Top 10 skaters + stickhandlers you've seen

[Sheppy]

Ummm, Bobby Orr? That guy would kill a penalty without passing the puck.

Edit: Brain fart... That I've SEEN...

I'll go with McDavid

 

[authentic]

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 believe things like reach and hockey sense come into play there, but you could be right.

 

[authentic]

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 near 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.

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.

It's not discounted, they are other attibutes of his that made him a better player than anyone in this thread but I just don't believe he was a better stickhandler than a few other players and he didn't have to be.

 

[Yuri35]

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

Mario is my all time favourite player but actually, I thought he wasn't even the best stickhandler on his team.....admittedly, it was Jagr who is not exactly your average player, was it?
In term of pure stickhandling skills, I have btw jagr along with kovalev, datsuyk, Kane and Mcdavid in my top 5 all time list.
Mario was a great stickhandler but he didn't have moves which literally blowed you away the way guys like datsuyk or Jagr for example used to do.
He was certainly more effective than the others but that was not purely dued to his stickhandling skills but more to other qualities that helped making his SH skills look more effective than they would normally be in a normal player.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Mario is my all time favourite player but actually, I thought he wasn't even the best stickhandler on his team.....admittedly, it was Jagr who is not exactly your average player, wasn't it?
In term of pure stickhandling skills, I have jagr along with kovalev, datsuyk, Kane and Mcdavid in my top 5 all time list.
Mario was a great stickhandler but he didn't have moves which literally blowed you away the way guys like datsuyk or Jagr for example used to do.

If you're comparing age 30+ Mario to Jagr sure. But im talking more 22-27 year old Mario. Jagr was certainly up there but not at Lemieux's level. Imo he picked up those wide sweeping dekes from Lemieux in the first place.

I can understand why some like Kane, Kovalev, etc as they make quick flashy moves, but imo they were not nearly as effective stickhandlers.

 

[Rass]

To me, Mario Lemieux skating, speed and stickhandling is criminally underrated in this thread. His strides were so powerful, he was way quicker than given credit for due to his size for his era making it looks so effortless.

As far as stickhandling, he could deke Norris winners out of phone booth if he had to. Fact is, he was so intelligent, so aware of his speed, size, strenght advantage, he rarely place him in a position to have to. He was so brillant to know were his body was, needed to be in every situation, he shifted defensemen before they knew it.

Add the fact he was in Gretzky theritory in the way he played the game at instant replay speed, as he saw the play way before it even unfold. He has beat goalies like a rented mule so many times, but most of the time he didn't have to, he knew exactly where to shoot. He was one of the best of all-time at doing this.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

Nylander is amazing at it

Oh yes. I'm not surprised that in your mind, Nylander immediately pops into your head. Not one of the greats

 

[SR]

Might be a minority add, but Max Domi has incredible hands at top speed.

 

[stampedingviking]

Bure
McDavid
Datsuyk

 

[glenngineer]

Lemieux and Coffey.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

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.

Ya, just pure stickhandling is Kovy. He did things no one else could do with the puck, and had insane edge work.

 

[authentic]

If you're comparing age 30+ Mario to Jagr sure. But im talking more 22-27 year old Mario. Jagr was certainly up there but not at Lemieux's level. Imo he picked up those wide sweeping dekes from Lemieux in the first place.

I can understand why some like Kane, Kovalev, etc as they make quick flashy moves, but imo they were not nearly as effective stickhandlers.

I don't know about that. Jagr does appear to have been an even better stickhandler than young Lemieux to me, as mentioned there were many other reasons that go beyond stickhandling as to why Lemieux was a more effective player.

 

[Riddum]

I don't know about that. Jagr does appear to have been an even better stickhandler than young Lemieux to me, as mentioned there were many other reasons that go beyond stickhandling as to why Lemieux was a more effective player.

Jagr's hands were nasty

 

[SFKingshomer]

Kovalev was awesome with the puck

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

#1. Some dude in my roller league

 

[DatSnipeMatthews]

Mario Lemieux?

 

[Smelling Salt]

Lemieux for me. He didn't dazzle you with 20,000 dekes ala Patty Kane, but no one used reach to their advantage like he did.

 

[Yuri35]

I don't know about that. Jagr does appear to have been an even better stickhandler than young Lemieux to me, as mentioned there were many other reasons that go beyond stickhandling as to why Lemieux was a more effective player.

+1
You only have to watch their respective top 10 goals/plays and you will see that Jagr was more spectacular and probably better in term of pure stickhandling.

 

[RiskyBryzness21]

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.

Also, in terms of size, it easier to smallish guys like Datsyuk, Kane and Gaudreau to stickhandle in a phone both and get around players in small areas, while for big guys like Lemieux and Malkin it's almost impossible

Datsyuk and Malkin have been my favorites to watch in the last 10+ years

 

[Maffew]

Keller will be up there when all is said and done.

Helen?

 

[MrGeno101]

Datsyuk, he was not the fastest player but his hands is out of this world,