Favorite player

[Tomdog]

On our profile page we are asked which team is our favorite. 
My question to the group is, who is your favorite Wild player? And your favorite NHL player. 
 

I thought about it for a bit. 
I like how Hartman has scrap and took a team friendly deal, but I hate his stupid penalties. 
Kaprizov could be my favorite, but with so few interviews it’s hard to get to know him. 
There are a lot of other players I really like, but I do believe I would have to say Foligno is my favorite. 
 

League wide I would probably have to say Crosby. 

[Alexandron]

My favorite player for this team is Kaprizov #1. Sincerely, I look more for the player's play with and without the puck and his actions during the game than about interviews. Personally, for me he is our hardworking unpredictable game intrigue machine. His primary assists to our other players goals are like an art. We never know what he is going to do next. He has also so many ways to score which is a rare treasure for the team. In my opinion, Kaprizov is not comparable to any NHL player. And also, another part to mention. His soul is being very opened to any up and down team's games successes and losses.  Look how he reacted on Zuccarello's hat trick with our team last game. He was so sincerely the happiest person/ like a happiest kid for his teammate. That shows a lot.  Favorite player#2 for me is Zuccarello. He bloomed a lot/ became a star when started to play with Kaprizov. I have feelings that many players in our team were able to see the art from these two players during the practice and during the games and will have a natural gradual tendency on other players improvement. Probably, it will take a little while. 

 

Agree with you, league wide Crosby, probably, as #1 choice - as a hard working very productive veteran.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

On the current Wild, my favorites are a toss up between Marcus Foligno and EEK.
Those two guys are simply the heartbeat and the spirit of the team, IMO.

Their work habits are infectious to everyone else and I feel whenever either is missing from the lineup, the team overall is just a lesser group.
Hartman fits that bill as well, but something about both Marcus and Joel that just screams "eat, sleep, breathe Minnesota Wild hockey" that attracts me to their banners!

EEK in particular....I dunno. Something about him seems to tell me we haven't seen the best he can offer.
He will, at some point, be that underrated, yet enormously important do-everything top nine center that every team likes to have on their squads.

And if the Wild don't see that from him, someone else that does will either try to trade for him or entice him away to be part of their teams.

League wide, too many to mention, as I truly am a complete NHL fan, but, being a Lightning fan even longer than I've been a Wild fan, I have to go with the duo (again, a toss up), between Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos.
Two players at their respective positions that exemplify "team guy", "blue collar work ethic", AND "elite skill"
And two players who have no problem taking a back seat if need be so that they can lift others....yet still be counted on to be large when the moment needs them to be.

[JR Ewing]

1 hour ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

On the current Wild, my favorites are a toss up between Marcus Foligno

 

Given how I've talked about numbers over the years, what I'm about to say may surprise some people on this board. I like to read the numbers because it gives me an understanding of what happened when I can’t watch. It surrounds the player’s upside & downside in some ways.

 

But for me hockey has always been about one on one battles when it is serious hockey. Not the hockey you see in January between a top 4 team and one out of the playoffs but between evenly matched skill. Some refer to it as Darryl Sutter hockey, and I guess that's right, although I'm not in love with him as a HC because he makes his teams play that way, every moment of the season, all season. An example: after starting this year 5-1-0, he bag-skated the team in practice, which coincided with the team losing 6 in a row. The point is they're usually gassed come playoffs

 

When I watch dmen in their own end, I watch who comes out of the corners with the puck, along the boards which winger gets the puck out over the line when they have the chance. Who ties up the guys stick in the slot. Things like that. I love watching the beautiful plays, of course, because the skill makes watching the game fun & exciting. But the trenches are, for me, where games are won and lost once the skill becomes neutralized and the cap is the ultimate levelling tool.

 

My impression, whenever I watch Foligno, is that he seems to lose very few of those puck battles along the boards. He's tying up sticks, he's imposing himself on players, and he can go a long way towards neutralizing opposition skill. I think Marcus Foligno is better than his G-A-PTS line can ever indicate.

