Who was faster in their prime Ovi or Sid?

[Golden_Jet]

OV for the straight line speed,
Crosby a better skater overall.

 

[Evergreen]

I think Ovy in his first couple seasons was faster than Sid ever was. He just had such powerful strides. But he has slowed down more significantly, whereas Crosby has maintained more of his speed over the years. Crosby has always been a better skater overall. His edgework is far superior.

 

[DukeDog13]

No one seems to remember how explosive prime Ovi was. He had better acceleration and top end speed. Didn't last too long though so Sid definitely wins for better speed throughout their careers but at his peak, Ovi was definitely the stand out.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Did they never go head to head in the skills competition? If not, that was a missed opportunity.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

Both of these players are great skaters. You would not say that either of them are really known for scoring off the rush like a McDavid or Bure. They dominated with other skills, so I'd say there's not much to choose between the two in this category.

 

[Acallabeth]

Young Ovechkin was faster in games than Crosby, mainly because his burst was incredible (I don't know about top speed or lap speed, Crosby's so smooth he may very well be ahead, but Ovechkin's acceleration was clearly better). People seem to forget he wasn't always 235+ lbs and didn't always look like a running fridge.

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I don't trust this graph. 'MacDavid' below Tavares seems egregious.

Did they never go head to head in the skills competition? If not, that was a missed opportunity.

Ovechkin participated in fastest skater competition a couple of times IIRC, but never won. Crosby never participated in that competition I think.

We had this same discussion years ago. Maybe the mods will find merging the threads appropriate.

 

[LokiDog]

Both of these players are great skaters. You would not say that either of them are really known for scoring off the rush like a McDavid or Bure. They dominated with other skills, so I'd say there's not much to choose between the two in this category.

This is not true. Ovechkin’s breakaway/rush highlight reel for the first half of his career is probably larger than the entire league will combine to produce this year. Ovechkin was absolutely known for scoring off the rush. In fact he was known for rushing the puck even when the numbers didn’t favor him and still ending up alone with the goalie, with the puck in the net.

They’re super long cuts, but this user posts every Ovie goal collections for his entire career and the earlier years are tons and tons of rushes.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

Ovechkin faster, Crosby the technically better skater.

I’m actually surprised so many people are calling Crosby an overall “fast” player. His technique was always top of the pack but I never remember him being labeled a speedster.

 

[Washed Up 29YearOld]

It's Ovie AINEC. Watch old highlight films of him 2006-2008ish. Two strides and he's like halfway up ice. He was extremely fast. I concede that Crosby may have been a better technical skater. But when Ovie had the puck on his stick he was few strides then all of a sudden he's in your offensive zone. Only skater faster I've seen in my lifetime (I'm 31) is McDavid tbh. I do recall Sid being very agile on his skates.

 

[SkinsFan09]

Both of these players are great skaters. You would not say that either of them are really known for scoring off the rush like a McDavid or Bure.

Did Ovechkin 2005-2010 all of a sudden not happen?

 

[qc14]

This is not true. Ovechkin’s breakaway/rush highlight reel for the first half of his career is probably larger than the entire league will combine to produce this year. Ovechkin was absolutely known for scoring off the rush. In fact he was known for rushing the puck even when the numbers didn’t favor him and still ending up alone with the goalie, with the puck in the net.

As much as I love Ovi's "office" I feel like it's actually harmed his reputation somewhat ... his first 5-10 years in the league he was as dominant a rush player and scorer as there's ever been

 

[ESH]

Both of these players are great skaters. You would not say that either of them are really known for scoring off the rush like a McDavid or Bure. They dominated with other skills, so I'd say there's not much to choose between the two in this category.

Maybe if you never watched Ovechkin in his first 5 years in the league. He mainly scored off the rush flying down the wing

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Ovechkin was the faster one in a straight line (especially during the 2005-10 period). Crosby was the more agile one, his lateral mobility was (and still is) second to none.

I don’t have any data to back it up, just my observation.

 

[BobCole]

First off, I absolutely love both of these guys, and always have. Even as a Pens fan in the height of the "rivalry," I revered Ovi as the talent he was.

I've watched more of Sid than Ovi, so I don't "know" the answer to who was the faster skater. One thing definitely worth mentioning, though, is that Sid was supremely fast when he came into the league. In his 3rd season, he got a high ankle sprain (I was actually at the game) that sidelined him for a long time. He never, ever re-gained his topline speed after that. Like, his acceleration and topline speed was noticeably and permanently affected by that injury. He was never the same.

 

[DJJones]

Ya people seem to think of Ovi how he is now. Big shoot first player.

In his prime he was terrifying in transition. Maybe his size added to the appearance of speed but I remember him zooming.

