Unfufilled potential ...

[John Flyers Fan]

I'm talking about players that had good, maybe even great careers, yet still left you wanting even more.

*** Not talking about injured players *** So, no Orr, Lemieux, Lindros, Forsberg, etc.

The first two names that come to mind for me are Sergei Fedorov and Alexei Kovalev.

Not trying to make this a Russian bash thread, so a few other names to start the list:

Stephane Richer

Reggie Leach (not sure if he really qualifies as alcohol issues could be considered similar to an injury)

Rick MacLeish

Click to read more...

 

[seventieslord]

Al Iafrate?

 

[Jumptheshark]

I think you are off the mark with both names since we have had discussion this year about both being hall of famers and some people putting up good debates on both sides

for the names that jump out would be Rob Schremp, Patick Stefan, Alex Daigle

 

[mattihp]

Tomi Kallio. Had skill and a will to get his nose dirty. Got a concussion and turned into a hilarious worse skating, less skilled and much more scared player... Hardly ever went into the corners after it (even though he won the puck 9 times out of 10 when he did).

He could've been a perennial 25-30 goal scorer with some grit.

 

[Killion]

Carl Brewer

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Al Iafrate?

I was trying to think of some defenseman, and Iafrate definitely crossed my mind. Two other names I thought of were Barry Beck and Andy Delmore. Delmore didn't have a good enough career to qualify.

As for Beck and Iafrate, they both had some injury issues, not sure if they were serious enough to preclude them from this list or not.


I did just think of a defensemab that dies qualify though, Kevin Hatcher.

 

[Bexlyspeed]

Tommy Salo is one. super hyped because of the gold medal Sweden won in '94.
he wasn't terrible and did play on some horrible Islanders teams
but he was supposed to be the next big time European Goaltender

Bryan Berard is another, although he had some bad luck with the eye injury

 

[DaveG]

wait.... Fedorov?

From the Canes, David Tanabe always left me wanting more. I think JR probably rushed him though. Scary thing is that he's still arguably one of the best picks from that horrid draft. That entire draft might qualify, minus the Sedins, Havlat, Anderson, Miller, Erat, Zetterberg, and maybe Barret Jackman

ton of goalies for this though: Corey Hirsch (seriously, how did that guy ever get so hyped?), Jamie Storr, Eric Fichaud, Trevor Kidd

 

[jkrx]

I'm talking about players that had good, maybe even great careers, yet still left you wanting even more.

*** Not talking about injured players *** So, no Orr, Lemieux, Lindros, Forsberg, etc.

The first two names that come to mind for me are Sergei Fedorov and Alexei Kovalev.

Not trying to make this a Russian bash thread, so a few other names to start the list:

Stephane Richer

Reggie Leach (not sure if he really qualifies as alcohol issues could be considered similar to an injury)

Rick MacLeish

Hart and Selke, three cups and another final, 3 WC golds, 1 WJC gold, 1 Leaster, Calder finalist(2nd I believe), Selke finalist in 92 and 4th two other times and a Hart finalist in 95.

What more did you expect of him?

 

[John Flyers Fan]

I think you are off the mark with both names since we have had discussion this year about both being hall of famers and some people putting up good debates on both sides

for the names that jump out would be Rob Schremp, Patick Stefan, Alex Daigle

Schremp and Stefan certainly don't qualify, not good enough careers, and Stefan had injury issues.

Fedorov is a Hall of Famer and a top 100-150 player of all-time, but IMO he had the ability to be a top 35 player, and he isn't close to that so he qualifies for me.

Kovalev is not a Hall of Famer, but certainly should have been with that skill.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Potential

Distinction has to be made between players who were over rated by scouts, management and fans and those who did not reach their potential.

A few examples of Canadiens #1 picks - Eric Charron, Brent Bilodeau, Lindsey Vallis. Simply did not have the mental or physical tools but scouts drank the size kool-aid and the results were three disasters.

Players that did not reach their potential - Richard David, Perry Turnbull, Ron Flockhart, had size and the tools but would not compete at the NHL level.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Hart and Selke, three cups and another final, 3 WC golds, 1 WJC gold, 1 Leaster, Calder finalist(2nd I believe), Selke finalist in 92 and 4th two other times and a Hart finalist in 95.

What more did you expect of him?

Just shows how much I think of him. I think he had the ability to be at least as good if not better than Sakic/Yzerman/Forsberg.

I think he should be in the Clarke/Trottier/Espo/Mikita discussion, and he isn't.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Markus Naslund. He had those 4 great years from 00/01-03/04, but since that Moore hit he was never at that level ever again.

 

[VanIslander]

Of those still playing...

Ed Jovanovski
Marco Sturm
Partick Lalime
Alex Tanguay
Joni Pitkanen
J-P Dumont
Ron Hainsey
Tuomu Ruutu

Decent players of whom more was expected.

And coach Marc Crawford.

 

[jkrx]

Schremp and Stefan certainly don't qualify, not good enough careers, and Stefan had injury issues.

Fedorov is a Hall of Famer and a top 100-150 player of all-time, but IMO he had the ability to be a top 35 player, and he isn't close to that so he qualifies for me.