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

1 hour ago, JR Ewing said:

 

Given how I've talked about numbers over the years, what I'm about to say may surprise some people on this board. I like to read the numbers because it gives me an understanding of what happened when I can’t watch. It surrounds the player’s upside & downside in some ways.

 

But for me hockey has always been about one on one battles when it is serious hockey. Not the hockey you see in January between a top 4 team and one out of the playoffs but between evenly matched skill. Some refer to it as Darryl Sutter hockey, and I guess that's right, although I'm not in love with him as a HC because he makes his teams play that way, every moment of the season, all season. An example: after starting this year 5-1-0, he bag-skated the team in practice, which coincided with the team losing 6 in a row. The point is they're usually gassed come playoffs

 

When I watch dmen in their own end, I watch who comes out of the corners with the puck, along the boards which winger gets the puck out over the line when they have the chance. Who ties up the guys stick in the slot. Things like that. I love watching the beautiful plays, of course, because the skill makes watching the game fun & exciting. But the trenches are, for me, where games are won and lost once the skill becomes neutralized and the cap is the ultimate levelling tool.

 

My impression, whenever I watch Foligno, is that he seems to lose very few of those puck battles along the boards. He's tying up sticks, he's imposing himself on players, and he can go a long way towards neutralizing opposition skill. I think Marcus Foligno is better than his G-A-PTS line can ever indicate.

 

 

I believe most people would put that into the "intangibles" category.
You know, that stuff that no one can seem to measure with any certainty.

In my post, I called those kinds of things "heartbeat", "spirit, but, I will say, you, Sir, have pretty much described it about as good as "intangibles" can be described without putting a ruler up to it.
And Mr. Foligno certainly has those things!  

[Tomdog]

What puts a player high on my list is much what JR said along with a complete game. 
PP, PK, back check, face offs, board battles, and character. I also like players who have personality. 
 

[ClusterChuck]

Like most, Foligno would be easily my go-to choice. He embodies what I think a true team Captain is by his work ethic in all areas.
Plus he doesn't hesitate to Call out team mates when needed.
But my close 2nd is Brodin. Mostly because of his overall skating talent which is amazing to watch and consistent calm smart play.
Can't say I have a league favorite 

[Alexandron]

8 minutes ago, ClusterChuck said:

Like most, Foligno would be easily my go-to choice. He embodies what I think a true team Captain is by his work ethic in all areas.
Plus he doesn't hesitate to Call out team mates when needed.
But my close 2nd is Brodin. Mostly because of his overall skating talent which is amazing to watch and consistent calm smart play.
Can't say I have a league favorite 

Kaprizov? 

[ClusterChuck]

1 hour ago, Alexandron said:

Kaprizov? 

Non-Wild but that works then.

[yave1964]

Now as a non Wild fan Kaprisov is the no brainer, just a joy to watch, he looks like he is having so much fun on the ice.

  That said, I love the grinders, the guys who squeeze every ounce out every night.  Gaudreau is not the most talented, smallish but fearless and can provide a bit of offense playing up and down the lines. Love guys like that.

 

 As a wings fan Larkin is the easy answer for his skill and dedication, seider for his upside.

 

 Favorite non Wing is Brady Tkachuk. Junk yard dog grinder with 100 point potential mixed in. Just nasty.

[Math]

Marc-André Fleury. For his carrer and the way he finds to always rebound. Even if he's facing challenge he always finds a way to have fun on the ice, no matter what. Outside the ice he's a gem. Always smiley, he'd never throw somebody out of the bus except himself. A really nice guy. Love him. Frédéric Hockey is cool too. He was recently interviewed on the french RDS about his career and the life in Minnesota, it's batshit crazy how he's shy and modest.

 

In the rest of the League, I have a strange list: Brady Tkachuk for all the elements mentioned by @yave1964 and because he's a true and passionate leader; Bergeron as a no brainer; Hischier (gotta go with a swiss). I also love Vegas' William Carrier: underrated backsack fourth liner capable to play on PP/PK. Efficient, a pain in the ass to play against and the perfect joker card in your play. Honorable mentions to Jumbo Joe (I considered him not yet retired), Burns, Oleksiak, Domi, Kucherov and Heiskanen for the Stars.