 

[BobCole]

Lol who is saying Crosby here? Ovechkin in his prime was the best player in the world. Crosby never came close to Ovechkin's 65 goal season.

I'd only say McDavid may be able to match Ovechkin's 65 goal season. But imagine Ovechkin played in this era now with worse defense? Probably would have scored 80.

Crosby put up 120 points as a teenager to win an Art Ross, outpacing Ovechkin by 30 points. I don't even want to get into this argument, apart from to say that no honest evaluation would paint one of them as the clear cut winner.

 

[Selanne00008]

Edgework/Mobility goes to Sid.
Ovie however, is the faster top end straight line speed skater.

I don't think it's like this all high mighty hot take. They both can skate very fast of course, but Ovie is the faster one.

Wasn't Ovie even in the all-star speed skating competition a few times? I doubt Sid was.. Could be wrong though!

 

[cheechoo]

Ovechkin, it could be due to his flashy mechanics, but he had that galloping hop and those long strides and would explode past defenders with ease while the puck was on his stick.

 

[Toby91ca]

I can't really answer factually on this one, but I'd say Crosby from the eye test. Crosby was very fast early in his career and still can be at times. Ovechkin is way slower now, so perhaps that makes me forget that he used to have good speed. I have no issues suggest Crosby is and was the better skater, but in terms of speed I really can't say for sure, but Crosby seemed faster to me as well.

 

[Random schmoe]

I watched a lot of both players in their primes, and feel like Ovi was faster straight line, especially his acceleration as others have pointed out.

But to be honest, it's hard to judge, because they played very differently (befitting their very different roles, which a lot of people seem to ignore anytime comparisons between the two come up).

Most of the time Ovie had the puck on his stick he was pushing. Even from the defensive zone, he'd often fly up ice at max speed looking to put the D on their heels and cause something off the rush. Whereas when Crosby - the center - had the puck he was bringing it up ice at much more controlled pace, looking to setup the play, pass it, whatever the circumstances dictated.

 

[DukeDog13]

You would not say that either of them are really known for scoring off the rush like a McDavid or Bure.

The first decade of Ovi's career was defined by his ability to score on the rush. It was what he was known for. Then he slowed down, defensemen figured him out so he stopped scoring for a season or two and then he changed his style to what everyone knows him for now - sneaking into an opening in the left circle and blasting home a nuke on the one timer.

Ovechkin, it could be due to his flashy mechanics, but he had that galloping hop and those long strides and would explode past defenders with ease while the puck was on his stick.

He was the only player I'd ever seen who literally looked like he was sprinting instead of skating. Must have been terrifying to see that tank running top speed either around or through you as a defenseman.

 

[blankall]

Ovy in his first few seasons was on a whole other level. Not only was he one of the fastest players in the league but was also near the top of the league in hits. That kind of play wasn't sustainable, but yes ovy was faster in his prime.

 

[Regal]

Crosby was pretty damn fast until his high ankle sprain and it gets forgotten about a bit. That version might have been similar to Ovi in top end speed, though Ovechkin always seemed more explosive. And Ovechkin was definitely ahead for awhile after Crosby’s ankle injury.

 

[authentic]

K, rewatching highlights, I think they were both fast. If there was separation between them I don't think it was by a lot.

I'm not even sure Crosby had better edgework because Ovechkin was damn impressive too.
OV looked like a vending machine on wheels, but Crosby had a f***ton of power and balance.


The biggest differences was Crosby was relentlessly dogged all the time, and OV was like a freight train. But I dunno, speed seems like a wash. OV was more unstoppable at speed due to size, but Crosby would battle for every inch.

Yeah anyone saying this isn’t close one way or the other does not remember correctly or are extremely biased. Crosby had comparisons to Pavel Bure as a skater when he broke in and Ovechkin was basicaly the fastest skater with the puck at his size the NHL had ever seen. Seriously both were a lot faster than a lot of people remember at the peak of their skating abilities. I always thought that if anything Crosby before the high sprain was slightly faster though, but Ovechkin was more dangerous on the rush due to his size and shot combined with his speed and physicality.

 

[authentic]

No one seems to remember how explosive prime Ovi was. He had better acceleration and top end speed. Didn't last too long though so Sid definitely wins for better speed throughout their careers but at his peak, Ovi was definitely the stand out.
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This was well after Crosby’s high ankle sprain. Look at clips of young Crosby if you don’t think it’s close.

The first decade of Ovi's career was defined by his ability to score on the rush. It was what he was known for. Then he slowed down, defensemen figured him out so he stopped scoring for a season or two and then he changed his style to what everyone knows him for now - sneaking into an opening in the left circle and blasting home a nuke on the one timer.


He was the only player I'd ever seen who literally looked like he was sprinting instead of skating. Must have been terrifying to see that tank running top speed either around or through you as a defenseman.

Pavel Bure.