Kovalev is not a Hall of Famer, but certainly should have been with that skill.

I get the feeling that this argument is like saying;

Gretzky is a hall of famer and he scored 215 points but IMO he had the ability to score 245 and he wasn't close to that so he qualifies for me.

 

[Stephen]

Oleg Tverdovsky was an uber talented offensive defenseman who had Sergei Zubov type abilities and potential, scoring 50 points 3 times before the age of 25, but then I guess he was derailed somewhat.

Brad Stuart seems like a bit of an underachiever in terms of individual achievement based on where he was drafted and his size and skillset. Seems like he should have been closer to a franchise defenseman like a Shea Weber than what he ended up as. Guys like Nick Boynton and Paul Mara also received a ton of hype in their earlier years.

Vincent Lecavalier probably should have been a consistent offensive powerhouse the way Joe Thornton has been, but he's been inconsistent in his greatness.

Ilya Kovalchuk: not lacking in anything compared to Alexander Ovechkin in terms of ability, yet he has failed to achieve the same individual accomplishments or be a proper cornerstone for his teams.

 

[hfboardsuser]

Don Gallinger. He out-scored or was in the mix with some pretty heady company as a 20-something on the 1940s Bruins, but earned a lifetime ban for gambling at age 22 and that was that. He could have been a HOFer- little on the small side even for the 1940s, but one of the best skaters of his era and reputedly a fantastic stickhandler.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Of those still playing...

Ed Jovanovski
Marco Sturm
Partick Lalime
Alex Tanguay
Joni Pitkanen
J-P Dumont
Ron Hainsey
Tuomu Ruutu

Decent players of whom more was expected.

And coach Marc Crawford.

Pitkanen, and Jovanovski and are very good additions to the list. I would add Jay Bouwmeester to the list as well.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Markus Naslund. He had those 4 great years from 00/01-03/04, but since that Moore hit he was never at that level ever again.

i think we saw naslund's best. maybe his prime could have been extended, but i don't think he had a gear above what he showed in his pearson year. if not for moore, i'd like to think that as his offensive game slowed down naturally, he could have been to the sedins like selanne has been to getzlaf and perry but i guess we'll never know.

I was trying to think of some defenseman, and Iafrate definitely crossed my mind. Two other names I thought of were Barry Beck and Andy Delmore. Delmore didn't have a good enough career to qualify.

As for Beck and Iafrate, they both had some injury issues, not sure if they were serious enough to preclude them from this list or not.


I did just think of a defensemab that dies qualify though, Kevin Hatcher.

as soon as i saw iafrate mentioned above the first name that came to my mind was also hatcher. how does a guy who is 6'4" 230 pounds and breaks into the league on a team with rod langway and scott stevens never learn how to use his size?


i know the OP said no injuries, but someone above mentioned tuomo ruutu, who would have been so much more if he hadn't lost so many important developmental years to injuries. another guy who we sometimes forget could have been elite is mattias ohlund. he has had a long career as a defensive rock with almost no vision in one eye. but he showed flashes of great offensive ability before the eye injury.

 

[pappyline]

Carl Brewer

That's because he basically walked away from the NHL in his prime. Never stopped playing hockey though and came back & was an AS again.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

I get the feeling that this argument is like saying;

Not exactly. Gretzky brought it every night, its what separates the immortals from the great.

Fedorov's Hart season was brilliant, and it wasnt a fluke as a number of great postseasons back it up. Fedorov's other regular seasons don't match his Hart trophy season or his playoff level of play.

Fedorov is similar in that way to Rick MacLeish (albeit much better). You weren't always sure what you would get in the regular season, save for one or two big years, but you absolutely knew that he would be great when it mattered most, and without them there are no Cups for the Wings/Flyers.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Fedorov is the posterboy for this list. After 96, he flat out stopped trying in the regular season

 

[jkrx]

Not exactly. Gretzky brought it every night, its what separates the immortals from the great.

Fedorov's Hart season was brilliant, and it wasnt a fluke as a number of great postseasons back it up. Fedorov's other regular seasons don't match his Hart trophy season or his playoff level of play.

Fedorov is similar in that way to Rick MacLeish (albeit much better). You weren't always sure what you would get in the regular season, save for one or two big years, but you absolutely knew that he would be great when it mattered most, and without them there are no Cups for the Wings/Flyers.

Saying that Fedorov didn't live up to his potential is like saying the same thing about Datsyuk. Fedorov might have been a headcase at times but I think he lived up to his potential. He did have a slump in Columbus but I never noticed him slacking in Detroit. Fedorov had several big years and not just one or two but he also had Gretzky, Lemieux, Lindros, Sakic, Forsberg etc to compete with.

I just never saw him as potential top 35 guy which means you expected him to surpass Fetisov, Kharlamov and Tretiak amongst others. I just don't see it.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

i think we also saw fedorov at his best. maybe we didn't see the season-to-season consistency that we would have liked, but the playoff monster that we did see was i think the full extent of his potential.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

i think we also saw fedorov at his best. maybe we didn't see the season-to-season consistency that we would have liked, but the playoff monster that we did see was i think the full extent of his potential.

Agreed that we saw his best. The issue is more about how often we saw it during the regular season.