What player today is most comparable to Adam Graves? | HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League
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What player today is most comparable to Adam Graves?

Crease

Crease

Chief Justice of the HFNYR Court
Jul 12, 2004
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Can be any player league-wide. Wondering how much my perception of him is influenced by nostalgia and his great chemistry with Messier.
 
not that i am happy to pick this guy, but first best match is
Jason Chimera -
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=29188

played a more physical game when he was younger,
while not a big scorer, he always pitched in,
and was clutch in big games

every single NHL Playoff season he appears in, he has points

but i hope to come up with someone better
 
cwede said:
not that i am happy to pick this guy, but first best match is
Jason Chimera -
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=29188

played a more physical game when he was younger,
while not a big scorer, he always pitched in,
and was clutch in big games

every single NHL Playoff season he appears in, he has points

but i hope to come up with someone better
Click to expand...

That's a comparison that's very disrespectful to Adam graves.
 
Joe Pavelski.

Prime Andrew Ladd and David Backes. Ryan Kesler. Though the latter two were centers they play a game very similar to Graves.

Callahan is probably the only recent Ranger who I feel comfortable making that comparison. Callahan prior to the lockout at least . Not sure what happened to him after.
 
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As a Pens fan, gotta say Patric Hornqvist. Much like Adam Graves, he's an undersized power forward that just can't be pushed off once he establishes the tripod stance in front of the opposing team's net. That was the part of Graves's game that impressed me the most in my youth hockey days, and I must say it did give me an advantage in spite of my lack of size.
 
DoobeeDoobeeDoo said:
As a Pens fan, gotta say Patric Hornqvist. Much like Adam Graves, he's an undersized power forward that just can't be pushed off once he establishes the tripod stance in front of the opposing team's net. That was the part of Graves's game that impressed me the most in my youth hockey days, and I must say it did give me an advantage in spite of my lack of size.
Click to expand...

Good call. Hornqvist is a hell of a player.

Always flew under the radar in Nashville with the quietest 30 goal/4 straight 20 goal seasons. Good to see him finally get his due in Pittsburgh.
 
Shane Doan would be one guy who comes to mind. Graves was a PF--all around player and a goal scorer. He killed penalties. He was also a mean, angry player. He went to the front of the net and into the corners and he was always battling for territory. He hit a lot and he would go out of his way if he thought one of his teammates got cheap shot to pay the cheap shot guy back--which could mean going right after him and dropping the gloves and fighting him--though when that wasn't available he was quite capable of doing his own cheap shot. Do something dirty to a Rangers player--and Graves was on the ice--there was a fight or there was some payback that oftentimes went further. He was the ultimate teammate.

Anyway I chose Doan because he's always been a hard as nails player with offensive/goal scoring ability. Not a player you want to fool around with. Chimera doesn't cut it because he's never ever been a first line quality player and he's not really a guy who looks for payback. Dustin Brown hits a lot but his gloves are cemented on. Backes and Ladd aren't bad--they're more like Adam Graves-lite. Hornqvist goes to the net like Graves and has great hands and loves physical play but he don't have nearly the edge.
 
JT Kreider said:
Good call. Hornqvist is a hell of a player.

Always flew under the radar in Nashville with the quietest 30 goal/4 straight 20 goal seasons. Good to see him finally get his due in Pittsburgh.
Click to expand...

Thank you, as was Graves. Although he was more than just the tripod stance in front of the net, that aspect of his game made the greatest impression on me while I was developing my hockey skills. It was the first time I recall thinking about physics and applying it to sports.
 
cwede said:
not that i am happy to pick this guy, but first best match is
Jason Chimera -
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=29188

played a more physical game when he was younger,
while not a big scorer, he always pitched in,
and was clutch in big games

every single NHL Playoff season he appears in, he has points

but i hope to come up with someone better
Click to expand...

Graves was more of an impact player than Chimera. Chimeras has more size and also is faster than Graves ever was, but Graves was a far better player than Chimera ever was.

Graves' game was largely being a bull in front of the net, basically immovable. Tons of deflection and rebound goals for Graves. Average speed, average hands and puck skills but had a knack for being in the right place and making great power forward plays and he just had a great nose for the net.


Hornqvist is an interesting comparison, we know first hand what a bull Hornqvist is in front of the net for D to handle. Though I think Graves was closer to a prototypical power forward than Hornqvist is but that is also probably a byproduct of the eras they play in.

Ladd is another comparison I agree with. He even skates and plays the game North/South in a way that reminds me of Graves.

I actually think Lucic plays a similar game to Graves and has the mean streak, he's like a modern hockey "Hulk'ed up" version of Graves.
 
I cant think of one off hand but most of these responses are kinda odd..Graves was old school and first and foremost his job was to protect Messier and any other Ranger yet he was no heavy weight he also wasnt a pure goal scorer yet scored 54 one year...He is a tough guy to try to compare because they dont make them like Graves anymore....I would say a splash of Tim Kerr who scored ugly goals a splash of George McPhee who backed down from nobody and give him Callys heart
 
Glen Sathers Cigar said:
Graves was more of an impact player than Chimera. Chimeras has more size and also is faster than Graves ever was, but Graves was a far better player than Chimera ever was.

