Who is the most athletic player in the NHL?

[Bieber fever]

it's sad nobody come close to Lebron James /JJ Watt athleticism

 

[Bob b smith]

Malkin was a multisport athlete. He excelled in tennis.

 

[tfwnogf]

Dustin Byfuglien

 

[nwaZ*]

I've read that Daniel Alfredsson and the Sedins could've been football pro's aswell, if they'd chosen that.

 

[Krnuckfan]

it's sad nobody come close to Lebron James /JJ Watt athleticism

Why is it sad?

I think it's cool that hockey is a sport that skill is much more important than athleticism compared to some other sports like basketball and football where athleticism seems to be more of a requirement.

 

[nwaZ*]

Why is it sad?

I think it's cool that hockey is a sport that skill is much more important than athleticism compared to some other sports like basketball and football where athleticism seems to be more of a requirement.

It's not much more important with athleticism than skill in football.

Look at guys like Xavi or Busquets, they don't have any real athleticism but think the game better and have better technique than most.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Stamkos/Pacs for athletic ability but...

Athleticism in the more obvious sense probably Zetterberg. He was playing in jr soccer and hockey. He could have been pro soccer player just as much as he ended up pro in hockey.

Zetterberg for athleticism.

 

[LegitTrenbolone]

Unfortunately, most NHL players are not extremely athletic when compared to other sports. Some of the combine numbers are just extremely god awful (I mean benching 185 should be pretty easy for 20+ lets be real, most should do this in a year of lifting)

Depends how you rank athletic ability though. In the NHL endurance matters much more than in football, so you can't really measure by the same standards

 

[Bee Sheriff]

Ryan Suter, Drew Doughty, Phil Kessel, Jonathan Quick, Chris Kreider, Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin...one of those guys.

 

[UvBnDatsyuked]

So many different thoughts on athleticism here. For me it is that person who looks graceful, fluid, explosive, (and a host of other adjectives) while making it all look easy and effective.

As we grew up and played sports, we all knew that kid who ran like a gazelle with explosive, spring like steps. Looked graceful on the basketball court even though they might not have played on a competitive team. Made every motion look effortless even when playing sports they did not spend a lot of time playing. In my teens I played hockey with a kid who was the best basketball player in his high school (but stopped playing when he went to high school), crazy good at lacrosse and got D1 looks, great hockey player and went onto play D1, could do one and a half flips off of he side of the pool and still has the record at his high school for 400m run.

My gut tells me that most NHL players were that kind of kid. My vote would be Stamkos since the stories during his draft year centered around his skills at soccer and lacrosse along with hockey.

 

[hockey4sale]

I really think it is Ovechkin, he is a bulldozer on the skates