Worst enforcer of all time
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UnluckyLuke
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- Sep 13, 2021
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Bruisebros2426
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- Sep 23, 2021
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Jim Cummins was always game, but he seemed to take the worst of many of his fights.
Edit: Now that I've continued thinking about this, Zack Stortini has to be in the conversation here. He actually played less than 300 NHL games (spent most of his career in the AHL), but I don't recall seeing him win many scraps. Took on just about anyone that would come along, but seemed to get knocked around quite a bit. So if we're talking about enforcers who just lost a lot of fights, Stortini has to be in the conversation.
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Sparksrus3
NYI - THE TEAM WITH NO ❤️
- Jun 2, 2012
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Getting away from a lot of names repeated I will pick Riley “ The Human Punching Bag “ Cote for enforcer that was more like a crossing guard . Worst enforcer . Wont say of all time but oh so bad.
Bruisebros2426
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- Sep 23, 2021
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The entertaining thing about Cote is that he didn't care much for defense, so he was always willing to trade. The downside for Cote is that he didn't defend himself enough in fights and paid the price pretty often. One of the last "just chuck-em" guys the league ever saw.
Sparksrus3
NYI - THE TEAM WITH NO ❤️
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if you are interested in a good one look up Cote vs Joel Rechlicz . It was a long one as fights go .
David Bruce Banner
Acid Raven Bed Burn
There was a stretch of time in the late 80's where the Canucks were not only getting regularly beat on the ice, but they are also taking a drubbing in the alley as well. Garth Butcher, who was legit tough, but not super big, had to take on all the incoming goons. Seeing the the team losing 5-1 while Butcher (and any other Canuck that tried to stick up for himself) got cuffed around by the likes of Hunter, McSorley and McClelland was tough to watch.
Fire Sweeney
Registered User
I'd agree with someone who said Dorsett, for a small guy he had heart but challenged some behemoths and got fed.
Sestito and Hordichuk were two others who I regularly saw do alright but at times took a lot more than they threw.
Sestito and Hordichuk were two others who I regularly saw do alright but at times took a lot more than they threw.
DaaaaB's
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- Apr 24, 2004
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Fedoruk wasn't bad, but unfortunately he got his face shattered by Boogaard and was never the same after that. Had that not happened, he'd probably remain with the Ducks 2007 cup winning team and one or two of Brad May, Shawn Thornton and George Parros would never have been brought in.
DickSmehlik
Registered User
I am surprised by the lack of Jeff Odgers ITT.
You could tell by his face alone that he wasn't particularly good at enforcing. Also, did Andre Roy really scare anyone?
You could tell by his face alone that he wasn't particularly good at enforcing. Also, did Andre Roy really scare anyone?
Bruisebros2426
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- Sep 23, 2021
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Yeah, Fedoruk belongs nowhere near this conversation. He was an old-school guy who'd toss with anyone, for better or worse. He really got tagged a few times in his career, but what gets lost in the conversation about him is that he was an absolute force early in his career. He TKO'd several guys during his tenure with the Flyers. He wasn't a bad fighter at all, just a classic example of the highs and lows associated with fighting as much as he did during an era when there were tons of guys in the league who could really throw.
Funny enough Shawn Thornton has said in the past that he probably wouldn't have had an NHL career if it wasn't for Boogaard breaking Fedoruks face
Bruisebros2426
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- Sep 23, 2021
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What's insane is that Fedoruk went on to get into like 25+ fights in the following years after Boogaard.
Your Boy Troy
Registered User
His fights afterwards were certainly not noteworthy with how defensive he was in those fights, which was understandable considering his open southpaw style at that juncture would destroyed him.
Fedoruk gets too much flak by some. He was a solid heavyweight who could give anyone a a difficult scrap on any given night. He was a fairly solid player as well. There was a point in his career where he didn’t need to be a regular fighter as he did a sufficient job as a speedy straight-line grinding forward.
Was never impresssed with Paul Bissonette. He fought to not lose and had this never fight at away games thing going on. His personality was the only thing that kept him in the NHL as long as he did. Can't hate the guy though. Glad the media career is working out for him and his knees.
