Who is the fastest skater in NHL history?

Sonic Disturbance

Grandmaster User
Jan 1, 2009
2,315
140
Europeans in general tend to be quicker. The reason, or theory, is that because they tend to focus more training on their lower half where as North Americans tend to focus on the upper half. Guess is just depends on the hockey culture/style you grew up in. Across the pond it's more speed and skill, over here it's lots of board work,checking and outmuscling people.

Eh... I think it applies more to Eastern-Europeans (Czechs, Slovaks, Russians). Swedish players on average aren't that fast even compared to Canada/US.
 

billybudd

Registered User
Feb 1, 2012
22,049
2,249
A link was posted by C1958 in a previous thread a little while ago showing that skaters measured in the 1930's actually had comparable lap times to skaters from the modern era.

Advances in skate technology would give modern players a speed advantage, but they are disadvantaged by the massive shin, shoulder, and elbow pads that they now wear.

That's not the same article that had six or seven guys clocking 95+ mph backhands, was it? If so, it should be taken with a serious grain of salt.

That said, skating seems to me to be the thing that's advanced the least over the years. There are more good skaters now, but I don't think there's a player in the NHL now who skates as well as, for example, Paul Coffey did in his prime.

For my money, Bure's the fastest skater I've ever seen, though Gaborik (in Minnesota), and Ovechkin when he came into the league were nothing to sneeze at.

There was also a guy named Konstantin Koltsov whose acceleration was ridiculous, but he may as well have not even played with a stick in his hands for all the good it did him. Should have trained for the Olympics, not the NHL.
 

iamjs

Registered User
Oct 1, 2008
12,569
931
There was also a guy named Konstantin Koltsov whose acceleration was ridiculous, but he may as well have not even played with a stick in his hands for all the good it did him. Should have trained for the Olympics, not the NHL.

It wasn't just his acceleration. His top end up was....well, top end too.



He did once have a hat trick while playing on a line with Lemieux and Straka in a preseason game, but it might be because he was playing on a line with Lemieux and Straka.

In his one preseason game with Lemieux, Koltsov teamed up well, scoring a hat trick against Columbus. Koltsov has long been known as arguably the fastest skater in the world, the Penguins are hoping that his hands have finally come around. Koltsov is likely to be paired with Lemieux and Straka to start the season.

http://www.timesonline.com/the-abc-...ac4-7852-58b8-b37a-d516ed9f8230.html?mode=jqm
 

billybudd

Registered User
Feb 1, 2012
22,049
2,249
It wasn't just his acceleration. His top end up was....well, top end too.



He did once have a hat trick while playing on a line with Lemieux and Straka in a preseason game, but it might be because he was playing on a line with Lemieux and Straka.



http://www.timesonline.com/the-abc-...ac4-7852-58b8-b37a-d516ed9f8230.html?mode=jqm


Great video. Vintage Koltsov. Couple of lazy strides and he covers 40 feet in about a second and a half.

Weird thing about him is he was abnormally strong on his skates, too. Usually the guys with that type of speed tend to not be outlier strong on their skates. If you pushed him on the boards, it didn't move him.

But he just had nothing else going for him. If he even had, like, Gregory Campbell's meager puck skills, he'd have had a long NHL career.
 

Big Phil

Registered User
Nov 2, 2003
31,703
4,144
Watch Cournoyer's goal in Game 2 of the 1972 Summit Series. Wow. There may never be a goal where I've seen the opposition so flat flooted. I asked Cournoyer back in November about that goal, I told him it is a goal no one talks about, and he said "Oh right, that one." Haha, he knew. Anyway, an example of why he was called the Roadrunner.
 

crobro

Registered User
Aug 8, 2008
3,873
720
Wasn't Bobby hull in the Guinness book of records as the fasted skater in the nhl
 

Johnny Engine

Moderator
Jul 29, 2009
4,972
2,352
Watch Cournoyer's goal in Game 2 of the 1972 Summit Series. Wow. There may never be a goal where I've seen the opposition so flat flooted. I asked Cournoyer back in November about that goal, I told him it is a goal no one talks about, and he said "Oh right, that one." Haha, he knew. Anyway, an example of why he was called the Roadrunner.

That goal would have been famous if Pete Mahovlich hadn't turned Tretiak into a pretzel later in in the game.

