Was Alexei Kovalev an under achiever throughout his career?

[authentic]

He was awesome to watch with the Pens during 00/01, but people who believe he underachieved maybe don't fully realize how competitive the NHL is and that it takes a special sort of maniac to attempt performing at their best most of the time -- and it still may not be enough as someone more productive/luckier can steal your thunder anyway. Most guys will coast a fair bit. A lot of these players just don't care about being the best of the best or they simply lack the stamina and mental strength necessary to squeeze the most out of every night. They're happy where they are and they would rather have more interesting social life and good playoffs than sit on the top of the reg season scoring chart.

Funny enough Kovalev had a really good playoff career for someone with a reputation of not trying hard.

 

[authentic]

yup that’s his rep

but talentwise, he had the best of fellow russian enigmas kovalev (wrist shot, dangles) and zhamnov (vision, playmaking)… and more

Early career Mogilny was the closest thing I’ve seen to McDavid.

 

[Garl]

Yes, great talent, underachieved for majority of his career

 

[sr edler]

yup that’s his rep

but talentwise, he had the best of fellow russian enigmas kovalev (wrist shot, dangles) and zhamnov (vision, playmaking)… and more

Is Zhamnov considered an enigma?

 

[sr edler]

Even if he was good in the playoffs, it was never really as the main guy on his team. Early NYR is self-explanatory but even in Montreal he was outshone in the post-season by one Saku Koivu. Main reason for this obviously being that he couldn't drive play properly over multiple zones.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Is Zhamnov considered an enigma?

in my memory yes

like kovalev, i think the reality is the very impressive eye test rating didn’t match the player’s actual impact on the game. but both guys were also streaky and got into grooves where they looked like legit top five scorers.

and then zhamnov had the added baggage if always getting injured when he got on a roll.

fwiw, if you google zhamnov and enigma you get this—

“Then there's Alexei Zhamnov, an enigma if ever there was one. Zhamnov has all the talent in the world, but he only had 23 goals last year, a statistic he should reach with one hand behind his back. With a contract looming in the summer, look for Zhamnov to pick it up markedly this season.”

 

[Stephen]

Wasn’t Alexei Zhamnov also a heavy smoker? Maybe it just boiled down to cardiovascular health…

 

[Staniowski]

Zhamnov and Kovalev both had some top skills, but, all things considered, they were both a bit lacking in some areas, and weren't really capable of the level of (to compare to other Russian forwards of their generation) Fedorov, Bure, or Mogilny, and it was easy to see if they shared the same ice.

 

[daver]

Not sure, probably depends on your opinion on his signature highlight:



One of my favourite plays of all-time.

 

[CHGoalie27]

Sadly misunderstood player.
Spent most of his career having to dumb it down being stuck with lesser.
Straka and Lang weren't hall of famers, but because they were of utmost competence- Kovalev was able to be himself and they were one of the best lines I'll ever have seen.
No offense to Harry York and Bill Berg, but Kovalev appeared "lazy" next to them in NY.

Then there was the knee problem.

Man, what if he played for Detroit? With Federov and then Datsyuk? And perhaps Kovy would be the best of all in that scenario, who knows.

Cheers to those who get it.

 

[Albatros]

Why did Kovalev underachieve so much with the Rangers but was great everywhere else??

That video game addiction definitely played a role.

 

[Michael Farkas]

That video game addiction definitely played a role.

Kovalev? I've never heard that one before. They took away his copy of GoldenEye 007 for N64 in the 2000 offseason I guess...?

 

[Albatros]

Kovalev? I've never heard that one before. They took away his copy of GoldenEye 007 for N64 in the 2000 offseason I guess...?

"When I came to the NHL, I was a maniac. I had a Super Nintendo with the cartridges you were always changing. I had—and I’m not lying—about 35 or 40 games lying around the floor. When I woke up in the morning, I’d have breakfast while playing a game. Sometimes I’d be late for practice just to finish a level. After practice, I’d play again for 5-6 hours, get something to eat, and then play again sometimes late into the night. It was really bad. It got to the point where it was affecting my game. Not sleeping, I’d forget things I needed to do on the ice. It was almost like you were going brain dead, and couldn’t remember what you usually do. At first, I thought maybe I was tired and needed to get more sleep. Then I realized sitting on the bench, I’d sometimes think about the game on the computer and not the hockey game. That’s when I realized it was going in the wrong direction. At one point, I came home, unplugged it and threw it away. I didn’t touch it at all until my kids were born."

