What's the one attribute that most translates to NHL success?

[Indrid Cold]

I have a feeling the group will be more divided on this than one would think.

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[nbwingsfan]

As a forward speed will at least get you to the NHL.

As a D, size and shot blocking will get you some NHL games

If you want to be elite, it’s always hockey IQ. How you measure that, I have no idea

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

I'd break it into two things:

1. You need to achieve a bare minimum in ability across multiple dimensions (skating, size, shot, stick handling, etc). If any of these things are not NHL caliber than your chances of making the league are very slim, and you probably need to be exceptional in some other dimension to make up for it (e.g. Jared Spurgeon can overcome his size)

2. Game processing ability / hockey IQ. If you have NHL caliber skills, can you keep up with the speed of the game? Can you keep up with the offensive wizardry/improvisation that the best in the world do every night to generate scoring chances? Can you be a part in creating or suppressing those chances, by being in the right place and making the right decisions?

 

[Faceboner]

Iq and a high end work ethic

 

[ottawah]

Simply put, points are the best barometer. But it only goes one way. You pretty much need to be an offensive star at Junior (Europe can be hard to gauge) to become an NHL player, but also being an offensive star does not guarantee you an NHL job.

Teams will always fall in love with role players, but they pretty much never make the NHL. Griffin Reinhart, Sam Morin, Senyshyn, McIllraith, etc.

Go to any draft year, pick out the first round failures, and quite often they showed limited offensive ability.

But all in all its lets about offense than overall play. To be an NHL you have to be near elite compared to your peers at 18 in many categories. To be even mediocre in the NHL you need far above average speed and IQ compared your peers at 17, and if you are far above them in those skills, combined with facing goalies with an NHL shot 10% of the time, you should be filling the net even if you are not going to be offensive at the next level.

Points at the levels before the draft are not a guarantee of being an NHLer, but if you cannot be an high end offensive player at that level, you likely do not have the toolbox to play at the NHL level.

 

[Craig Ludwig]

I once had a conversation with a guy who played one game for the Rangers. He told me that anyone who actually makes it to the NHL is uber talented, the top 0.01%, and he said he had the talent. He said the biggest difference in making it a career and only playing a game or two was killer instinct, the absolute will to want to kill it every single shift, and do absolutely anything to win. He told me it's another gear that most people, including him and most others who finally make it to the show, don't have. It's not something you can train for, it's a mental level that you are inherently born with. I thought that was very insightful.

 

[I am Bettman]

I once had a conversation with a guy who played one game for the Rangers. He told me that anyone who actually makes it to the NHL is uber talented, the top 0.01%, and he said he had the talent. He said the biggest difference in making it a career and only playing a game or two was killer instinct, the absolute will to want to kill it every single shift, and do absolutely anything to win. He told me it's another gear that most people, including him and most others who finally make it to the show, don't have. It's not something you can train for, it's a mental level that you are inherently born with. I thought that was very insightful.

Yeah I know a guy who played a couple games for Minnesota and had a long career in Europe and the AHL. Said the biggest difference was the insane speed of everybody’s hands and passing at the nhl level. Perfectly placed saucers at the speed of a wrist shot in the blink of an eye.

 

[HabzSauce]

Grit, character and respek

 

[Slats432]

There isn't one.

There are guys who skate really well who make it. There are guys that don't skate really well.
There are guys with great IQ, but those who don't.
There are guys with great puck skill, and others that don't.

I believe though, the one key ingredient you need is work ethic. Nowadays, if you don't train your butt off in the in the offseason, or work hard in practice (Phil Kessel notwithstanding) you have very little chance.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Work ethic/discipline/passion.

 

[Jared Dunn]

As broad as it may be I'd say probably hockey sense, even the dumbest guys in the league are processing it at a very high level

 

[HeadLiceHatty]

Hockey IQ or a feel for the game you can’t teach, you either have it or you dont, some better than others of course. The willingness to work hard to improve weaknesses.

 

[lawrence]

there is no one attribute. a player need a combination of multiple attributes and that's still hard to judge.

 

[OrrNumber4]

I'd have to say it's character/work ethic. Obviously, some players are so talented that they can become NHL talents out of the box. But for most prospects, in most places and most times, the willingness to listen to the experts, work on your flaws, and modify your game is the important factor.

I'll add that even for the preternaturally talented, that factor is what separates stars from good players and good players from journeymen.

 

[wetcoast]

Simply put, points are the best barometer. But it only goes one way. You pretty much need to be an offensive star at Junior (Europe can be hard to gauge) to become an NHL player, but also being an offensive star does not guarantee you an NHL job.

Teams will always fall in love with role players, but they pretty much never make the NHL. Griffin Reinhart, Sam Morin, Senyshyn, McIllraith, etc.

Go to any draft year, pick out the first round failures, and quite often they showed limited offensive ability.

But all in all its lets about offense than overall play. To be an NHL you have to be near elite compared to your peers at 18 in many categories. To be even mediocre in the NHL you need far above average speed and IQ compared your peers at 17, and if you are far above them in those skills, combined with facing goalies with an NHL shot 10% of the time, you should be filling the net even if you are not going to be offensive at the next level.

Points at the levels before the draft are not a guarantee of being an NHLer, but if you cannot be an high end offensive player at that level, you likely do not have the toolbox to play at the NHL level.