I recall Keith Acton was a competitive speed skater. He was fast, but I don't recall him blowing people away with his speed on an NHL rink though.

Did Acton wear skates that were anywhere outside the norm in the NHL? I remember reading something where Gretzky said that Coffey altered his skates to be more like speed skates, sacrificing some agility and balance (which didn't seem to be a problem for him regardless), for some top-end speed.
 

JustOneB4IDie

Duel Cancer Survivor
Jan 31, 2011
3,571
0
Imperial, Missouri
I've watched Hockey since the Early 70's and for me it's Pavel Bure,(with the puck) then Mike Gartner,(without the puck) and in the 70's Yvan "The Road Runner" Cournoyer.
 
Last edited:

Apotheosis

Registered User
Mar 27, 2014
11,605
5,140
Toronto, Ontario
With the puck? Bure.

Without it, Gartner. They basically had to change the speed competition because no one was ever coming close to breaking his record.
 

Wrath

Registered User
Jan 13, 2012
2,184
186
With the puck? Bure.

Without it, Gartner. They basically had to change the speed competition because no one was ever coming close to breaking his record.

I'm still sad that they changed the competition to two half-width circuits instead of skaters lining up on opposite sides doing the full rink circuit.

It gives less ammo to fight against the "this generation is the fastest, strongest, etc. generation of hockey players AINEC" people :laugh:.
 

lawrence

Registered User
May 19, 2012
15,883
6,620
Scott Nediermayer won skating competitions when Bure and Fedorov was competing in speed skating competitions. that's how fast he was.
 

Loto68

Registered User
Aug 12, 2006
861
3
Boston
Just want to add, I've never seen anyone live with straight line speed like Chris Kreider. I've seen him make defensemen with a 20 foot lead on going back for the puck look like their were standing still. And not just defensemen who are relatively mediocre skaters.
 

Ohashi_Jouzu*

Registered User
Apr 2, 2007
30,332
11
Halifax
I'd like to know how much the engineering of both the ice surface and the skate/blade contribute to the equation, because I reckon it makes a huge difference to be skating on modern ice with modern skates; like, running on natural grass in steel toed boots versus running on astro turf in synthetic material trainers type differences.
 

Rhiessan71

Just a Fool
Feb 17, 2003
11,618
24
Guelph, Ont
Visit site
Can they go around the rink faster than Gartner did? At least before 2008 they couldn't.

And don't forget, Gartner set those unbroken records on/in early 90s skates and equipment. Skates and equipment that weighed much more than today's ultralight stuff. I figure Mike was carrying around a good 10-15lbs more than an average player does today.
And Bobby Orr/Lafleur another 10lbs on top of that in the 70s too.
 

Stanislasjc

Registered User
Dec 12, 2018
18
32
The Maritimes
I recall that fedorov ( who was pretty young then ) was assigned to shadow Gretz in one of the Canada Cups ...Probably 91...

Gretzky proved to be a better skater with puck than Fedorov without it.

Gretz literally skated circles around Federov, turning him every which way, till Fedorov fell flat on his butt, then headed straight to the bench with a look of total exasperation.

Gretz ( who certainly wasn't straight line fast ) used to rocker his blades, and probably had the tightest turning radius/ smallest turning arc of any player in NHL history...

A little late to the party, but this is the beautiful little sequence you're talking about:



Gretzky picks up the puck in the corner, and Fedorov closes in on Gretz, steering him away from the net in a crouch, keeping his stick at a low angle, blocking the passing lane very well.

And then all of a sudden Gretzky is going in the opposite direction, and Fedorov, who once told Mark Howe he never gets knocked down, totally wipes out. An amazing little maneuver that was just par for the course for Peak Gretzky.

You added a little narrative sizzle at the end that I don't see on the tape (if this is indeed the sequence you were referring to), but I can easily imagine Fedorov being exasperated/embarrassed.

That being said, Fedorov played pretty good D on Gretzky that game, and stripped him at least twice that game. In fact this was the only game in the tournament where Gretzky did not record a single point (he had 10pts in the previous 4 games).
 

hypereconomist

Registered User
Mar 10, 2019
299
273
Matthew Lombardi was in the conversation for fastest player in the league for a few years. Really great straight-line speed that was good for a breakaway every game.


Tony Salmelainen and Antii Pihlstrom also had great breakaway speed, but no other skills
 
  • Like
Reactions: El Cohiba

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->