Who are some of the smartest hockey players you have ever watched
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The big 3 goalies (Roy, Hasek, Brodeur) all had incredible hockey IQ. Add Eddie the Eagle to the list too. Just great anticipation of plays breaking in front of them, both in terms of the offense coming down and trying to score against them and helping out their own defensemen with great puck management, passing skills, and rebound control.
Hasek specifically had elite vision, some of the best we'll ever see. Yeah he had the athleticism of a gold medal gymnast and the spine of a slinky, but it was really his anticipation and situational awareness (even when literally standing on his head) that gave him the ability to pull off those miraculous saves.
Brodeur could envision a breakout as soon as the puck was on the opposing defenseman's stick behind the net. He could anticipate a dump and chase or chip and chase and play the puck accordingly, or square up to face a controlled zone entry while challenging the shooter just enough to not be caught flat footed by a quick pass or odd man rush. Really just an incredible mind for hockey and his position.
Hasek specifically had elite vision, some of the best we'll ever see. Yeah he had the athleticism of a gold medal gymnast and the spine of a slinky, but it was really his anticipation and situational awareness (even when literally standing on his head) that gave him the ability to pull off those miraculous saves.
Brodeur could envision a breakout as soon as the puck was on the opposing defenseman's stick behind the net. He could anticipate a dump and chase or chip and chase and play the puck accordingly, or square up to face a controlled zone entry while challenging the shooter just enough to not be caught flat footed by a quick pass or odd man rush. Really just an incredible mind for hockey and his position.
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Sedins always seemed to have some kind of mental tether in between them at all times, especially Henrik who always made ridiculous passes to Daniel (and others) as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
Datsyuk and Bergeron were almost always in the correct place at the correct time and anticipated the game super well both defensively and offensively. It was super noticeable defensively when they would seemingly effortlessly intercept a pass or go into the corner and come up with the puck as if they didn't need to fight for it at all. I see some of that with Marner on the PK too (and others) where they'll be at the point and just intercept a pass for a breakaway.
Crosby has had a lot of that as well, especially as he's gotten older. He isn't on the same level as Datsyuk or Bergeron were but he still makes ridiculous take aways and works pretty hard on the back check, I can't seem to find any footage of it but there was a play where he was against NYI i think, in the offensive zone without the puck, and he just intercepts the d-man's clearing pass right in front of him as if he's a venus fly trap catching his prey, dunno if he scored but the reflexes on that play (and in general) were just insane along with his awareness of his stick and where he needed to be.
Offensively Michkov and Eiserman have the greatest awareness I've ever seen in prospects, They both know exactly where to be and where to go to get the puck in the net, Michkov especially just uses everything on the ice to his advantage, spacing, speed, angles, it's like he's got another layer to his hockey sense that I've very rarely seen so consistently from anyone else.
Eiserman just has an incredible nose for the puck, obviously his shot is fantastic and NHL quality already but so many of his goals are just him picking up a rebound and wiring it in or getting garbage goals from the halfboards or into the slot. He has the potential in my mind to be one of the best goal scorers of all time if he develops properly.
Of course there are plenty of other guys like Kucherov who also have amazing offensive awareness but I haven't watched a lot of NHL recently so I wanted to highlight some guys I've seen either in the past or not in the NHL.
Datsyuk and Bergeron were almost always in the correct place at the correct time and anticipated the game super well both defensively and offensively. It was super noticeable defensively when they would seemingly effortlessly intercept a pass or go into the corner and come up with the puck as if they didn't need to fight for it at all. I see some of that with Marner on the PK too (and others) where they'll be at the point and just intercept a pass for a breakaway.
Crosby has had a lot of that as well, especially as he's gotten older. He isn't on the same level as Datsyuk or Bergeron were but he still makes ridiculous take aways and works pretty hard on the back check, I can't seem to find any footage of it but there was a play where he was against NYI i think, in the offensive zone without the puck, and he just intercepts the d-man's clearing pass right in front of him as if he's a venus fly trap catching his prey, dunno if he scored but the reflexes on that play (and in general) were just insane along with his awareness of his stick and where he needed to be.
Offensively Michkov and Eiserman have the greatest awareness I've ever seen in prospects, They both know exactly where to be and where to go to get the puck in the net, Michkov especially just uses everything on the ice to his advantage, spacing, speed, angles, it's like he's got another layer to his hockey sense that I've very rarely seen so consistently from anyone else.
Eiserman just has an incredible nose for the puck, obviously his shot is fantastic and NHL quality already but so many of his goals are just him picking up a rebound and wiring it in or getting garbage goals from the halfboards or into the slot. He has the potential in my mind to be one of the best goal scorers of all time if he develops properly.
Of course there are plenty of other guys like Kucherov who also have amazing offensive awareness but I haven't watched a lot of NHL recently so I wanted to highlight some guys I've seen either in the past or not in the NHL.
Patrice Bergeron. From the first day of his first training camp as a teenager I could see he was thinking the game at a whole different level.
Cursed Lemon
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I'm throwing in a dark horse for Patrick Kane. He does one thing extremely well which is use his puck handling skills to control the space around him. Take the following goal:
It might just look like a dude walking in and shooting but if you pay close attention, each shuffle of the stick is designed to prevent both Ottawa defenders from collapsing on him. They have to stay where they are because he's poised himself to both pass or shoot, while at the same time he continues to encroach on the goalie. He's done this his whole career and it's honestly pretty remarkable if you look into it.
It might just look like a dude walking in and shooting but if you pay close attention, each shuffle of the stick is designed to prevent both Ottawa defenders from collapsing on him. They have to stay where they are because he's poised himself to both pass or shoot, while at the same time he continues to encroach on the goalie. He's done this his whole career and it's honestly pretty remarkable if you look into it.
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Smart how? On the Leafs
Tavares is so smart with positioning he is able to produce by knowing where the puck is going because he knows he can't skate fast enough for the play
Matthews is smart with using defenders against their own team, using them to screen shots with his curl and drag shot and seemingly always being in the perfect spot for where the puck bounces
Marner is so smart in how he sees the play develop. Unreal IQ and vision, able to find guys and you wonder how.
3 different types of intelligence IMO. If someone had all 3 they are probably Greztky
Tavares is so smart with positioning he is able to produce by knowing where the puck is going because he knows he can't skate fast enough for the play
Matthews is smart with using defenders against their own team, using them to screen shots with his curl and drag shot and seemingly always being in the perfect spot for where the puck bounces
Marner is so smart in how he sees the play develop. Unreal IQ and vision, able to find guys and you wonder how.
3 different types of intelligence IMO. If someone had all 3 they are probably Greztky
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