario was deceptively great with his skating and puck skills. Everything looked easy and under control.
 
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authentic

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Jan 28, 2015
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McDavid has the craziest combo I've seen, he has high-end hands, but absolutely unreal skating. Bure and Patrick Kane would be shortly behind him.




Datsyuk was a pretty average skater. He might be the only guy I'd ever give an 80 out of 80 grade on the scouting scale for hands though. It really depends on the balance you are looking for.


I hope this is a joke.

Dude you need to rewatch Datsyuk, he was a far above average skater. Look at how good his agility and edgework were and ability to stop on a dime and change direction. He was also pretty fast at his peak.
 
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authentic

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kovalev was such an unreal stick handler it didnt matter if his legs were broken hed still be my top pick

Lol why, this is about skating and stickhandling and he clearly wasn't as effective as a lot of these other guys even when he skated good.
 

Rodgerwilco

Entertainment boards w/ some Hockey mixed in.
Feb 6, 2014
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Live in person:

Crosby
Karlsson (Skater)
Malkin
P. Kane
Datsyuk
McDavid (World Cup exhibition game)
Jagr (didn't see him til he was old)
Kuznetsov
TJ Oshie
 

izzy

go
Apr 29, 2012
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Lol why, this is about skating and stickhandling and he clearly wasn't as effective as a lot of these other guys even when he skated good.

because its a combo of both and he was so far above everyone else in one that even being average at the other is enough for him to be better combined
 

TT1

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May 31, 2013
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Montreal
MacK has to be up there, i'd even put him #3 because he's both a fast skater and great stickhandler.. just to a lesser extent compared to Bure and McDavid.

If we're talking about stickhandling alone then Kovalev is the GOAT.
 
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authentic

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MacK has to be up there, i'd even put him #3 because he's both a fast skater and great stickhandler.. just to a lesser extent compared to Bure and McDavid.

If we're talking about stickhandling alone then Kovalev is the GOAT.

I always think it's tough to decide who's a better stickhandler between Kovalev and Datsyuk but at the end of the day Datsyuk's dangles were a little more impressive to me. I forgot to mention MacKinnon.
 

Tkachuk4MVP

32 Years of Fail
Apr 15, 2006
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McDavid is the new Bure. These two are in a league of their own when putting the stickwork and skating abilities together, but the nature of Bure's much larger body of work puts him ahead, to me.

Bure played almost entirely in the dead puck era, scoring 51, 58, and 59 goals in three of those seasons. Factoring in older equipment, I'd say Pavel faced far greater challenges in putting his abilities to effect, and did it better. McJesus has a long, long ways to go to catch the Russian Rocket.


This pretty much sums up my thoughts exactly.
 

DRW204

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Dec 26, 2010
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alot of guys i was going to mention have already been mentioned.... Ehlers is very strong at stick-handling at high speeds as well.
 

authentic

Registered User
Jan 28, 2015
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Live in person:

Crosby
Karlsson (Skater)
Malkin
P. Kane
Datsyuk
McDavid (World Cup exhibition game)
Jagr (didn't see him til he was old)
Kuznetsov
TJ Oshie

Watching Karlsson live was amazing. His skating and skill stood out a lot over guys like Backstrom, Kopitar, Hossa and Filip Forsberg.
 

Luigi Lemieux

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Sep 26, 2003
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I'd have Lemieux at #1, just because how much better he was at stickhandling than everyone else.
 

TT1

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May 31, 2013
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Montreal
I always think it's tough to decide who's a better stickhandler between Kovalev and Datsyuk but at the end of the day Datsyuk's dangles were a little more impressive to me. I forgot to mention MacKinnon.

I have Datsyuk behind Kovalev, you gotta remember that Kovalev basically made a career out of his hands. He was as slow as a snail, his stickhandling and edgework were his only offensive tools when he was controlling the puck.

If we put skating and stickhandling together i'd have Datsyuk over Kovalev tho.

Can you imagine Bure playing in today's NHL? Lol, would be glorious.
 

authentic

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Jan 28, 2015
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I'd have Lemieux at #1, just because how much better he was at stickhandling than everyone else.

He wasn't even the best stickhandler though (but right up there obviously), what made him extra deadly as a player was his size and reach, and of course his hockey sense. Based on pure stickhandling abilities he wasn't better than Datsyuk, Kovalev, Kane or McDavid.
 

Luigi Lemieux

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Sep 26, 2003
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He wasn't even the best stickhandler though (but right up there obviously), what made him extra deadly as a player was his size and reach, and of course his hockey sense. Based on pure stickhandling abilities he wasn't better than Datsyuk, Kovalev, Kane or McDavid.
I disagree. I've seen plenty of those 4 (heck Kovalev was on the pens for years) and they make quicker moves, but Lemieux was just way more effective. It was rare for Lemieux to try and deke someone and fail - truly an unparalleled magician with the puck.
 

Rodgerwilco

Entertainment boards w/ some Hockey mixed in.
Feb 6, 2014
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Watching Karlsson live was amazing. His skating and skill stood out a lot over guys like Backstrom, Kopitar, Hossa and Filip Forsberg.
He really gets overlooked in terms of his skating ability. I've been lucky enough to see him play 3 times and every time he just wows me with how effortless he looks when flying down the ice.
 

57special

Posting the right way since 2012.
Sep 5, 2012
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In order that they come to mind:

Wayne Gretzky

Mario Lemieux

Connor McDavid

Sergei Sansonov

David Pastranak

Paul Coffey

That’s who comes to mind off the top of my head. I’d put Bobby Orr on this list, too had I seen him play during his career.
Ooo, forgot about Coffey!
 
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authentic

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He really gets overlooked in terms of his skating ability. I've been lucky enough to see him play 3 times and every time he just wows me with how effortless he looks when flying down the ice.

Yeah I watched him in 2016 at the World Cup so basically right at his peak, couldn't believe how good he was.
 

57special

Posting the right way since 2012.
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I disagree. I've seen plenty of those 4 (heck Kovalev was on the pens for years) and they make quicker moves, but Lemieux was just way more effective. It was rare for Lemieux to try and deke someone and fail - truly an unparalleled magician with the puck.
I agree, and Lemieux also had that innate hockey sense that allowed him to make the right move at the right time. I don't understand why reach and size is discounted as part of skill. His ability to protect the puck, and show, then take away the puck with his ginormous reach was unparalleled. Beliveau was similar, although he had a more understated style, and playing with a straight stick, made much more use of the backhand. That made him near impossible to read, i.e. was he going to shoot, pass, or continue to hold the puck. Espo had a bit of what Lemieux had. Not nearly as slick, but effective. Not a graceful skater, of course. I think it's forgotten just how great he was.

Perrault wasn't as big, but his stickhandling was dizzying, and his powerful stride made it very hard to knock him off the puck, as well as very hard to catch. Dionne was even smaller, but built like a fire hydrant, very fast, and was a great puck handler.
 
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