Jump to content

Greatest European Hockey Player Of All Time


JagerMeister

Recommended Posts

Just to follow up on @JagerMeister 's question, though, WHO?

Conventional wisdom is that he helped Giroux quite a bit. I think that's the case, actually. But was that a "mentoring" situation or a really good winger on a good center's wing?

I honestly don't know: was there a similar circumstance in Dallas? In New Jersey?

I would have let the "mentor" comment go based on my perception of how things went with Giroux. But "who?" is a valid question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 82
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Giroux certainly. 

 

Now, can anyone think of another big talented swift skating native of Kladno Czech Republic RWer  who used to spend his summers eating moms homemade perogies but was likely influenced by Jagrs training over the summer and turned into an absolute stud? Theres gotta be one around here somewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Giroux certainly. 

 

Now, can anyone think of another big talented swift skating native of Kladno Czech Republic RWer  who used to spend his summers eating moms homemade perogies but was likely influenced by Jagrs training over the summer and turned into an absolute stud? Theres gotta be one around here somewhere.

 

 

Can't think of anyone off the top of my head.  Did Plekanec eat perogies?  And when did Jagr help him?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@ruxpin

 

I'll give you a clue...his hair is almost the exact same colour as Jagrs, but with a hint of ginger.

 

 

Well, it must not be Michael Frolik because I don't think there's any ginger in his hair.  And Hartnell isn't from there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I'll do it like this:

Czech Republic: Hasek

Finland: Selanne (maybe Kurri on a different day)

Russia: Pavel Bure

Slovakia: Peter Stastny

Sweden: Lidstrom

Never played in NHL, so it's kind of hard to compare: Tretiak

 

Overall: I'd have to think longer. Lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll do it like this:

Czech Republic: Hasek

Finland: Selanne (maybe Kurri on a different day)

Russia: Pavel Bure

Slovakia: Peter Stastny

Sweden: Lidstrom

Never played in NHL, so it's kind of hard to compare: Tretiak

 

Overall: I'd have to think longer. Lol

Good list, mine is a bit different though. I would replace Bure with Fedorov and i kind of go back and forth between Selanne and Kurri. but soon Ovechkin or Malkin will replace either. And i believe Stan Mikita is slovakian although i could be wrong, if i am right however, i would replace him with Stastny.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good list, mine is a bit different however, i would replace Bure with Fedorov and i kind of go back and forth between Selanne and Kurri. Soon though, Ovechkin or Malkin will replace either. And i believe Stan Mikita is slovakian although i could be wrong, if i am right however, i would replace him with Stastny

 

I nearly listed Mikita as my top Slovak, but I didn't since he represented Canada. If he's included, I think there's a case for him as tops overall too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@ScottM@flyercanuck

 

Mikita was smuggled out and raised by an Aunt and Uncle in Canada, he didn't start playing Hockey until he was in North America. If considered a Euro, I too would have him very high on my list, just a tremendous offensive player who along with Bobby Hull used the curved stick or 'banana blade' he scored over 1400 points and spent his entire career in one city, just a hell of a player.

http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2012/09/summit-series-heroes-stan-mikita.html Cool Story here from Mikita about the Summit series. Just a short little tale but it tells a lot about the world during the cold war.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, I am quite surprised after reading the first 3 pages of this thread that no one has mentioned Tretiak! He was pretty much recognized for more than a decade as the best goalie in the world for that Red Army team. I'd rate his accomplishments above Hasek's.

However, I will say this about Hasek's: Like Bobby Orr, who HAS TO BE WITHOUT A CLOSE SECOND the best defenseman to play the game ever, he redefined how you play the position. He didn't transcend the game as much as Orr did, but he changed the game. THAT makes it close.

But Tretiak basically set the standard about what a goalie does for more than a decade. Obviously, he's not gonna get the exposure like the others, I grant that. But he should be in this discussion.

I, too, have to admit my bias and say Lidstrom. @yave1964 said it just as well as I could. Jagr next. Then Tretiak for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@SpikeDDS

 

Tretiak is a tough case, quite frankly none of us ever saw him play, we can only go by what we have read and what we have read shows him as a brilliant netminder. But it is kind of like comparing Rocket Richard to a mordern power forward, or even Gordie to some extent (though I do have vague memories of him playing) it is just near impossible.

 

 To me, the Euro debate has to come down to who played in the NHL, to give us a template to base things off of. Lidstrom with his hardware, Hasek with two Harts, we can relate to that. Tretiak winnning at the Worlds year after year playing against vastly inferior teams is a difficult measuring stick. In the same way, it counts against Mikhailov and Karlamov.

 So to me, the Ruskies who never played in the NHL deserve an 'honorable mention' and more than a passing nod, but we cannot really compare them. And lets not forget, Tretiak's two biggest claims to fame that we as North Americans remember are his losing the summit series in 1972 and losing to the college kids in 1980 at Lake Placid. In between and after, sure he beat up on a bunch of Czech and Fins in tourneys that we as North Americans really have no memory of, we only remember him losing.

  If you ever get the oppurtunity read a wonderful book called 'the greatest game' about the game between the elite Russian team and the Montreal Canadiens led by Dryden and Lafleur and Mahovlich. A wonderful story of Tretiak and his begginings as Russias greatest goalie. A worthy read, one of the top ten Hockey books of all time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...