the top 50 professional hockey players in the world today!

[Coolio Mendez 7]

Central Scouting released their rankings to NHL GMs of the 2000 best professional players in the world (not available to the public as the list is used for arbitration/free agency purposes). I have copied off the top 50. Feel free to debate the merits (or lack thereof in your opinion of the list)

Some notes.

Only two non NHLers made the top 100 (Jagr was 10th, and Yashin was 71st)

Top free agent defenceman Jay Bouwmeester ranks 65th

The list as ranked by 30 NHL GMS, 26 NHL Assistant GMS, and 253 NHL scouts for a total of

1. Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh (26)

2. Jarome Iginla - Calgary (2)

3. Alexander Ovechkin - Washington (2)

4. Nicklas Lidstrom - Detroit

5. Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh

6. Martin Brodeur - New Jersey

7. Pavel Datsyuk - Detroit

8. Scott Niedermayer - Anaheim

9. Joseph Thornton - San Jose

10. Jaromir Jagr - Omsk Avangard (KHL)

11. Dany Heatley - Ottawa

12. Marian Gaborik - Minnesota

13. Ilya Kovalchuk - Atlanta

14. Zdeno Chara - Boston

15. Roberto Luongo - Vancouver

16. Marian Hossa - Detroit

17. Marc Savard - Boston

18. Alexander Semin - Washington

19. Vincent Lecavalier - Tampa Bay

20. Ryan Getzlaf - Anaheim

21. Christopher Pronger - Phildelphia

22. Jason Spezza - Ottawa

23. Michael Richards - Philadelphia

24. Martin St. Louis - Tampa Bay

25. Michael Green - Washington

26. Henrik Zetterberg - Detroit

27. Richard Nash - Columbus

28. Zachary Parise - New Jersey

29. Alexei Kovalev - Montreal

30. Martin Havlat - Chicago

31. Daniel Sedin - Vancouver

32. Dion Phaneuf - Calgary

33. Henrik Sedin - Vancouver

34. Jeffrey Carter - Philadelphia

35. Corey Perry - Anaheim

36. Nicklas Backstrom - Washington

37. Eric Staal - Carolina

38. Paul Stastny - Colorado

39. Simon Gagne - Philadelphia

40. Patrik Elias - New Jersey

41. Andrei Markov - Montreal

42. Shane Doan - Phoenix

43. Daniel Alfredsson - Ottawa

44. Michael Ribeiro - Dallas

45. Henrik Lundqvist - NY Rangers

46. Paul Kariya - St. Louis

47. Jonathan Toews - Chicago

48. Alexander Frolov - Los Angeles

49. Patrick Marleau - San Jose

50. Ales Hemsky - Edmonton

Feel free to debate.

ALSO: It's a scoring system based on 22 attributes such as skating skill, speed, smarts, shot accuracy, checking, play away from puck, leadership, etc. The overall goal (this was designed in the 70s by Sam Pollock) was to assess overall 'impact' a player would have on a team.

Edited June 30, 2009 by Coolio Mendez

[titanium2 867]

Oh boy... here come the whiny face complaints.

[Hossa4Life 4]

Crosby #1 :puke:

[wingfanatic4alltime 32]

I would have Ovy number 1 personally, and id also have kovy much higher then 13th no way he is below gaborik.

[hockey23 79]

Zetterberg at 26??? Behind St. Louis, Heatley, Hossa, Jagr, Semin, Spezza, and Richards. Are you ******* kidding. I can understand if it was a fan poll, but the GMs voted??? Not to mention Cindy who was completely shut down by the 26th ranked player and was out scored in the finals. Complete joke

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Does any player below No. 7 have any argument for being better than Hank? Jagr if this was 10 years ago, and maybe Chara or Luongo (although I'd say they're a stretch); the also criminally underrated Getzlaf is probably the only guy that comes close.

[vOrophin 5]

I'm willing to bet stats like leadership have a lot to do with many of the perceived imbalances with this list.

[titanium2 867]

Oh boy... here come the whiny face complaints.

The first two:

Crosby #1 :puke:

Zetterberg at 26??? Behind St. Louis, Heatley, Hossa, Jagr, Semin, Spezza, and Richards. Are you ******* kidding. I can understand if it was a fan poll, but the GMs voted??? Not to mention Cindy who was completely shut down by the 26th ranked player and was out scored in the finals. Complete joke

How many more do we got in us? I'm sure we got pages worth.

[titanium2 867]

Peoples, it's mostly a publicity thing with only a shade of truth in it. It's arguable enough and so of course they have to say that whiny face is #1 to sell the game.

[Coolio Mendez 7]

Also I would like to add Lidstrom is the only player who ranks in the top 10 on every single list.

