Top 10 Russians in NHL History

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Had Tretiak played his career here, he absolutely would HAVE to be #1 or #2, but considering people say he was THE best goalie ever... I'd say #1, but he never really got to be an NHL'er

I agree, but like I said earlier, how can I compare him to someone like Roy or Hasek, when I have no idea how his NHL career would have went had he played his prime here in America?

It's especially hard to compare player stats, when a guy never had any NHL stats.

Same thing for someone like Kharlamov, Mikhailov, Maltsev, Bobrov, Yakushev, etc.

Edited August 28, 2010 by GMRwings1983

[eva unit zero 271]

Yeah, well its late not in the mood for debate mode with 1 sentence posters but I can do the whole Eva stats thing if you want. Wouldn't matter. Don't feel like Khabi should be on the top 10 either but don't see Nabby as well. Not a big deal. What about Mikhail Shtalenkov? To me, Nabby has never carried a team to a Cup (and literally) and Khabi was a big part of the Tampa run and has had great seasons previous.

Hey, I consider players based on more than stats

I just think that a lot of players are either highly over-rated or under-rated compared to what the numbers say.

As far as the top ten Russian NHL players ever?

1. Sergei Fedorov. This is pretty clear. From early in his career (Hart trophy in fourth season at age 24) until his mid 30s, he was one of the league's top offensive centers. And for years beyond that he was still considered one of the league's elite centers. He was, for basically his entire career (finished second in Selke voting in 92 at age 22 and won in 94 at age 24) considered one of the league's elite defensive forwards, and one of the league's best two-way forwards. He was one of the league's best playmakers, and possessed a powerful and accurate shot, one of the most impressive combinations of those two elements I've ever seen. Fedorov was also incredibly versatile, capable of playing any position at a high level.

2. Alexander Ovechkin. While still very young, Ovechkin is deserving of this rank. I rank him as one of my ten best left wingers ever, and he is making a very strong case for inclusion in the top five. Even since his rookie year he has been one of the league's elite scorers, a powerful physical player and quick skater. While he could improve his defensive play, it is not the deficiency often seen from players with the kind of goal and point scoring abilities he has displayed.

3. Sergei Zubov. An excellent all-around defenseman who has performed at a high level since entering the league in 93-94, when he was a key member of the Rangers' Cup team as a rookie and again for Dallas in 1999, and continues to be a high level defenseman now. As has been said many times in the past, Zubov is the closest thing to a Russian Nicklas Lidstrom, as he plays a very similar style to Nick, is extremely consistent, and displays a high level of skill at both ends of the ice.

4. Pavel Bure. The "Russian Rocket" was the league's most feared goal scorer during his prime. He dominated games simply through his incredible skating and puckhandling. Beyond that, there was his amazing shot. The type and style of dominance Bure displayed was something only the very elite scorers were capable of. Bure had arguably the most accurate shot in the league, and he used it well, He was also a capable playmaker, although he rarely played with capable teammates, as while playing for the Panthers he broke the record for "highest percentage of own team's goals scored" meaning he scored a great quantity compared to his teammates. Bure was well known for his defensive deficiencies, but however seemed to ignore any suggestion to improve that part of his game.

5. Alexander Mogilny. The former Soviet linemate of Fedorov and Bure was not to be left behind when it came to blazing speed, either. Mogilny also had an impressive shot compared to the other two, but did not use it to the effect Bure did as he was a more highly skilled playmaker and tended more to that style. He was able to achieve the current Russian NHL record of 76 goals while playing the "scorer" role alongside Pat LaFontaine in 1992-93, but despite that he normally preferred the playmaker role. A better defensive player than Bure, Mogilny was considered an average defensive forward.

6. Pavel Datsyuk. He has won the past three Selke trophies as the league's top defensive forward, and has been one of the league's top offensive players for several years, although he did score considerably fewer points this past season than the previous four seasons. Datsyuk has been considered one of the league's elite centers and argued as one of, if not the best two-way center, as well as many considering him simply the best center. While he did start his career later than normal (his first NHL contract at age 23) he has done quite well in the NHL both offensively and defensively.

7. Nikolai Khabibulin. Khabibulin broke into the NHL with a Winnipeg Jets team with a talented young trio of forwards in Tkachuk/Zhamnov/Selanne, two solid veteran defensemen in Teppo Numminen and Darryl Shannon, and a declining semi-star goaltender in Tim Cheveldae. Cheveldae was acquired in a deadline deal the previous season and had been a huge improvement over the previous starter, who went the other way, Bob Essensa. But ultimately over the course of the season, Khabibulin took the starter's job from Cheveldae, the same as happened in Detroit the previous year when he lost it to Chris Osgood. In 95-96, Khabibulin would carry the still weak Winnipeg team all the way to the playoffs. Khabibulin would continue to spend his later years on teams with weak lineups until he came to a Tampa Bay team that, more by chance than anything else, managed to put together a championship-caliber team. He backstopped them to a Cup in 2004, but then came the NHL lockout and Khabibulin ended up going to the Chicago Blackhawks. We all know that story. Since then, he has moved to the Oilers and is again, like the beginning of his career, the backbone of a small-market Canadian team.

