Why is center > winger?

[Zuluss]

That’s exactly the point, though. The center touches the puck far more often than the wingers, and therefore it’s the more important position.

Since the center touches the puck more often, the center pick up more 2nd/garbage assists.
If the winger has the same amount of points despite touching the puck less often, he is more effective and thus better.
This argument is not to be confused with "Usually, I want the best guy on the line to have the puck more often".

 

[Pez68]

Well, it's not all that difficult.

They are responsible for the entire ice surface. Board to board, end to end. They are the third defenseman. They control the middle of the ice. They support both sides of the ice on the breakout. They have the same offensive responsibilities as wingers, but are expected to also be working below the goal line in the defensive zone. On, and on, and on.

 

[tony d]

Centers usually seem to be better all around too. The best centre, Crosby, is a better goal scorer than Ovie, the best winger, is a playmaker.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

They control more of the ice subsequently, more of the game (generally).

If you're familiar with baseball, think how much more valuable a legit Center Fielder is than a corner outfielder.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Since the center touches the puck more often, the center pick up more 2nd/garbage assists.
If the winger has the same amount of points despite touching the puck less often, he is more effective and thus better.
This argument is not to be confused with "Usually, I want the best guy on the line to have the puck more often".

In this kind of conversation, 2nd assists aren’t to be dismissed as irrelevant. A lot of them are the result of the center working the puck from the defensive zone into a scoring position, where the wingers can capitalize on the opportunity.

Frankly I’d think that anyone who plays the game would agree that center is harder to play than wing. It requires a complete hockey skill set — you can’t suck at anything if you play C — and a higher degree of conditioning and awareness. Wing is less versatile by nature and if we’re being honest, star wingers are usually only particularly strong in a couple of skills. Fast skating + accurate shot is enough to make a good scoring winger, but not enough to make a center.

 

[Pez68]

In this kind of conversation, 2nd assists aren’t to be dismissed as irrelevant. A lot of them are the result of the center working the puck from the defensive zone into a scoring position, where the wingers can capitalize on the opportunity.

Frankly I’d think that anyone who plays the game would agree that center is harder to play than wing. It requires a complete hockey skill set — you can’t suck at anything if you play C — and a higher degree of conditioning and awareness. Wing is less versatile by nature and if we’re being honest, star wingers are usually only particularly strong in a couple of skills. Fast skating + accurate shot is enough to make a good scoring winger, but not enough to make a center.

Yes.

 

[Seanaconda]

Oh, yeah, and look at Edmondon. They have 2 times Art Ross winner 1C, and almost a PPG 2C, and how many titles have they won?

Five

 

[Seanaconda]

Centers have more impact in more areas of the game. All things being equal, if you have an elite center you likely have a better chance to win the game than having an elite winger. But, all things are not equal. You can absolutely win Cups with a winger as your best player, its just a more rare path. I think Kane was Chicago's best player, but he had a lot of help, obviously. Marchand, right now, is Boston's best player and I think they are a legit contender.

Boston has a near ppg center than constantly wins the selke on that team too

 

[Viqsi]

Five

Not with the centers being inquired about. But to be fair, those five titles were won on the back of two excellent centers as well.

 

[Seanaconda]

Not with the centers being inquired about. But to be fair, those five titles were won on the back of two excellent centers as well.

Mcdavids kind of a cheap shot when he has only played three seasons and the oilers losing was not his fault in any way

 

[ort]

It could also be that the most talented players tend to end up as centers. So there are more elite calibre centers than wingers in the NHL, and it ends up placing more focus on that role.

 

[RandR]

"Strength down the middle" is a recipe for building a winning team in most team sports, hockey included. Just to give 2 other examples:
- In soccer, the most important players tend to be central midfielders and central defenders.
- In rugby, the middle numbered positions (eg- number 8 and 9, the scrum-half) tend to be the most important.