[Coolio Mendez 7]

Does any player below No. 7 have any argument for being better than Hank? Jagr if this was 10 years ago, and maybe Chara or Luongo (although I'd say they're a stretch); the also criminally underrated Getzlaf is probably the only guy that comes close.

The point system is also tight so that there is not a lot of disparity. Having said that, while the lists at the top are similar, they can fluctuate greatly after the top 10 or so. For example, Brian Campbell is 72nd. He ranks as high as 11th (a Red Wings scout) and as low as 264th (a Devils scout).

[jollymania 162]

haha malkin gets no credit whatsoever its so comical

[TheOwl 77]

Crosby ahead of Ovechkin? Gaborik ahead of Kovelchuk? Thornton in the top 10? Scott Niedermayer ahead of Chara? Martin Brodeur in the top 10?

The list is criminal. Getzlaf, Zetterberg and Parise should be much higher.

Dion Phaneuf, Paul Kariya and Jagr shouldn't even be on their. The latter because he's not even in the NHL. And seriously, a lot of the Canadian players are immensely over-rated. I mean come on, Thornton? What the f***. And who would seriously put Semin in their top 20 players. Franzen is better then Semin.

The entire top 20 needs to be completely re-ordered.

Edited June 30, 2009 by TheOwl

[Coolio Mendez 7]

Crosby ahead of Ovechkin? Gaborik ahead of Kovelchuk? Thornton in the top 10? Scott Niedermayer ahead of Chara? Martin Brodeur in the top 10?

The list is criminal. Getzlaf, Zetterberg and Parise should be much higher.

Dion Phaneuf, Paul Kariya and Jagr shouldn't even be on their. The latter because he's not even in the NHL. And seriously, a lot of the Canadian players are immensely over-rated. I mean come on, Thornton? What the f***. And who would seriously put Semin in their top 20 players. Franzen is better then Semin.

The entire top 20 needs to be completely re-ordered.

Players like Kariya and Kovalev have lost a step, but their leadership skills, smarts, and playmaking skills are still ranked very high. Similarly, Joe Sakic who was top 20 last year is still 53rd based on skill and leadership ability even though his speed, strength, and durability took hits.

[eva unit zero 271]

Here is list that better represents to top 50 players in the world right now.

1. Nicklas Lidstrom, D

2. Henrik Zetterberg, F

3. Alexander Ovechkin, F

4. Pavel Datsyuk, F

5. Evgeni Malkin, F

6. Martin Brodeur, G

7. Sidney Crosby, F

8. Duncan Keith, D

9. Zdeno Chara, D

10. Nicklas Backstrom. G

11. Zach Parise, F

12. Mike Richards, F

13. Ryan Getzlaf, F

14. Scott Niedermayer, D

15. Roberto Luongo, G

16. Jarome Iginla, F

17. Henrik Lundqvist, G

18. Marian Hossa, F

19. Eric Staal, F

20. Joe Thornton, F

21. Shea Weber, D

22. Tomas Vokoun, G

23. Ilya Kovalchuk, F

24. Jaromir Jagr, F

25. Chris Pronger, D

26. Ryan Miller, G

27. Jason Spezza, F

28. Dany Heatley, F

29. Dan Boyle, D

30. Chris Osgood, G

31. Vincent Lecavalier, F

32. Alexander Semin, F

33. Dion Phaneuf, D

34. Shane Doan, F

35. Andrei Markov, D

36. Jay Bouwmeester, D

37. Jeff Carter, F

38. Tim Thomas, G

39. Brian Rafalski, D

40. Mike Green, D

41. Patrick Marleau, F

42. Dennis Wideman, D

43. Sergei Zubov, D

44. Jonathan Toews, F

45. Mark Streit, D

46. Olli Jokinen, F

47. Marian Gaborik, F

48. Johan Franzen, F

49. Daniel Alfredsson, F

50. Sergei Gonchar, D

[skacore 2]

Here is list that better represents to top 50 players in the world right now.

