Why haven't we seen another Eric Lindros?

[MoneyManny]

There are 34 Canadians in the NFL and over 200 in NCAA Football.

Thay's a lot more than i thought, wow.

 

[Albatros]

There are 34 Canadians in the NFL and over 200 in NCAA Football.

Though I don't think there has been any major change since the 80/90s in that you can always make a pro career in the CFL if that fails.

 

[Rich Nixon]

That's like asking "Why aren't there more players like Crosby?"

Lindros wasn't generational solely BECAUSE he was huge, he was generational AND he happened to be huge. The hugeness was an added wrinkle that contributed to it, but the skillset and hockey IQ were absolutely elite on their own. It's not like "OK boom, so this is a pretty big guy and he can skate, so we'll just teach him to be an unrivaled hockey genius, no problem."

 

[tabness]

cause unlike the new nhl pretenders Lindros was truly generational

 

[Hanji]

We haven't seen another Lindros because his game was unsustainable.

We tend to remember him as a huge physical monster (which he was), but he was also regularly out with injuries. And this was before getting KO'd by Kasparaitis and Stevens.

 

[Elvs]

Ryan Getzlaf wasn't as good as Lindros, but he was still elite and a top 3 or top 5 center in the league in his best seasons. Both plenty skilled and physical and could plough his way through opponents.

 

[SaSaShi]

Lindros to the NHL was Achilles to Greek Mythology.

ONE fatal weakness.

 

[SaSaShi]

Ovy is basically the winger version of Lindros but he learned to skate with his head up.

Ovechkin got flattened by Rasmus Ristolainen, when it was Ovechkin that charged towards Risto.

Players literally FLEW when Lindros hit them. Both skates left the ground and landed 5-7 feet from initial contact.



Check the hit starting at 1:05

 

[Hanji]

Ovechkin got flattened by Rasmus Ristolainen, when it was Ovechkin that charged towards Risto.

Players literally FLEW when Lindros hit them. Both skates left the ground and landed 5-7 feet from initial contact.



Check the hit starting at 1:05

Prime Ovechkin and Lindros are quite similar for hitting power. The main difference is that Ovechkin picked his spots while Lindros was full-on.

It should come as no surprise that Ovechkin’s durability is almost unmatched while Lindros was frequently injured and eventually KTFO.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Yes they are that rare. His skills and makeup was already rare (especially now), but to combine it with his size and athleticism is nearly impossible to find.

And it's only getting rarer. The game has been made softer and faster so size and strength isn't nearly as important. Lifting heavier weight is not nearly as common. Most players drafted today are wispy fairies that you'd be shocked to hear are athletes if you saw them on the street. And the game has become so samey and homogenized is there even room for unique players anymore?

Guys with his build and athletic traits mostly play football.

In the US, of course, but Canada, Russia, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and Finland?

 

[johan f]

Speedier game. Players tends to be more lean.

 

[Kuz]

Lemieux was pretty much the same height and almost the same weight as Lindros. Didnt have the same hitting game, but held his own vs big mean guys aswell.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Thay's a lot more than i thought, wow.

It is? Texas has produced about 200. Massachusetts has produced about as many as Canada according to Newsweek.

 

[Leafshater67]

Never watched Lindros play, but is Malkin the closest thing today?

No. Lindros was mean and one of the strongest players in the league. There is no comparable. It would be like if Rick Nash was better, could battle heavyweights and was mean as hell. He was a man against boys his whole career, even in the NHL but it was his undoing because he never worried about getting hit.

People will disagree but prime Lindros was truly generational. I know that word has lost all meaning but I put him on a MacDavid or Crosby level on talent. He was a bulldozer with elite hands and above average speed. He could set up plays, he could finish them, he could be good defensively and he could fight and hit with the best of them. Unreal player. That’s why there hasn’t been another.

 

[Bard Marchand]

Ovechkin got flattened by Rasmus Ristolainen, when it was Ovechkin that charged towards Risto.

Players literally FLEW when Lindros hit them. Both skates left the ground and landed 5-7 feet from initial contact.



Check the hit starting at 1:05

Lol some of these "hits" are just Lindros skating up to someone and punching them in the face. Gotta love it. Been alluded to in other comments but it is really obvious when you watch these highlights: Lindros wasn't just big and strong, he was nasty too. Played with a mean streak. Probably why there are a lot of people who didn't shed any tears when his career ended the way it did - he died by his own sword.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

Ovechkin got flattened by Rasmus Ristolainen, when it was Ovechkin that charged towards Risto.

Players literally FLEW when Lindros hit them. Both skates left the ground and landed 5-7 feet from initial contact.



Check the hit starting at 1:05

Ovi had Subban do a backflip and has sent players flying.

Risto's really strong and you can't use one example to dismiss a player, you can play that game with any player about anything.

 

[centipede2233]

I think kadri is the modern day lindros

 

[BB79]

Because concussion protocols help prevent it from happening again

 

[Reality Czech]

This term is overused these days, but the guy was a unicorn. 6’4” and skates like that with good hands and a good shot? If he kept his head up, he would have been the most dominant player the sport has ever seen

With all due respect Mario was still far better. Lindros was very good but no chance to be the most dominant ever.

 

[A1LeafNation]

For those who didn't see Lindros play, he was nasty/mean and dominant on the ice like Tom Wilson but skilled like Malkin/Matthews.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Ovy is basically the winger version of Lindros but he learned to skate with his head up.

Also never had Scott Stevens waiting for him at the blue line

 

[BLNY]

He was touted to be "the next one". He was a rare generational combo, even back then. He had IQ to go with a ridiculous physical skill set.

I have to take some issue with the notion that he was a high IQ player.

Eric came into the league used to the idea that he could be a bull in a china shop and get away with it. He was a man child among boys while in the OHL. He came into the league with a great package of size and skill but was either comically unaware of what was going on around him, didn't care, or thought he was invincible.

 

[Tawnos]

One thing to keep in mind. Even if there was someone with all the skills Lindros had, he’d likely be encouraged to keep a rein on the physical stuff just to stay out of the penalty box and be on the ice more (which is a good thing). He probably would’ve been encouraged to from a fairly young age.

The closest thing we have to Lindros right now is Brady Tkachuk. Obviously, his skills aren’t at a Lindros level, but he does have a lot of talent, has size, and plays a very physical game. He does still get good ice time despite how much time he spends on the box, but I wonder if he’ll rein it in a bit as his career progresses.

 

[hangman005]

Biggest think is the lack of advancement in cloning technologies and even then can you clone skill?

 

[ottawah]

The game changed, and notably Lindros changed it.

Back in the 80's (when he would be playing minor hockey) if you were going to be his size, you were made a defenseman, end of story. Around the time of Lindros, and largely influenced by him, people got comfortable with having these massive towering forwards. All of a sudden, everyone wanted a Lindros player (even in peewee .....) and often the largest player on a team would be made a forward. Figured they could teach skating not size.

Another aspect of change is that the game now does not allow the level of physical violence that it did in the early 90's, not even close. Lindros (and many players) would have been suspended on a nightly basis. He makes Tom Wilson and Milan Lucic look like pacifists.