ONE-ON-ONE WITH ALEX KOVALEV — The Caviar Diplomat

A version of this article first appeared as the cover story of Спорт-Экспресс under the title, “‘Я зол на Крикунова. Вообще не уважаю его’. Интервью-бомба Алексея Ковалева.”

www.thecaviardiplomat.com

 

[JianYang]

Sadly misunderstood player.
Spent most of his career having to dumb it down being stuck with lesser.
Straka and Lang weren't hall of famers, but because they were of utmost competence- Kovalev was able to be himself and they were one of the best lines I'll ever have seen.
No offense to Harry York and Bill Berg, but Kovalev appeared "lazy" next to them in NY.

Then there was the knee problem.

Man, what if he played for Detroit? With Federov and then Datsyuk? And perhaps Kovy would be the best of all in that scenario, who knows.

Cheers to those who get it.

What people see as laziness, i think it was more about him losing losing his inspiration. Whether it was because of friction with a coach's mindset or whatever else.

You got the best out of kovalev when he was given a blank canvas and he was given the freedom to paint whatever.

When he was inspired, it was pretty much impossible to knock him off the puck. If he wasn't crossing a player up, he would be using his size to shield the puck away from defenders.

An absolute treat to watch, and a very unique skillet.

 

[CHGoalie27]

What people see as laziness, i think it was more about him losing losing his inspiration. Whether it was because of friction with a coach's mindset or whatever else.

You got the best out of kovalev when he was given a blank canvas and he was given the freedom to paint whatever.

When he was inspired, it was pretty much impossible to knock him off the puck. If he wasn't crossing a player up, he would be using his size to shield the puck away from defenders.

An absolute treat to watch, and a very unique skillet.

I suppose people are disappointed he didn't put on the one man show every time he stepped on the ice, but its easy to forget he grew up in that soviet system that was still very team oriented and cycle based. And that logic and reasoning simply doesn't mix with the straight forward North American style he was often forced into.
Except with Messier, only North American style player that i can remember doing him any justice.

Also Plekanec/Kostitsyn and Straka/Lang were just really the best translators for the hybrid game, and not for nothin.

 

[authentic]

Zhamnov and Kovalev both had some top skills, but, all things considered, they were both a bit lacking in some areas, and weren't really capable of the level of (to compare to other Russian forwards of their generation) Fedorov, Bure, or Mogilny, and it was easy to see if they shared the same ice.

Doesn’t Kovalev have better playoff stats than Mogilny though?

 

[authentic]

"When I came to the NHL, I was a maniac. I had a Super Nintendo with the cartridges you were always changing. I had—and I’m not lying—about 35 or 40 games lying around the floor. When I woke up in the morning, I’d have breakfast while playing a game. Sometimes I’d be late for practice just to finish a level. After practice, I’d play again for 5-6 hours, get something to eat, and then play again sometimes late into the night. It was really bad. It got to the point where it was affecting my game. Not sleeping, I’d forget things I needed to do on the ice. It was almost like you were going brain dead, and couldn’t remember what you usually do. At first, I thought maybe I was tired and needed to get more sleep. Then I realized sitting on the bench, I’d sometimes think about the game on the computer and not the hockey game. That’s when I realized it was going in the wrong direction. At one point, I came home, unplugged it and threw it away. I didn’t touch it at all until my kids were born."

ONE-ON-ONE WITH ALEX KOVALEV — The Caviar Diplomat

A version of this article first appeared as the cover story of Спорт-Экспресс under the title, “‘Я зол на Крикунова. Вообще не уважаю его’. Интервью-бомба Алексея Ковалева.”

www.thecaviardiplomat.com

This dude was a pilot who was obsessed with Super Nintendo, just makes me love him even more.

 

[MadLuke]

You got the best out of kovalev when he was given a blank canvas and he was given the freedom to paint whatever.