Graves' game was largely being a bull in front of the net, basically immovable. Tons of deflection and rebound goals for Graves. Average speed, average hands and puck skills but had a knack for being in the right place and making great power forward plays and he just had a great nose for the net.


Hornqvist is an interesting comparison, we know first hand what a bull Hornqvist is in front of the net for D to handle. Though I think Graves was closer to a prototypical power forward than Hornqvist is but that is also probably a byproduct of the eras they play in.

Ladd is another comparison I agree with. He even skates and plays the game North/South in a way that reminds me of Graves.

I actually think Lucic plays a similar game to Graves and has the mean streak, he's like a modern hockey "Hulk'ed up" version of Graves.
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Reason I compare Hornqvist to Graves is because of their way of getting to the net (with agility instead of brute stregnth) and their way of establishing position in front of the net (with technique instead of brute strength). I find them both to be role models to undersized players that want to establish presence in front of the other team's net.

Lucic is a good comparison as well. Both are probably the best power forwards of their eras, but I think their approach might be different.
 
I'm thinking Max Pacioretty.

Leader, physical player, scores a lot of dirty goals, underrated skill.

Underrated skill is a big one with Graves, for me. You don't score 52 goals being just a "heart and soul" grinder.
 
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Machinehead said:
I'm thinking Max Pacioretty.

Leader, physical player, scores a lot of dirty goals, underrated skill.

Underrated skill is a big one with Graves, for me. You don't score 52 goals being just a "heart and soul" grinder.
Click to expand...

I think that's a very good comparison. When I think of Adam Graves I think "unassuming power forward" & Max Pacioretty fits that description very well.
 
Nice how you guys make these threads about Rangers history. This along with the Messier thread and 1970s thread are very interesting to participate in. Not only does it give you a chance to reflect, but it also gives you an opportunity to gain perspective. We don't do that so much on a lot of the other team forums, so I think it makes this forum very unique in the whole HFB universe.
 
Closest now comparison would be Milan Lucic.FWIW, Lucic doesn't possess the same mean streak as Adam Graves.

I agree, the nostalgic threads are great because we all have our different perspectives of the past and now present Ranger teams. I am 34 year old Ranger fan, started the love/hate relationship at 8, in 1990. I consider myself a bit spoiled for not having endured the agony generations had before me. It is always a great read to me, whenever you guys post your memories of the great 70's teams. I have all the respect in the world for you guys who have stuck with this team through it all. It has been 22 years (as we know) I can't imagine what 94 meant to you.

The best memories I have of the early 90's era are Graves' tripod stance and the cuts on his face, the amazing Brian Leetch, the contortions of Mike Richter, the glare of our captain Mark Messier, the Alexei Kovalev stick handle at the blue line, and the amazing calls of Howie Rose.

Thanks for the great topics, Crease!!!! Keep them coming!!!
 
I thought about Lucic and I thought about Simmonds. I still like Doan better. Pacioretty--no way. There's no meanness there. He's more like a guy who will take a hit--not give a hit and Pacioretty is more slick and skilled. He almost never fights.

Lucic is a bigger, stronger, meaner version of Graves--has played in a kind of first line role but not always. One of the things with Lucic is he's never been all that consistent. He goes into long scoring slumps--stops leaning on people. Graves game was much more consistent both scoring and hitting--defendidng teammates. Lucic hits harder. He can really bury people. Lucic when he fights seems more the heavyweight than Graves---though Graves beat some guys who were heavyweights in his day.

Simmonds is a little bit closer than Lucic IMO. Continually lurking around and battling in front of the net. Very nasty edge. A more consistent offensive producer than Lucic and great on the power play.

Neither of these guys is quite an all situations player. Graves was an excellent penalty killer. Not really something that Lucic, Simmonds or Pacioretty do. Graves was a better leader on the ice than any of them.
 
Adam Graves IMO was a more complete and consistent player than any of those listed above. He was effective even when he was in a scoring slump because he kept on hitting, kept on going to the net, kept on being an excellent penalty killer and kept on defending his teammates. His slumps didn't tend to last all that long.

He wasn't a great skater--maybe a little better than average and as he got older he slowed down. Some of that had to do with injuries. He was constantly fighting for territory in front of the opposition net and in the corners and back in his day a defenseman could go to town with hacking and whacking and slew footing and crosschecking and Graves wasn't a huge guy. Determination, consistency, grit, leadership, an all situations type player who could score and was a legit 1st line player.
 
I first thought of Lucic and Marchand as comparables in terms of being those guys you hate to play against. Lucic might be a better one. Pacioretty might be similar in some facets of his game, but he lacks that mean streak.

Callahan might be apt as a Ranger comparable, but Graves had much more of a mean streak and better scoring ability.
 
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