This is a fair assessment given the OP is asking for the one attribute but the reality is that it's a combination of things much like this poster states so well.

I'd break it into two things:

1. You need to achieve a bare minimum in ability across multiple dimensions (skating, size, shot, stick handling, etc). If any of these things are not NHL caliber than your chances of making the league are very slim, and you probably need to be exceptional in some other dimension to make up for it (e.g. Jared Spurgeon can overcome his size)

2. Game processing ability / hockey IQ. If you have NHL caliber skills, can you keep up with the speed of the game? Can you keep up with the offensive wizardry/improvisation that the best in the world do every night to generate scoring chances? Can you be a part in creating or suppressing those chances, by being in the right place and making the right decisions?

The reality is that even if a prospect has a top 1% shot, if the rest of his skills don't have at least an NHL baseline, then it doesn't matter.

 

[Trojans86]

As a forward speed will at least get you to the NHL.

As a D, size and shot blocking will get you some NHL games

If you want to be elite, it’s always hockey IQ. How you measure that, I have no idea

The answer is definitely not shot blocking. Skating is number one for both F and D, followed by iq and skill

 

[nbwingsfan]

The answer is definitely not shot blocking. Skating is number one for both F and D, followed by iq and skill

Tell that to Derek Forbert or Hal Gill who both skate in molasses

 

[Henkka]

Not being stupid as a hockey player.

So the only answer is - Hockey IQ.

 

[Craig Ludwig]

Yeah I know a guy who played a couple games for Minnesota and had a long career in Europe and the AHL. Said the biggest difference was the insane speed of everybody’s hands and passing at the nhl level. Perfectly placed saucers at the speed of a wrist shot in the blink of an eye.

So true, that was the other thing he said, at the time Jagr was on the Rangers and would get a bit ticked when the passes were not tape to tape in practice. He was always a bit nervous he would miss his passes in practice. He said the absolute accuracy of the tape to tape passes with these guys was sick.

 

[shaner8989]

IQ, work ethic and determination

All these kids can skate, shoot, pass etc. The above mentioned will separate you from the pack.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

I once had a conversation with a guy who played one game for the Rangers. He told me that anyone who actually makes it to the NHL is uber talented, the top 0.01%, and he said he had the talent. He said the biggest difference in making it a career and only playing a game or two was killer instinct, the absolute will to want to kill it every single shift, and do absolutely anything to win. He told me it's another gear that most people, including him and most others who finally make it to the show, don't have. It's not something you can train for, it's a mental level that you are inherently born with. I thought that was very insightful.

Eh, obviously I gotta respect his insight/perspective, but I’d also say it’s still one perspective, and might just look that way to him- like he realized he’d have to really dial it in and play perfectly every game to even have a shot, and from there you just assume that’s the difference. I do think the nhl has moved in that direction, but there’s also gonna be .0001%ers who it’s a bit easier for, y’know? Honestly might be part of the difference with top draft picks. Like- I think Zibby is real talented, but the game coming naturally to him might explain his delayed progression, and he still doesn’t exactly look dialed in every game. Just an example- I think talent and focus are both major variables.

In support of his take, though- I think of a guy like Bryson, who played with his hair on fire his first 30 games, simply can’t sustain that level of intensity. He’s too small for his job and not quite good enough to make up for it, he knows he’ll get hurt if he takes big hits, and now he just isn’t effective. Olofsson- similar on a longer time scale. They’re guys with weaknesses that put ‘em in the camp your dude was talking about, but if they were marginally better they’d be mid-line multi-millionaires. So- fine mix between talent/luck and desire, is what I’m long-windedly saying.

Oh, except it’s really intangibles, everyone knows that.

 

[Craig Ludwig]

Eh, obviously I gotta respect his insight/perspective, but I’d also say it’s still one perspective, and might just look that way to him- like he realized he’d have to really dial it in and play perfectly every game to even have a shot, and from there you just assume that’s the difference. I do think the nhl has moved in that direction, but there’s also gonna be .0001%ers who it’s a bit easier for, y’know? Honestly might be part of the difference with top draft picks. Like- I think Zibby is real talented, but the game coming naturally to him might explain his delayed progression, and he still doesn’t exactly look dialed in every game. Just an example- I think talent and focus are both major variables.

In support of his take, though- I think of a guy like Bryson, who played with his hair on fire his first 30 games, simply can’t sustain that level of intensity. He’s too small for his job and not quite good enough to make up for it, he knows he’ll get hurt if he takes big hits, and now he just isn’t effective. Olofsson- similar on a longer time scale. They’re guys with weaknesses that put ‘em in the camp your dude was talking about, but if they were marginally better they’d be mid-line multi-millionaires. So- fine mix between talent/luck and desire, is what I’m long-windedly saying.

Oh, except it’s really intangibles, everyone knows that.

Yeah I guess it can be construed as the fine line between making it on the 3rd/4th line for 10 years in the NHL versus not making it for more than a cup of coffee. The Ovechkins, Crosbys, MacKinnons and McDavids would make it no matter what, but that extra edge puts them right at the top.

 

[Cake Eater]

Skating and hockey IQ

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Skating and work ethic.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Puck battle success rates on the forecheck