Players who passed on greatness/improved teammates

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Random thought I had the other day, but- for a while now I’ve felt like Chara’s work ethic/discipline/leadership rubbed off on teammates, Marchand in particular. Like- I think even after he left, there were a good 2-3 years where whatever he instilled in that time was still passed along, thus their success. Now it’s finally fading (I hope), but he really seemed to get that locker room dialed in. And it made me wonder about older players who really seemed to influence younger players.

The two other recent examples I could think of were:

Ovechkin- McMichael. Felt McMichael could go either way, success or bust, and he seems to have just hung around Ovi enough to have figured out scoring. Hot start, but even if he cools down- dude seems a solid NHLer, and i wonder if Ovi influenced that in any way.

Stone- Eichel. Eich had the game, but I think Stone mighta shown him something about professionalism, embracing the whole team, yada yada. I just don’t think Jack was ready to lead a team in Buffalo, and he didn’t have to in Vegas- until he kinda kicked ass in playoffs, and I just wonder if Stone helped get him to that point.

Notably, I feel like Crosby hasn’t really gotten the chance to mentor- obviously he makes linemates better, but I can’t think of any prospects he’s gotten to play with as of late.

Any other examples? I’m particularly curious about defense- did any young players seem to pick up Giordano’s habits, for instance? What about vet-noobie pairings that work? I recall Henrik Tallinder’s steady presence made Tyler Myers’ rookie season his best season. Things of that nature, discuss.

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[norrisnick]

Brad McCrimmon

 

[CraigBillington]

Unpopular ones in Vancouver:
Mark Messier was instrumental on Markus Naslund eventually turning the corner in his career.

Same for Mats Sundin on Ryan Kesler

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Random thought I had the other day, but- for a while now I’ve felt like Chara’s work ethic/discipline/leadership rubbed off on teammates, Marchand in particular. Like- I think even after he left, there were a good 2-3 years where whatever he instilled in that time was still passed along, thus their success. Now it’s finally fading (I hope), but he really seemed to get that locker room dialed in. And it made me wonder about older players who really seemed to influence younger players.

The two other recent examples I could think of were:

Ovechkin- McMichael. Felt McMichael could go either way, success or bust, and he seems to have just hung around Ovi enough to have figured out scoring. Hot start, but even if he cools down- dude seems a solid NHLer, and i wonder if Ovi influenced that in any way.

Stone- Eichel. Eich had the game, but I think Stone mighta shown him something about professionalism, embracing the whole team, yada yada. I just don’t think Jack was ready to lead a team in Buffalo, and he didn’t have to in Vegas- until he kinda kicked ass in playoffs, and I just wonder if Stone helped get him to that point.

Notably, I feel like Crosby hasn’t really gotten the chance to mentor- obviously he makes linemates better, but I can’t think of any prospects he’s gotten to play with as of late.

Any other examples? I’m particularly curious about defense- did any young players seem to pick up Giordano’s habits, for instance? What about vet-noobie pairings that work? I recall Henrik Tallinder’s steady presence made Tyler Myers’ rookie season his best season. Things of that nature, discuss.

Guentzel has said he's learned a ton from Crosby. They were basically attached at the hip from 2017 until he was traded.

Jagr has also mentioned he wouldn't have become the player he did if it wasn't for playing with Lemieux. Watching him practice, playing on the same line, seeing how he thinks the game, etc.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Random thought I had the other day, but- for a while now I’ve felt like Chara’s work ethic/discipline/leadership rubbed off on teammates, Marchand in particular. Like- I think even after he left, there were a good 2-3 years where whatever he instilled in that time was still passed along, thus their success. Now it’s finally fading (I hope), but he really seemed to get that locker room dialed in. And it made me wonder about older players who really seemed to influence younger players.

The two other recent examples I could think of were:

Ovechkin- McMichael. Felt McMichael could go either way, success or bust, and he seems to have just hung around Ovi enough to have figured out scoring. Hot start, but even if he cools down- dude seems a solid NHLer, and i wonder if Ovi influenced that in any way.

Stone- Eichel. Eich had the game, but I think Stone mighta shown him something about professionalism, embracing the whole team, yada yada. I just don’t think Jack was ready to lead a team in Buffalo, and he didn’t have to in Vegas- until he kinda kicked ass in playoffs, and I just wonder if Stone helped get him to that point.

Notably, I feel like Crosby hasn’t really gotten the chance to mentor- obviously he makes linemates better, but I can’t think of any prospects he’s gotten to play with as of late.

Any other examples? I’m particularly curious about defense- did any young players seem to pick up Giordano’s habits, for instance? What about vet-noobie pairings that work? I recall Henrik Tallinder’s steady presence made Tyler Myers’ rookie season his best season. Things of that nature, discuss.

The thing with McMichael is his underlying numbers are absolutely ridiculous. Like just by underlying numbers, he's far more likely to sustain his scoring than Tage Thompson. Although in terms of actual skill and raw athletic prowess, I do think Thompson is clearly ahead, so yeah.

 

[Ceremony]

Multiple Avalanche players have credited MacKinnon's work ethic and preparation as something that improved them.

 

[Voight]

Unpopular ones in Vancouver:
Mark Messier was instrumental on Markus Naslund eventually turning the corner in his career.

Same for Mats Sundin on Ryan Kesler

I thought Sundin was widely respected by Canucks fans because he helped change the culture in his short time there?

 

[Coffee]

Random thought I had the other day

No thought you have is random

 

[Primary Assist]

Whenever Phaneuf was on the ice his D partner and goalie had to work twice as hard. He's got my vote