1. Nicklas Lidstrom, D

2. Henrik Zetterberg, F

3. Alexander Ovechkin, F

4. Pavel Datsyuk, F

5. Evgeni Malkin, F

6. Martin Brodeur, G

7. Sidney Crosby, F

8. Duncan Keith, D

9. Zdeno Chara, D

10. Nicklas Backstrom. G

11. Zach Parise, F

12. Mike Richards, F

13. Ryan Getzlaf, F

14. Scott Niedermayer, D

15. Roberto Luongo, G

16. Jarome Iginla, F

17. Henrik Lundqvist, G

18. Marian Hossa, F

19. Eric Staal, F

20. Joe Thornton, F

21. Shea Weber, D

22. Tomas Vokoun, G

23. Ilya Kovalchuk, F

24. Jaromir Jagr, F

25. Chris Pronger, D

26. Ryan Miller, G

27. Jason Spezza, F

28. Dany Heatley, F

29. Dan Boyle, D

30. Chris Osgood, G

31. Vincent Lecavalier, F

32. Alexander Semin, F

33. Dion Phaneuf, D

34. Shane Doan, F

35. Andrei Markov, D

36. Jay Bouwmeester, D

37. Jeff Carter, F

38. Tim Thomas, G

39. Brian Rafalski, D

40. Mike Green, D

41. Patrick Marleau, F

42. Dennis Wideman, D

43. Sergei Zubov, D

44. Jonathan Toews, F

45. Mark Streit, D

46. Olli Jokinen, F

47. Marian Gaborik, F

48. Johan Franzen, F

49. Daniel Alfredsson, F

50. Sergei Gonchar, D

ahahahahahahahahahhahah

[titanium2 867]

ahahahahahahahahahhahah

At least he didn't put Jiri Hudler on there.

[eva unit zero 271]

ahahahahahahahahahhahah

I fail to see what you find so amusing. Please, explain to the rest of the class.

[Coolio Mendez 7]

This list is pretty much UNDEBATABLE....how can I or anyone profess to be more in tune with player rankings than people who make it their profession? It's hard for your ordinary Joe couch potato to argue with the experts. This is done by scouts. This is a scouting report. We're fans. We're not scouts for a reason.

[The Big Red Machine 0]

This list is pretty much UNDEBATABLE....how can I or anyone profess to be more in tune with player rankings than people who make it their profession? It's hard for your ordinary Joe couch potato to argue with the experts. This is done by scouts. This is a scouting report. We're fans. We're not scouts for a reason.

If they are so in tune with player rankings, they would realize that Crosby is not even the best player on his team. It's impossible to be the best player in the world when you are not your team's best player.

Edited June 30, 2009 by The Big Red Machine

[Coolio Mendez 7]

Double Post

Edited June 30, 2009 by Coolio Mendez

[Coolio Mendez 7]

If they are so in tune with player rankings, they would realize that Crosby is not even the best player on his team. It's impossible to be the best player in the world when you are not your team's best player.

Something you know that Babcock/Holland doesn't? How come everytime Crosby stepped onto the ice Babcock made sure Zetterberg, Lidstrom, and Rafalski were on the ice? Why didn't Malkin draw that much attention? Because Crosby is the BETTER player!

[eva unit zero 271]

This list is pretty much UNDEBATABLE....how can I or anyone profess to be more in tune with player rankings than people who make it their profession? It's hard for your ordinary Joe couch potato to argue with the experts. This is done by scouts. This is a scouting report. We're fans. We're not scouts for a reason.

Regarding a list that ranks Marian Hossa that much higher than Henrik Zetterberg based on what you put forth as how it was compiled? Zetterberg clearly had more of an impact on his team than Hossa this past season. This is undebatable.

Furthermore, Spezza had more of an impact on the Senators than Heatley did this past season.

Either the system is flawed, or those who are using the system are flawed.

This is further proven when Jarome Iginla is ranked ahead of Alexander Ovechkin, and Sidney Crosby is ranked ahead of Evgeni Malkin.

Need more examples?

Martin St.Louis over Zach Parise. Vincent Lecavalier over Mike Richards and Ryan Getzlaf. Mike Ribeiro and Ales Hemsky over Johan Franzen, Anze Kopitar, Brad Boyes, Mats Sundin, Sergei Fedorov.

Either the system is flawed, or the people using it are flawed, because the list is definitely flawed.

Edited June 30, 2009 by eva unit zero

[The Big Red Machine 0]

Something you know that Babcock/Holland doesn't? How come everytime Crosby stepped onto the ice Babcock made sure Zetterberg, Lidstrom, and Rafalski were on the ice? Why didn't Malkin draw that much attention? Because Crosby is the BETTER player!

You go with what works. Zetterberg was able to shut down Crosby last year in the SCF, so you obviously go with that system again. Also, Malkin of this year's SCF and Malkin of last year's SCF are two completely different players. I'm sure Babcock would have loved to have Datsyuk at 100% out there with Malkin. Babcock matched his 1st line with Pittsburgh's first line.

[WeBleedRed 8]

aside from where lids is, I believe none of this.

marty should be 5, and lagr should be wayyyyyyy lower..........

this list is completely asinine in many aspects. the cindy love fest continues. if his scoring of 1 is based a lot on leadership.... I think I will never again trust any rankings from these "fine" folks. and as for first, I don't think ovie should get it, though I love the guy. if jerome can do what he does so well, being awesome all around, he should be first. ovie is a very close second though, and in a year or two, should be one.