I'm close to your rankings, but I would rank the top 10 most skilled as follows:
1. Valery Kharlamov
2. Pavel Datsyuk
3. Sergei Makarov
4. Sergei Fedorov
5. Evgeny Malkin
6. Vyacheslav Fetisov
7. Pavel Bure
8. Aleksandr Mogilny
9. Vladimir Krutov
10. Tie: Aleksei Kovalev/Aleksandr Maltsev
I gave Kharlamov the edge over Datsyuk because of his superior speed, balance and all-around skating ability. I left Ovechkin off because I thought that he fell short of the top 10 in skill, although I would definitely rank him as one of the 10 best Russian players of all-time.
I'm close to your rankings, but I would rank the top 10 most skilled as follows:
1. Valery Kharlamov
2. Pavel Datsyuk
3. Sergei Makarov
4. Sergei Fedorov
5. Evgeny Malkin
6. Vyacheslav Fetisov
7. Pavel Bure
8. Aleksandr Mogilny
9. Vladimir Krutov
10. Tie: Aleksei Kovalev/Aleksandr Maltsev
I gave Kharlamov the edge over Datsyuk because of his superior speed, balance and all-around skating ability. I left Ovechkin off because I thought that he fell short of the top 10 in skill, although I would definitely rank him as one of the 10 best Russian players of all-time.
Fetisov at #6 is an interesting choice. Don't get me wrong, I probably have him #1 Soviet hockey player all-time, but I don't know if he was among the most skilled (talking about dangling, speed, stickhandling etc.).
I like Krutov on the list, even though I bet many have an image of a 'power forward' in their head, when thinking of him. Anyway, great hands, great speed, great 1-on-1 ability.
Fetisov at #6 is an interesting choice. Don't get me wrong, I probably have him #1 Soviet hockey player all-time, but I don't know if he was among the most skilled (talking about dangling, speed, stickhandling etc.).
I like Krutov on the list, even though I bet many have an image of a 'power forward' in their head, when thinking of him. Anyway, great hands, great speed, great 1-on-1 ability.
You wouldn't think a defenseman would normally fall within that group, but I included him because I thought he was a special case. I have a lot of video of him that shows an unusual ability to stickhandle and control the puck while skating at top speed. I realize that his choice is debatable
Who says Russian forwards won't equal those of other countries in Sochi? There is plenty of explosive talent, as your video clips show. Thanks again, Mulle.
The great Vsevolod Bobrov was an excellent forward as well as ice hockey player too. A bit above Pavel. It's all about co-ordination for him and drills that make him the wonderful player he is.
I'm close to your rankings, but I would rank the top 10 most skilled as follows:
1. Valery Kharlamov
2. Pavel Datsyuk
3. Sergei Makarov
4. Sergei Fedorov
5. Evgeny Malkin
6. Vyacheslav Fetisov
7. Pavel Bure
8. Aleksandr Mogilny
9. Vladimir Krutov
10. Tie: Aleksei Kovalev/Aleksandr Maltsev
I gave Kharlamov the edge over Datsyuk because of his superior speed, balance and all-around skating ability. I left Ovechkin off because I thought that he fell short of the top 10 in skill, although I would definitely rank him as one of the 10 best Russian players of all-time.
How you guys always manage to forget Bobrov???
1. Vsevolod Bobrov
And Maltsev was waaay better than Kovalev can ever dream to be.
(You need an North American IP to see this because EMI Music policy)
I believe the Capitals released Semin because they couldn't stand the heat. The NA hockey press, for whatever they're worth, adopted him as their whipping boy, and the Capitals caved in to the pressure. Good luck in finding a player that gives them the offensive power that Semin did, unless Kuznetsov decides to come over whenever or if the NHL decides to resume playing.
And Maltsev was waaay better than Kovalev can ever dream to be.
Bobrov played in the 1950's. Its hard to say that he is the greatest Russian hockey player of all time when you consider the level of competition that he played against. Europe hockey overall was comparatively weak in the 1950's, so I will stand by rankings and not include Bobrov among the top 10.
