Posted: Monday, February 20, 2012, 9:15 AM | 21 comments |
 
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Chris Pronger hasn’t skated since Nov. 19 in Winnipeg, yet he’s still gaining recognition as one of the NHL’s toughest defensemen to play against. That’s according to a NHL Players Association anonymous poll, which was released in accordance with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada.

The poll, with a wide range of topics introduced, was conducted by an NHLPA staff member with 257 current players. The results were then passed along to CBC.

Among the things we learned about the Flyers:

  • The Flyers are not among the 6 teams most players would like to play for
  • Claude Giroux is smart and underrated
  • Jaromir Jagr is hard to steal the puck from
  • Ilya Bryzgalov is not among the 6 goaltenders toughest to score on.

But we already knew that last one.

Here’s the full poll results:

SKILLS:
Who has the hardest shot?

Zdeno Chara (Boston) – 59%
Shea Weber (Nashville) – 33%
Sheldon Souray (Dallas) – 2%
Alexander Ovechkin (Washington) – 1%

Who is the best skater?
Marian Gaborik (N.Y. Rangers) – 33%
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) – 9%
Patrick Marleau (San Jose) – 6%
Duncan Keith (Chicago) – 5%
Darren Helm (Detroit) – 5%
Phil Kessel (Toronto) – 4%

Who is the smartest player?
Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit) – 45%
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) – 16%
Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit) – 15%
Jonathan Toews (Chicago) – 4%
Claude Giroux (Philadelphia) – 3%
Henrik Sedin (Vancouver) – 2%

Who is the toughest player?
Milan Lucic (Boston) – 20%
Zdeno Chara (Boston) – 17%
Shawn Thornton (Boston) – 11%
Brian McGrattan (Nashville) – 7%
George Parros (Anaheim) – 4%
Matt Carkner (Ottawa) – 4%

Who is the most difficult player to play against?
Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit) – 26%
Zdeno Chara (Boston) – 19%
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) – 9%
Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh) – 7%
Jonathan Toews (Chicago) – 4%
Shea Weber (Nashville) – 3% 

Who is the hardest player to take the puck from?
Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit) – 47%
Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh) – 10%
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) – 9%
Jaromir Jagr (Philadelphia) – 6%
Joe Thornton (San Jose) – 3%
Rick Nash (Columbus) – 2% 

Which goalie is the most difficult to score on? (For shooters only)
Henrik Lundqvist (N.Y. Rangers) – 38%
Pekka Rinne (Nashville) – 19%
Tim Thomas (Boston) – 16%
Carey Price (Montreal) – 5%
Mikka Kiprusoff (Calgary) – 3%
Jimmy Howard (Detroit) – 3% 

Which player is the most difficult to stop? (For goalies only)
Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit) – 24%
Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay) – 12%
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) – 12%
Alexander Semin (Washington) – 12%
Nathan Gerbe (Buffalo) – 6%
Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh) – 6%

Who is the fastest skater?
Marian Gaborik (N.Y. Rangers) – 32%
Michael Grabner (N.Y. Islanders) – 26%
Darren Helm (Detroit) – 10%
Erik Cole (Carolina) – 5%
Phil Kessel (Toronto) – 4%
Patrick Marleau (San Jose) – 3% 

COACHES:
Which coach would you most like to play for?

Dan Bylsma (Pittsburgh) – 21%
Joel Quenneville (Chicago) – 11%
Dave Tippett (Phoenix) – 8%
Mike Babcock (Detroit) – 8%
John Tortorella (N.Y. Rangers) – 7%
Todd McLellan (San Jose) – 4%

Which coach demands the most of his players?
John Tortorella (N.Y. Rangers) – 59%
Darryl Sutter (Los Angeles) – 8%
Ken Hitchcock (St. Louis) – 8%
Mike Babcock (Detroit) – 7%
Dan Bylsma (Pittsburgh) – 3%
Brent Sutter (Calgary) – 2% 

Which current assistant coach should be the next head coach?
Brad Shaw (St. Louis) – 7%
Dave Cameron (Ottawa) – 6%
Doug Houda (Boston) – 6%
Dave Lewis (Carolina) – 5%
Craig Ramsey (Florida) – 5%
Tony Granato (Pittsburgh) – 4% 

OPINIONS:
Who is the most underrated player?

