Fastest skater ever compared to his peers (read first)

[Big Phil]

Okay before we start let me get one thing out of the way. Yvan Cournoyer in 1972 is NOT faster than the fastest player today in 2007. For the same reason Jesse Owens no longer holds the fastest man in the world record from 1936. Records are meant to be broken, training expands, players get faster and thrive to be even faster. We'll say the same thing about players in 207 when 2037 comes around, they arent slow today, just like Cournoyer wasnt slow in 1972 to everyone. So in other words, who was the fastest skater that excelled in the game (no Rico Fatas or Ken Yaremchuks) and who seemed to be faster than all of his peers to the richest extent.

Cournoyer - If you ever want to see how fast he was look no further than Game #2 of the Summit Series in '72 and watch him grab Park's pass and blow by the Soviet defense. That was Cournoyer, that's how fast he was, the "Roadrunner"

Bure - Speed was his game. It scared you every time he had the puck. He's one of the few players that I've seen that has made Lidstrom look like a pylon.

Lafleur - Probably at the time the fastest in the game. He had smooth speed yet flew by everyone

Coffey - I honestly believe that Coffey skated backwards better than most players did forward. Like Lafleur he was a smooth skater but he was the fastest skater by far on the ice very time he was out there and that included against Sergei Makarov

Orr - Maybe didnt have the breathtaking speed like the first four but you wouldnt find a guy in his time that could outskate him either

 

[vcx*]

Konstantin Koltsov - Fast as lightning, hands of stone.

 

[pappyline]

I vote other as in Bobby Hull who was measured at 29.7 MPH. I don't think anybody has ever been timed faster.

 

[Beliveau]

You may not vote on this poll

 

[pitseleh]

Though none of us were around to see them, by the sounds of it Morenz and Cyclone Taylor were both astounding skaters for their time. Taylor may have gotten competition from Didier Pitre though.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

There are stories of Cyclone Taylor skating as quickly backwards as any of his peers could skate forwards.

A popular legend claims that before a game, Taylor said that he could score skating backwards, and he did just that. However, Taylor himself long disputed the legend, saying he made the comments as a joke, and his famous "backwards" goal, only involved a brief period of backward skating and the actual goal was scored just like any other.

 

[pappyline]

Bill Mosienko was the fastest in the early 50's. He won an NHL skating competition at the forum.

 

[Stonefly]

Orr - Maybe didnt have the breathtaking speed like the first four but you wouldnt find a guy in his time that could outskate him either

Are you kidding? There was no one in the league who could touch him then. Not Hull, not Lafleur. Cournoyer and Lemaire were probably the closest and I've heard both of them say they couldn't stay with Orr.

 

[pappyline]

Are you kidding? There was no one in the league who could touch him then. Not Hull, not Lafleur. Cournoyer and Lemaire were probably the closest and I've heard both of them say they couldn't stay with Orr.

Hull was faster, Couldn't get to top speed as quick (who could) but when there was faster than anyone.

 

[BobbyAwe]

Okay before we start let me get one thing out of the way. Yvan Cournoyer in 1972 is NOT faster than the fastest player today in 2007. For the same reason Jesse Owens no longer holds the fastest man in the world record from 1936. Records are meant to be broken, training expands, players get faster and thrive to be even faster. We'll say the same thing about players in 207 when 2037 comes around, they arent slow today, just like Cournoyer wasnt slow in 1972 to everyone. So in other words, who was the fastest skater that excelled in the game (no Rico Fatas or Ken Yaremchuks) and who seemed to be faster than all of his peers to the richest extent

Well, I voted Orr, but there was a guy who was probably the fastest through the '50's and '60's (up till Orr) who no one ever seems to remember and that was Doug Mohns. At the age of 37 (around 1970) he was still the fastest skater on the Blackhawks. Bobby Hull made a crack that Mohns was getting older and he (Hull) would someday be able to beat him in a race so even Hull admitted Mohns was faster. (You can read some of these comments on DougMohns.com)

 

[Backstrom #19]

Peter Bondra

 

[Sens Rule]

This poll says "fastest skater". Not best skater. Compared to their peers I think Orr was the best when he played easily over any of his peers... but on pure speed others are closer.

I don't know if any player has really had a definate huge purely SPEED advantage over all of his peers. But of course many are just far superior skaters. Shean Donovan can fly down the ice but is he really anywhere close to the best skater.. even if at times he might well have been one of the very fastest in the NHL?

Cournoyer and Lafleur were among the best skater post Orr. Coffey was the best skater of the 1980's. The 1990's it was probably Bure, perhaps Fedorov. Right now it is hard to find a clear winner IMO... though perhaps it is Scott Niedermeyer the last couple of years.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

Didn't Sergei Fedorov beat Bure in head-to-head races?

 

[Lord Stanley]

Mike Gartner, does he still not hold the record for fastest lap int he skills competition and that was back in the early 90's he did it. That guy could flat out fly. I had a chance to playin a charity game with him a couple years ago and the guy still skates amazing. Probably just as fast as guys still playing in the league.

 

[XploD]

Didn't Sergei Fedorov beat Bure in head-to-head races?

No...

 

[V-2 Schneider]

Murray Wilson was the fastest of those Hab forwards,but I'm not sure if he could beat Gene Carr.

 

[Crosbyfan]

I still remember a skills competition, blueline and back, redline and back, far blueline and back then all the way to the end with the NHL's top skaters when Bob Gainey blew everyone away and looked effortless doing it.

 

[Dark Shadows]

Orr back in the 70's clocked at speeds most forwards today can't hit except for the very fastest ones. Not to mention he could use his stickhandling at top speeds, going end to end around guys at will.

Bure was not as fast as most people here seem to think when at top speed. Bure's strength was that he could go from standing still, to 3 strides and hit his top speed because of his tree trucks for legs. He had unparralelled acceleration. orr also had great acceleration, but not to the same degree. Orr had a higher top speed. Hull had an even higher top speed than both of them but he did not have Orr's moves and vision at the same level(Still great, but Not Orr like)

Orr's combination of fast acceleration, Vision, second only to Hull top speed, and ability to stickhandle and deke at top speed was what set him apart.

In fact, I think Hull still holds the speed record.

 

[BobbyAwe]

This poll says "fastest skater". Not best skater. Compared to their peers I think Orr was the best when he played easily over any of his peers... but on pure speed others are closer

Orr skated as fast as he needed to in a given situation. I.E. - Larry Robinson's story of how Orr caught Cournoyer from behind on a breakaway.

 

[Stonefly]

Out of curiosity, are the top speeds that the players are clocked at documented somewhere?

 

[pappyline]

Out of curiosity, are the top speeds that the players are clocked at documented somewhere?

Hull at 29.7 mph was in older additions of the Guiness book of records so it must have been well documented.

 

[Stonefly]

Hull was faster, Couldn't get to top speed as quick (who could) but when there was faster than anyone.

Pappyline, what are you thoughts on a situation like this? A game situation type of race. Orr vs Hull from behind the net to opposing teams blueline. Who wins? Wouldn't that have been fun to see...

 

[pappyline]

Pappyline, what are you thoughts on a situation like this? A game situation type of race. Orr vs Hull from behind the net to opposing teams blueline. Who wins? Wouldn't that have been fun to see...

Tough call. Too bad they didn't have competitions like that in the "OLD" days.

 

[Dark Shadows]

Hull at 29.7 mph was in older additions of the Guiness book of records so it must have been well documented.

So much for modern training making players today far ahead aye?

 

[Stonefly]

It would be interesting to know the blade preference of some of these guys. Flatter blade versus a rocker blade.