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.

Edit- Doh! Forgot Crosby- Guentzel. I think Guentzel learned a lot, not sure he’s quite as good without that tutelage.

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

 

[Nicko999]

Retired now but Andrei Markov

He literally made an AHLer an all-star and made countless other plug rich.

He elevated the whole team really. His last year in the NHL (2017) was also the last time the Habs made the playoffs in a normal non-covid year. That is not a coincidence

 

[NVious]

McDavid learned from Drai, you have this charismatic behemoth of a German man teaching this shy awkward Canadian kid how to be a warrior.

 

[Chainshot]

I recall Mike Robitaille talking about how Tim Horton took a young Jim Schoenfeld under his wing and then Schoeny did the same thing for Mike Ramsey.

 

[BonMorrison]

Saros and Rinne. Saros cooked as a backup for quite a while before officially becoming #1 and in the long run that was probably a good thing cause he got to understudy Rinne.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Weber , not from his play necessarily but he wasn't afraid/shy to call teammates out and demand more from them , never through the media of course because he is a class act

 

[robbieberns]

Justin Williams returning to Carolina was a really important one when it came to rebuilding a professional environment and instilling a hardworking winning culture. For a new owner who was looking to change the entire vibe of the franchise Williams was the perfect guy to bring in and be paired with new coach to bring about a real change. Two guys who led by example.

 

[Figgy44]

Jagr. Weight vests, weighted sticks, longer training, being efficient and effective on the ice etc.

I think it was most well reported from his time as a Panther.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

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.

Doh! The Guentzel one is just so fundamental I forgot it! Absolutely, I wonder if he’s more a 40 point player without seeing how Crosby do it all those years.

 

[LemonSauceD]

For us right now it’s Quinn Hughes.

Without Quinn Hughes, the Canucks wouldn’t have had the success they had last year and so far this year. What we’re seeing with him is unlike any other player in the history of our team.

A 24 year old being named captain and leading his team to a playoffs for just the 2nd time in 9 years as well as winning the division, spearheading a cultural shift of increased work ethic, accountability, and commitment, while demonstrating the ability to overcome his once perceived limitations and winning the Norris can’t be overstated.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Rempe made the entire Rangers way better. Even in games he was scratched, just having that 6’9 freak standing in the press box overlooking the rink like Batman overlooks the city, sends chills down opponents spines and makes them keep their head on a swivel. You see this by ever since they sent him down they are back to sucking. Their record with him in the line up was something like 27-3-0

 

[JackSlater]

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.

Probably true with Marchand and Chara. Marchand has given Bergeron a ton of credit over the years.

Brad McCrimmon

That's the first name I thought of. Both Lidstrom and Pronger cited McCrimmon as their mentor when they were young defenceman. Not bad to be the main mentor for the two best defencemen of their generation.

I do not expect that Edmonton's key players would have been as good if they had never been teammates with Gretzky. I'm talking about their quality as players even after he left, not just their numbers when he was their teammate. Lemieux has been cited by Jagr obviously.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Justin Williams returning to Carolina was a really important one when it came to rebuilding a professional environment and instilling a hardworking winning culture. For a new owner who was looking to change the entire vibe of the franchise Williams was the perfect guy to bring in and be paired with new coach to bring about a real change. Two guys who led by example.

Going back another generation from there, I wonder how much Rod Brind’Amour was influenced by playing with Ron Francis for a few years.

I thought RBA was a good player in Philly but I didn’t see him as a Francis-level leader. By the time Francis retired, Rod was clearly ready to step into those shoes and as we all know he was an instrumental leader in the Cup run. And of course a young Justin Williams was part of that.

Fast forward five years and you have Francis hired as GM and Rod as assistant coach. They spent a few years in those roles and while there was a lot of off-ice turmoil during that era, I have to think that they were both still growing into higher level leadership roles together. Circa 2017 a much more experienced Justin Williams comes back to help re-set the tone of the franchise, and Rod gets promoted to the HC position where he has excelled ever since.

Of course Francis got axed when Dundon took over, and there will always be controversy over how much credit he deserves for the team’s post-2018 success. But his fingerprints are all over the history of the franchise including the present era.

 

[Bring Bak Damphousse]

Retired now but Andrei Markov

He literally made an AHLer an all-star and made countless other plug rich.

He elevated the whole team really. His last year in the NHL (2017) was also the last time the Habs made the playoffs in a normal non-covid year. That is not a coincidence

This is the guy I was looking for, Komisarek and Souray should be paying him an annual salary as thanks.

 

[FMichael]

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

Not sure if Trevor Linden would approve...

 

[ReimanSum1908]

PK Subban during the first several years of his career carried Hal Gill, who likely would have retired far earlier, had they not been paired together, and Gorges' game dropped off precipitously without Subban.

Not the same thing in that Subban didn't have a positive effect on the development of players, but he carried others by making them appear far more capable and competent than they actually were.

 

[Oneiro]

I don't think Guentzel is even remotely the same player without Sid.