Patrice Bergeron (Boston) – 9%
Jamie Benn (Dallas) – 6%
Loui Eriksson (Dallas) – 6%
Claude Giroux (Philadelphia) – 3%
David Krejci (Boston) – 3%
David Backes (St. Louis) – 3%

Which current player is the best role model?
Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit) – 23%
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) – 20%
Jonathan Toews (Chicago) – 10%
Jarome Iginla (Calgary) – 9%
Shane Doan (Phoenix) – 7%
Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa) – 5%

Who is the cleanest player to play against?
Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit) – 26%
Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay) – 13%
Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit) – 13%
Ray Whitney (Phoenix) – 5%
Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit) – 4%
Kyle Wellwood (Winnipeg) – 4%

Who is the toughest defenseman to play against?
Zdeno Chara (Boston) – 61%
Shea Weber (Nashville) – 12%
Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit) – 6%
Chris Pronger (Philadelphia) – 3%
Brooks Orpik (Pittsburgh) – 3%
Douglas Murray (San Jose) – 1% 

Who is the toughest forward to play against?
Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit) – 25%
Milan Lucic (Boston) – 15%
Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh) – 13%
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) – 9%
Alexander Ovechkin (Washington) – 3%
Zach Parise (New Jersey) – 2% 

Which team is overrated?
Vancouver – 24%
Toronto – 18%
Washington – 15%
N.Y. Rangers – 9%
Ottawa – 4%
Pittsburgh – 4% 

Which team is underrated?
St. Louis – 28%
Nashville – 20%
Ottawa – 11%
Florida – 11%
N.Y. Islanders – 10%
Toronto – 5% 

Who is the best referee?
Paul Devorski – 19%
Kelly Sutherland – 15%
Wes McCauley – 13%
Don VanMassenhoven – 9%
Stephen Walkom – 6%
Kyle Hehman – 6%

ARENAS AND TEAMS:
What is your favorite rink to play in?

Bell Centre (Montreal) – 33%
United Center (Chicago) – 17%
Madison Square Garden (New York) – 7%
Joe Louis Arena (Detroit) – 6%
Air Canada Centre (Toronto) – 5%
TD Garden (Boston) – 5%

Which rink has the best ice?
Rexall Place (Edmonton) – 47%
Bell Centre (Montreal) – 15%
Joe Louis Arena (Detroit) – 10%
Rogers Arena (Vancouver) – 5%
MTS Centre (Winnipeg) – 5%
Scotiabank Saddledome (Calgary) – 3%

Which rink has the worst ice?
Bank Atlantic Center (Florida) – 18%
Tampa Bay Times Forum (Tampa Bay) – 11%
Honda Center (Anaheim) – 11%
Staples Center (Los Angeles) – 8%
Madison Square Garden (New York) – 8%
American Airlines Center (Dallas) – 6%

Which team would you most like to play for?
Chicago – 14%
Detroit – 13%
Boston – 11%
Toronto – 8%
Montreal – 6%
Tampa Bay – 5%

ON-ICE:

