Who are the greatest All Tools/No Toolbox players of all-time?

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Semin?

 

[trentmccleary]

You were a habs fan in the early 00s weren't you

Patrick Poulin, what an old name to remember ahah (on top of your username).I liked both these players btw.

Nah, Chicago fan when he was the main piece for Larmer and looked to be starting a productive career in those first 3 years.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Semin?

Semin had unbelievable hockey sense. He just didn't seem to fit in the world of professional hockey in general.

 

[vdB]

Kaigorodov

 

[Theokritos]

Toolbox half empty or only 3/4's full or whatever... means a players game is incomplete, that they missed out on a whole bunch of curriculum & classes or were asleep at the back of the class when they shouldve been paying attention. (...) So yes a metaphor for both lack of all-round skills/crafts & hockey sense...

I might be taking the metaphor too literally, but if we stick with it, the skills would be the tools that fill the box (or, if there is a lack of skill, leave half of the box empty). But the box itself would have to be something else. "All tools, no toolbox": no lack of skill, in fact enough to fill any box ... but unfortunately, the hockey sense required to make good use of the tools is missing.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Semin had unbelievable hockey sense. He just didn't seem to fit in the world of professional hockey in general.

Yeah, Semin was smart as all get out for sure. He could really play, it's too bad it didn't work out better...

 

[McGuillicuddy]

I'm still unclear on the intended definition of this. When I read the title it brought to mind somebody who possesses superior hockey skills (e.g. skating, shot, puck-handling, whatever) but an inability to apply them in-game. That is the total is less than the sum of their parts. These guys are great in EA NHL video games but not so good in real life. For these I am thinking of guys like Rob Schremp, Nail Yakupov, Rico Fata.

Alternative definition is guys that had the ability to put it together if they wanted to but didn't have the mental makeup/drive to do it consistently. These would be guys like Pierre Larouche, Alexei Kovalev. Even Jagr I feel has a touch of this in him as he left some on the table through his pouting Washington years (which I have yet to have explained to me).

 

[Canadiens1958]

Others

Ron Flockhart
Perry Turnbull
Eddie Shack
Gilbert Delorme

 

[Michael Farkas]

It's hockey sense related for me, not drive. At least that's my interpretation...the guys who have skill, but don't have the anticipation to really take it to the next level, they don't learn from their mistakes on the rink, they're not highly adaptable...

Evander Kane does the same thing every time he goes down the rink...tunnel vision, skates as fast as he can, shoots as hard as he can and then runs into the d-man that's closest to him to constitute a "physical" play...

These players often have their best seasons in the first year or two or even three of their career and then never can reach that level again because they can't adjust and/or have been figured out by the opposition...

 

[Killion]

It's hockey sense related for me, not drive. At least that's my interpretation...the guys who have skill, but don't have the anticipation to really take it to the next level, they don't learn from their mistakes on the rink, they're not highly adaptable...

Yeah, this a decent explanation. No understanding that with cause comes effect, no critical thought. One dimensional in that they continue to make the same mistakes over & over & over again, thus easily read by a more astute opponent. And... as hockey is really a game of mistakes & he who makes the fewest, if facing a limited player/team, force the weak links to play the puck (like on a dump-in to the weaker side of Defence) and be patient, conserve your energy a bit, just wait for them to predictably repeat their patterns of errors and when they do, as surely as the Sun rises in the east, you'll put them away.... provided of course you have a savvy bench boss, none too many Neanderthals on your own team.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Jack Johnson is another one though he's put it together a bit more in recent years. Guy has every skill in the book and I always watched him wanting more.

 

[Big Phil]

Okay, I am thinking about it a bit more with Ovechkin. Maybe he fits in there a bit. It's been 6 years since he had more than 28 assists. Strange, his first 6 years in the NHL he never had worse than 46 assists. Since then...........28 twice. His goals have stayed more or less the same. So if he is included on here would it be a knock about his hockey sense?

 

[BackToTheBasics]

Okay, I am thinking about it a bit more with Ovechkin. Maybe he fits in there a bit. It's been 6 years since he had more than 28 assists. Strange, his first 6 years in the NHL he never had worse than 46 assists. Since then...........28 twice. His goals have stayed more or less the same. So if he is included on here would it be a knock about his hockey sense?

If you watched the game yesterday, I'm sure you saw the wide open net that Ovechkin set up for Backstrom and he blew it. That's how the last few years have been going for Ovechkin in a nutshell. The Capitals power play is also set up specifically for Ovechkin to be the finisher rather than the play-maker whereas in the past, it would run through both Backstrom and Ovechkin equally. This is evidenced by his clear decline in power play assists in comparison to his prime/peak years. From 2005-2011, he was averaging 20-30 assists on the PP per season. Since then, he's averaged ~10 assists per season on the PP. His assist production has also declined at ES but not to the extent of his PP production.