Troy Bodie sucked at fighting but was willing. Connections played a role in him even reaching the NHL.
Kevin Westgarth was a huge disappointment after his AHL stint. Got ragdolled by Scott and did little else in the league fight wise. There was a lot of hype surrounding him in his first season.
Krys Barch was a poor mans Thornton who lost nearly every fight. Had some doozies with May though.
Hal Gill was the worst fighter I have ever seen, 6 ft 7 and threw pillows. I think most posters on hfboards have a good chance at getting him at a draw atleast.
Troy Bodie sucked at fighting but was willing. Connections played a role in him even reaching the NHL.
Kevin Westgarth was a huge disappointment after his AHL stint. Got ragdolled by Scott and did little else in the league fight wise. There was a lot of hype surrounding him in his first season.
Krys Barch was a poor mans Thornton who lost nearly every fight. Had some doozies with May though.
Hal Gill was the worst fighter I have ever seen, 6 ft 7 and threw pillows. I think most posters on hfboards have a good chance at getting him at a draw atleast.
Kurtis Gabriel is pretty bad. He's got the look, the attitude, the size...just can't fight very well. Down in the AHL he picked a fight off ice near the dressing rooms and got decked...by Vince Dunn, a smallish skilled, PMD.
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Bruisebros2426
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- Sep 23, 2021
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I always thought Bissonnette was pretty conservative when he fought. Rarely opened up to trade, and I always got the feeling that he wasn't really intimidating anyone. Never really threw a ton of big hits and just didn't have a very aggressive tone to his game. That said, he always stuck up for his teammates and he was a generally decent scrapper. It always felt very business-like with Bissonnette, for better or worse. He doesn't belong in the conversation about worst enforcer, though. He was a legit heavyweight and he stood in there against some big names, as frustrating as his conservative style was. I'm happy to see his success in hockey media. He's got a great personality and has clearly kept up with the game post-retirement.
Troy Bodie wasn't a good fighter but I always liked his game. Wish he could've stuck longer but he wasn't super fast, didn't provide much in terms of consistent offensive production, didn't really kill penalties from what I can remember (I could be mistaken), and again just wasn't an effective guy with the gloves off. I never thought of him as an enforcer anyway, though. Closer to a Brian Sutherby who couldn't fight.
Westgarth's NHL career was really short-lived at less than 200 games played. Got edged out of LA by a quicker, more versatile Kyle Clifford. Sort of bounced around for a few years after that but he couldn't skate even by enforcer's standards for that time. He was the prototypical clutch-and-grab era fighter. Couldn't handle the speed of the league and wasn't a great fighter compared to how he did in the AHL.
Barch stood in against literally anyone but he lost quite a few scraps. He seemed to lose punching power pretty quickly into a fight, but for as much as he lost he was a formidable opponent, especially earlier in his career.
Stortini goes down as the worst enforcer that I can think of. He deterred literally nobody and lost a ton of fights. Threw forearm shivers about as often as throwing actual punches. I honestly felt bad for him watching him fight. You could tell he more or less understood that he wasn't coming anywhere near the NHL if he didn't fight. It's a tough job and for as game as he was, he's the worst enforcer I can think of. Apparently he got better at fighting later in his career in the AHL, but I haven't done a ton of research into that.
Crunchrulz
Registered User
Torrie Robertson. There are a number of folks also that can be considered but for as far as number one, Robertson is that player.
Totally forgot about that guy. I remember him trying to copy Rypiens style of blocking and I got 2nd hand cringe. Also EA had him as a hockey fight advisor when they introduced that first person fighting in NHL10… Explains that. Seems like a decent bloke though.
cannucky
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- Aug 18, 2011
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I'm showing my age here but this list wouldn't be complete without Gilles Lupien 6'6" D for the Habs , got 1 punched by 5 ft ef all Tiger Williams , the rest of the big boys just laughed at him when asked for one after that .Not that Williams was a joke but when you that big you better at least put up a fight if your supposed to be the tough guy eh !