Should the instigator rule be abolished?
No – 53%
Yes – 47%

For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers

Posted by Frank Seravalli @ 9:15 AM  Permalink | 21 comments
21
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:11 AM, 02/20/2012
    Hey Frankie, you're holding nuthin back on Bryz this morning. OUCH!!
    NFLD Flyer
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:46 AM, 02/20/2012
    Frank, the connotation of "in accordance" is usually "as required by". Did you mean "in association with" or did the CBC really set some regulation that the NHLPA was mandated to conduct the poll for them?
    calm weather
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:02 PM, 02/20/2012
    I was wondering the same thing. What does "released in accordance with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada" mean?
    1980
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:41 PM, 02/20/2012
    Sports writers in this town are rats. Bryz was the cool guy and the media loved his quirkiness at the beginning of the season, he was a great quote. Once you play bad they turn on you like Henry Hill. Dont get me wrong Bryz is not playing good at all but could we judge him after the playoffs? I am pretty sure thats why we brought in a GK.
    Bob Sacamano
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:47 PM, 02/20/2012
    Carchidi still mentions how much he likes Bryz.
    1980
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:54 PM, 02/20/2012
    Accordance does not connote requirement - look it up.
    fizzbin
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:56 PM, 02/20/2012
    On-LINE:
    Which hockey writer has the funkiest hair?
    Frank Seravalli-88%
    Tim Pannacio-10%
    Sam Carchidi-2%
    rockinrob
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:24 PM, 02/20/2012
    Good thing they didn't ask the hard questions...
    Which goalie would you most like to skate in alone on?
    Which goalie would you like to face on the shootout?
    Which goalie is most likely to play with his eyes closed?
    Which goalie might be in a coma....?
    bigdaddyG
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:48 PM, 02/20/2012
    Top all time easiest goaltenders to score against?
    Bryzgalov
    Bobrovsky
    Boucher (except for 4 games in Phoenix)
    Leighton
    Biron (only as a flyer)
    Cechmanek
    Snow
    Soderstrom
    Mark LaForrest
    Jeff Hackett (only as a flyer)
    Vanbiesbrouk (only as a flyer)
    Dominic Roussel
    Sean Burke
    Ken Wregget
    Ron Hextall (pretty much every year except rookie season really)
    philly thug
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:09 AM, 02/21/2012
    interestingly, Cechmanek won the Jennings Trophy in the NHL (awarded for team with best goals against average). He shared it with another, but either you left him off your list, or truly believed that Robert Esche was a great goalie. One Vezina trophy. Also, Ron Hextall lead the NHL with a 2.17 GAA in 1995-96. Brian Boucher had the leagues best GAA in 1999-2000 with 1.91

    Again, aside from win the Stanley Cup (which I will remind you, only one goalie gets to do a year) what do goalies have to do to be respected. This is why the current goaltender sees himself as a scapegoat. The city of Philadelphia has a rich history of making goaltenders the scapegoat.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:58 PM, 02/20/2012
    ...and how does Jeff Reese still have a job?
    philly thug
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:32 PM, 02/20/2012
    Jeff Reese, very TRUE philly thug, in the NFL that coach would be fired, it's time for the Flyers Staff to do something other than draw a Paycheck !!
    JudgeDredd
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:15 PM, 02/20/2012
    Here's a third vote for Jeff Reese's figurative head on a platter. Do us all a favor and send Bryz to Glens Falls at the same time. Up in the mountains of NY, he'll find "peace in his soul" along with lots of long bus rides, crappy food, and annoying 20 year olds with no shot of making the NHL. Have fun, Bryz!
    tmbooth5
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:53 PM, 02/20/2012
    Bryz has a no movement clause. Wishing his contract away to the corn field will be a little more complicated than you're suggesting.
    sklandog
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:47 PM, 02/20/2012
    The "instigator rule" has already been abolished. A referee no longer is required to automatically assign a game misconduct or ten-minute misconduct for someone who starts a fight between himself and another willing combatant. It's called as a minor penalty, and that's what it should draw. A player shouldn't get to start a fight without paying a reasonable price for it. Two minutes seems more than fair (mostly because I vomit every time I have to watch a player make a great body check only to have to defend himself against an opponent who thinks he knows better than the referees).
    sklandog


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About Frank Seravalli
Frank Seravalli is in his fourth year with the Daily News and third season covering the Flyers. He started at the Daily News as an intern writing about the boozing legends of the Lincoln Financial Field lots and hasn't left. Since joining the Flyers beat, he has covered everything from the Winter Classic to the Stanley Cup Final and everything in between. Prior to joining the Daily News, the Bucks County native did a large amount of freelance work for local media outlets, covering high schools, colleges and all four of Philly's major sports teams. He resides in Center City. E-mail Frank at seravaf@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter @DNFlyers.

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