I also fail to understand how a player can possibly lead the league in goals for 6 seasons with such poor hockey sense. Has he just been lucky all these years or is there some sort of secret?

 

[Ishdul]

I always thought the proverbial missing "toolbox" was strictly a metaphor for the lack of hockey sense, not for a lack of motivation or effort. But I might be wrong.

That's usually what it boils down to, but theoretically it could be any reason that prevents a highly skilled player from reaching stardom.

 

[kmad]

Ed Jovanovski

 

[Ishdul]

Okay, I am thinking about it a bit more with Ovechkin. Maybe he fits in there a bit. It's been 6 years since he had more than 28 assists. Strange, his first 6 years in the NHL he never had worse than 46 assists. Since then...........28 twice. His goals have stayed more or less the same. So if he is included on here would it be a knock about his hockey sense?

To me it's a ridiculous thought. His ability to get open for one timers even when the other team knows it's coming is as good as anyone, and that's Hockey Sense 101. And you'd still have to ignore him having 3 seasons where he was top 10 in assists despite him being well on the finisher side of the spectrum.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Vladimir Krutov just had a lunchbox.

haha good one, i'mgoingto have to steal that line.

chris gratton comes immediately to mind.

 

[Matsun]

I've seen people argue that Kovalchuk has a better shot, is a better skater, is a better stickhandler and has a better two-way game than Ovechkin, the fact that he was ''only'' a 2 time all star in 11 seasons with all those tools might make him more qualified for this thread more than Ovechkin.

 

[SatanwasaSlovak]

Maxim Afinegenov, all speed and stick-handling, **** hockey-iq and hands. Useless at anything else and was a very frustrating player to see or have on your team as you could see him tearing up a whole defence like he was Mario Lemiuex once in a while.

Martin Straka, all speed.

 

[gifted88]

Chad Kilger was first in my head, so I'll echo him.

Chuck Kobasew comes to mind too.

 

[sr edler]

I'm still unclear on the intended definition of this. When I read the title it brought to mind somebody who possesses superior hockey skills (e.g. skating, shot, puck-handling, whatever) but an inability to apply them in-game. That is the total is less than the sum of their parts. These guys are great in EA NHL video games but not so good in real life. For these I am thinking of guys like Rob Schremp, Nail Yakupov, Rico Fata.

Alternative definition is guys that had the ability to put it together if they wanted to but didn't have the mental makeup/drive to do it consistently. These would be guys like Pierre Larouche, Alexei Kovalev. Even Jagr I feel has a touch of this in him as he left some on the table through his pouting Washington years (which I have yet to have explained to me).

It's the first one.

 

[double5son10]

Ron Flockhart
Perry Turnbull
Eddie Shack
Gilbert Delorme

First name that came my mind.

 

[BraveCanadian]

I might be taking the metaphor too literally, but if we stick with it, the skills would be the tools that fill the box (or, if there is a lack of skill, leave half of the box empty). But the box itself would have to be something else. "All tools, no toolbox": no lack of skill, in fact enough to fill any box ... but unfortunately, the hockey sense required to make good use of the tools is missing.

IMO The toolbox is putting all the tools together.

Iafrate is a good example even though he had some good seasons.

He had all the physical tools but just could never put it together in a sustained way. Looking at his individual skills and size you'd assume he'd have done much more.

 

[Killion]

IMO The toolbox is putting all the tools together.

Iafrate is a good example even though he had some good seasons.

He had all the physical tools but just could never put it together in a sustained way. Looking at his individual skills and size you'd assume he'd have done much more.

... yeah, unfair to say "the elevator didnt go all the way to top the floor" with that guy as he was bright enough, just that he seemed miles away, concerned with other things rather than being totally focused at all times. Mind wandered resulting in inconsistent play which most assuredly frustrated his teammates, Coaches & fans. Very strange guy... purportedly showered post game with his helmet on as he was overly self conscious about his premature hair loss which may well have fallen out as a result of nerves rather than any inherited genetic disposition. Off-ice problems with his 1st wife & so on. Then mid-career after he'd left Toronto, almost laissez faire. Off the wall.... yes.... Ive theorized that Wild Thing quite possibly the illegitimate Love Child of Frank Zappa & Grace Slick.... about the ony thing that might explain huh BC? Bit of a family resemblance... fit right in with Moon Unit & Dweezil.

 

[Habsfunk]

How about Rob Schremp? Pretty much all he was good for was scoring fancy shootout goals.