Some pundit in MTL when he signed for the Sens started to call him, the Picasso of the canal Rideau...

 

[JianYang]

I suppose people arepointed he didn't put on the one man show every time he stepped on the ice, but its easy to forget he grew up in that soviet system that was still very team oriented and cycle based. And that logic and reasoning simply doesn't mix with the straight forward North American style he was often forced into.
Except with Messier, only North American style player that i can remember doing him any justice.

Also Plekanec/Kostitsyn and Straka/Lang were just really the best translators for the hybrid game, and not for nothin.

He was deadly on the powerplay that year too . His linemates were completely different on the PP. Him and Andrei markov were brilliant together.

 

[The Panther]

I remember watching the Messier-Rangers'-94 game vs. New Jersey (game six) and thinking that Kovalev was the best player on the ice that night...

The video-game problem (above) is probably typical of more high-end players than we realize. I don't mean video-games specifically, but just that many players lack the ability to be 100% focused on hockey every night, every shift. Then, there are all sorts of off-ice distractions waiting to take their attention away from the game. Plus, the usual personal / financial problems that affect people.

Maybe Kovalev was a bit more easily distracted by off-ice stuff and other interests than some equally talented guys, and that's why we perceive him as a bit inconsistent (or even as an "under-achiever", though that's a hard judgement to make).

Hellza-talented player though, and often fun to watch!

 

[sr edler]

Doesn’t Kovalev have better playoff stats than Mogilny though?

Mogilny had a couple of strong playoff showings early on, with Buffalo in 92–93 and Van in 95–96, his teams just weren't strong enough and hence didn't advance far. 90s Mogilny played 37 playoff games and had 39 points, so not bad and PPG+. Kovalev in New York played 44 games and had 39 points, so fairly close-ish to Mogilny. Twilight 00s Mogilny was then incorporated as a piece on the Devils, where the bulk of his playoff games are derived from, I somehow doubt Kovalev would have scored more points or been a world beater on those defence-first Jersey teams.

Kovalev's early 00s playoff stats with Pittsburgh aren't even good outside of the first year. They're actually pretty putrid if you consider the o-talent he had to dance with there (and the opportunities?).

Zhamnov and Kovalev both had some top skills, but, all things considered, they were both a bit lacking in some areas, and weren't really capable of the level of (to compare to other Russian forwards of their generation) Fedorov, Bure, or Mogilny, and it was easy to see if they shared the same ice.

I wonder if the KLM line in the 80s and then the Mogilny, Fedorov & Bure trio just set unreasonable expectations and people got spoiled and expected every little wave of new Russian star forwards to be equally good. And then when Zhamnov, Yashin and Kovalev comes along shortly thereafter and aren't as good imaginations starts to run wild as to why, scrambling for excuses, finally ending up with too many SNES cartridges, while in reality skating and overall skillsets are staring you point blank in the face.

Was Kovalev really more of an overall talent than say Kamensky? Or a better player? At least Kamensky had injuries and the Iron Curtain to blame for missed NA time.

 

[Albatros]

Was Kamensky less of a talent than Mogilny & co.?

 

[sr edler]

Everyone was apparently equally talented as Mogilny & Co. but either suffered from chain smoking or video game addiction or other mysterious ailments.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Even if he was good in the playoffs, it was never really as the main guy on his team. Early NYR is self-explanatory but even in Montreal he was outshone in the post-season by one Saku Koivu. Main reason for this obviously being that he couldn't drive play properly over multiple zones.

In 2008 he was definitely the main guy in Montreal, including in the playoffs.

The proof of this is that as soon as Koivu was injured Carbonneau gave Kovalev the "C". Does this happen often that when the captain is injured, another player gets the "C" on his jersey? I honestly don't know but it feels unusual.

For a guy with supposed "attitude" problem, well he got to be captain of the most storied franchise. And I don't think Carbonneau is the type to give the captaincy to some lazy ass player. Carb never had any problem with Kovy, he said so repeatedly.

Kovalev was also known to be great and available with the fans.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Kovalev's abilities were such that he could outshine Lemieux & Jagr on a powerplay. Not many could say this.