8. Evgeni Nabokov. He has been one of the league's top goaltenders for years, showing a high level of skill and consistency in his performance. He has been blamed for his team's failures in the postseason, but it is questionable as to how much of that was really his fault, and how much is simply following the standard "everything was the goalie's fault" so those criticisms must be taken with that in mind. He has posted the best statistics of any Russian goaltender in the NHL, although Ilya Bryzgalov likely will wipe that clean in the future.

9. Vyacheslav Kozlov. One of the most consistent scoring forwards over the past decade and a half, he has scored well regardless of playing with a top level linemate or not. Among offense-oriented forwards, Kozlov is also one of the few Russian forwards who has proven to be quite capable. While none of his skills can be considered "high end" Kozlov is a very good skater and playmaker, and has also proven himself quite capable of scoring goals as well.

10. Vladimir Konstantinov. While his career was cut to only six years, he played those six years at an extremely high level. He was among the league's top defensive defensemen, if not top defensemen, for all of them. As far as comparison to other Russian defensemen, Konstantinov is 12th in defense scoring, despite scoring relatively few points per season. The only defensemen who have played more NHL games than Konstantinov and played a high end defensive game were Zubov, Vladimir Malakhov, and Dmitri Yushkevich. Malakhov was a good two way defenseman but was not good enough offensively or overall to have had a better career; he actually had a worse PPG than Konstantinov. Yushkevich was one of the league's top defensive defensemen, but had no puck skills or skating ability while Konstantinov was perfectly capable of participating in an offensive rush. Sergei Gonchar is another defenseman who could be argued above Vladdie, but his lack of defensive and physical skills combined with his limited offense places him behind.

I have also selected ten players for Honorable Mention:

FORWARDS:

Ilya Kovalchuk

Alexei Kovalev

Evgeni Malkin

Alexei Yashin

Alexei Zhamnov

Sergei Gonchar

Viacheslav Fetisov

Vladimir Malakhov

Andrei Markov

Ilya Bryzgalov

The All-Time All-Russian Team:

First Team

F Sergei Fedorov

F Alexander Ovechkin

F Pavel Bure

D Sergei Zubov

D Vladimir Konstantinov

G Nikolai Khabibulin

Second Team

F Alexander Mogilny

F Pavel Datsyuk

F Vyacheslav Kozlov

D Sergei Gonchar

D Viacheslav Fetisov

G Evgeni Nabokov

[mackel 681]

I think the original list is pretty good. WHile I would like to see Larianov on it, I don't know who I would take off it to make room for him.

I deal with a lot of foreigners in my line of work. I can talk hockey with all the Canadians I meet, as well as all of the Swedes, including the women. However, being a lifelong Wings fan, it bumbs me out that none of the Russians that i work with know anything about the Russian hockey players.

Ask them in a contract year, they may be motivated to chat...

[Nev 1,085]

Eva, thats one of the best posts you've ever made. I'll even forgive you the homer vote of putting Kozlov in ahead of Malkin

[Shaman 713]

I think as for talent, and accomplishments, Pavel Bure for the time being is above Ovie.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Eva, do you really think that Kozlov has had a better career than Kovalev and Kovalchuk?

He's never even been remotely close to a star player, and has been fortunate to play his career in Detroit where he had opportunities to play with great players.

No coincidence that he's only played a handful of playoff games since leaving Detroit.

As for Vladdy, he hasn't played enough seasons to make my list. I know Malkin hasn't played many seasons either, but he's obviously accomplished a lot already in terms of indidual awards and a Cup.

[sibiriak 84]

Ask them in a contract year, they may be motivated to chat...

Riiight, and the players of other nationalities bust their humps in every game regardless of whether it is a contract year or not. Oh, wait...

[eva unit zero 271]

Eva, thats one of the best posts you've ever made. I'll even forgive you the homer vote of putting Kozlov in ahead of Malkin

Kozlov has had a very good career; he has a .722 PPG, a very good defensive game, and has been an extremely clutch player his entire career. His PPG is not far off of Alexei Kovalev's .802, and Kovalev was considered a superstar much of his career. Ilya Kovalchuk has a notably better PPG, but has always been a terrible defensive player; we'll see what happens in New Jersey. Kozlov's defense and clutch play in big games, both playoff and non-playoff, are what push him ahead of those two, who are known for their offensive skills and almost nothing else. Malkin misses out on the list mostly due to lack of sample size; next year or the year after he'd almost certainly be on the list; obviously Konstantinov only played a couple more seasons than Malkin has.