Plain and simple fact that the ball or puck (or whatever) is more often in or going thru the middle of the field/ice/whatever than along or thru either one of the two sides.

In hockey, a couple of recent examples of the importance of centre over wing are:
- Crosby's achievements compared to Ovechkin's. There is certainly a leadership question there too, but Crosby's attention to all the details of play becomes more important because he also takes faceoffs and plays in the middle of the ice where it is easier for him to get involved in the play and direct it.
- Why Matthews was being picked #1 over Laine at #2 in the 2016 draft. Both are becoming superstars, but a key factor was that Matthews will likely be able to have a bigger impact on the game because he is a centre.

 

[wintersej]

You cant expect to finish 1st with two players...

Yeah, you need Kessel, too .

 

[tarheelhockey]

"Strength down the middle" is a recipe for building a winning team in most team sports, hockey included. Just to give 2 other examples:
- In soccer, the most important players tend to be central midfielders and central defenders.
- In rugby, the middle numbered positions (eg- number 8 and 9, the scrum-half) tend to be the most important.

Plain and simple fact that the ball or puck (or whatever) is more often in or going thru the middle of the field/ice/whatever than along or thru either one of the two sides.

In hockey, a couple of recent examples of the importance of centre over wing are:
- Crosby's achievements compared to Ovechkin's. There is certainly a leadership question there too, but Crosby's attention to all the details of play becomes more important because he also takes faceoffs and plays in the middle of the ice where it is easier for him to get involved in the play and direct it.
- Why Matthews was being picked #1 over Laine at #2 in the 2016 draft. Both are becoming superstars, but a key factor was that Matthews will likely be able to have a bigger impact on the game because he is a centre.

Another example, in American football you can dominate a whole lot easier if your middle-of-the-field players (QB, RB, interior linemen / MLB, safeties, interior linemen) are the strength of your team, than if you have weak interior players but stars on the outside (WR/CB, ends). Any of them can be good enough as individuals to impact a game, but you don't see too many teams as a whole win consistently without strength in the middle of the field.

It's basically just the geometry of sports as a whole. Hell, you can even extend the idea to games like checkers and chess. Controlling the middle of the playing field is an inherent advantage, because it creates a greater range of opportunity than controlling the edges.

 

[HOPE]

Because the Center is the structure of a team! You win matches by scoring and defending, The center is the one that does both! You score while getting the puck and the Center is the one that pretty much determine whenever or not you have puck possession, from his puck retrieval in the 3 zone, he supports literally everyone.

 

[ManofSteel55]

People simplify it. If two players are the same caliber of player, one is a winger and one is a centre, then the centre is more valuable because that role comes with more responsibility and that player must be more well rounded. But there is no way that anyone could ever say that, for example, Monahan is better than Gaudreau because Monahan is a C. Gaudreau is on another level.

 

[ManofSteel55]

There's a reason why a large majority of forwards play Center in juniors and eventually shift to wing.

This is also important to remember. So many Canadian stars are centres because in Canada, the best players are usually put as centres because teams have a better chance to win in minor hockey with strong centres. Sometimes they shift to wing eventually (remember, even Hall was a centre in minor hockey), but the centre position is the most important. That doesn't mean that all the best players are always centres though.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

The best kids are always put centre and the worst on D

 

[LTIR]

Mcdavids kind of a cheap shot when he has only played three seasons and the oilers losing was not his fault in any way

and the 10yrs before McDavid were even worse when Oilers had all sorts of winger but no Centers.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

This rule looks like an axiom in modern hockey. But I was rising on Soviet hockey, where it was mostly just the other way around: great wingers carried lines (Firsov, Kharlamov, Makarov), while centers had mostly supportive roles. And look at some modern wingers like Ovechkin, Kane, Panarin, Kovalchuk in his best NHL seasons.

Columbus fans say, Panarin is a special player, because he makes players around him better. I think, Kane was the most important Chicago player in their 3 Cup wins. Yeah, people should change their minds about the idea, that a winger can't be a franchise cornerstone.

And how many Cups have those wingers lead their teams to? Kane's the only guy on that list that you could argue was the best player during his team's Cups, and even then Toews and Keith were equally as big.

Now look at other Cup winners and who their best forwards were:
Pittsburgh - Crosby/Malkin
Los Angeles - Kopitar
Boston - Bergeron
Detroit - Zetterberg/Datsyuk
Colorado - Forsberg/Sakic
Detroit - Yzerman/Fedorov

It's not a "Canadian thing". It's based on the fact that centers have a bigger influence on team success because they simply cover more ice and have bigger 200 foot responsibilities.

 

[57special]

In the old days many of the top forwards, if not the top, were wings. The Rocket, bobby Hull, Howe...they were the best players of their era.

Part of me wants to say that the elimination of the two line offside had something to do with it...I don't know why, though.

 

[Zuluss]

In this kind of conversation, 2nd assists aren’t to be dismissed as irrelevant. A lot of them are the result of the center working the puck from the defensive zone into a scoring position, where the wingers can capitalize on the opportunity.

2nd assists are not irrelevant, they are just less useful than goals and primary assists.
Which is one reason why if a winger and a center have the same stat line (g+a), the winger is better. It is very likely that the winger in that case has more primary points, and the center has more 2nd assists.

Another reason would be that just because of the position on the ice the winger generally has less opportunities to accumulate points. If he still does, he is better. It is just like saying "if two players have the same number of points, but one plays less PP minutes / has more ES points, that one is better".

Frankly I’d think that anyone who plays the game would agree that center is harder to play than wing. It requires a complete hockey skill set — you can’t suck at anything if you play C — and a higher degree of conditioning and awareness. Wing is less versatile by nature and if we’re being honest, star wingers are usually only particularly strong in a couple of skills. Fast skating + accurate shot is enough to make a good scoring winger, but not enough to make a center.

"Jack of all trades and a master of none" was never a compliment. And I do not think it is harder to be a jack of all trades or a jack of all trades is harder to find. I have never heard of a pentathlon athlete who would be as famous as Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. But I am sure many pentathletes swim better than Bolt and can outrun Phelps.

 

[tarheelhockey]

2nd assists are not irrelevant, they are just less useful than goals and primary assists.
Which is one reason why if a winger and a center have the same stat line (g+a), the winger is better. It is very likely that the winger in that case has more primary points, and the center has more 2nd assists.

Another reason would be that just because of the position on the ice the winger generally has less opportunities to accumulate points. If he still does, he is better. It is just like saying "if two players have the same number of points, but one plays less PP minutes / has more ES points, that one is better".

The game of hockey doesn’t work that way. Phil Kessel had a nearly identical stat line to Anze Kopitar this season, but I’ve yet to hear anyone argue that Kessel > Kopitar.

"Jack of all trades and a master of none" was never a compliment. And I do not think it is harder to be a jack of all trades or a jack of all trades is harder to find. I have never heard of a pentathlon athlete who would be as famous as Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. But I am sure many pentathletes swim better than Bolt and can outrun Phelps.

You don’t get to be a center by being a “master of none”. If you aren’t good offensively OR defensively, you get stuck in a bottom line wing position at best. Because bottom line wings have the least demanding set of responsibilities on the team.

 

[StreetHawk]

Well, it's not all that difficult.

They are responsible for the entire ice surface. Board to board, end to end. They are the third defenseman. They control the middle of the ice. They support both sides of the ice on the breakout. They have the same offensive responsibilities as wingers, but are expected to also be working below the goal line in the defensive zone. On, and on, and on.

If a C and W are close in value like Hall and Seguin, you should take the C.

But, if there is a clear difference where you have a 2C vs a 1W, you take the winger.

You take laine over PLD but you take PLD over Jesse P and Tkachuk.

 

[Nadal On Clay]

Yeah, you need Kessel, too .

Or Murray..