NHL Best Skaters of All-Time – 2021 Edition | TheHockeyFanatic (2024)

Skating… it is probably the most important skill in thegame of ice hockey. The ability to skatewell can put a player in a position to step up and make a brilliant offensiveplay or can give a player the ability to not only be in better defensively, butcan cause turnovers and transition the play from one end to the other.

The NHL has seen some great players over the years, but ithas always been a challenge to rate the best skaters in the game. How do you rate a Howie Morenz who used oldleather skates with limited ankle support with a Mathew Barzal who used the CCMSuper Tacks AS3 Pro high-end skates? Technologyhas made good skaters great. Skatingcoaches have made great skaters elite skaters. The times have changed when it comes to aplayer being able to develop their skating ability, but there is something tobe said for players with natural, God-given skating prowess.

Back in the day, growing up in Canada, like many kids Iskated on ponds and outdoor rinks and in arenas all over western Canada. I loved to skate, I loved the sound of theblades as they carved the ice. It wasonly in my teen years where I realized that a good skate could actually make adifference in how you skated. As a kid Ialways had a cheap pair of Bauer skates (usually Bauer Supreme) and you couldn’treally tell the difference between skates other than if they had sufficientankle support. (In my case they oftendid not). It was amazing to me that onetime in bantam, I tried a teammates CCM tacks that were more properly sizedthat I seemed to have a second gear when I skated up and down the ice. I couldn’t believe the improvement in myspeed. Nowadays the technology in skatesin years ahead of what we had as kids.

In today’s NHL the players have multiple pairs of skates. Many use Bauer Supreme 2S Pro or Bauer Vapour 2X Pro, while other use CCM Tacks or TRUE Custom Pro, the technology of the skate has evolved greatly over the past couple of decades. Today’s NHL skaters have quite an advantage over the players from 100 years ago.

In our rankings below, we attempted to take in consideration of the technology of the skates that players have today. We used the following five criteria to determine our list of the NHL’s best skaters of all-time:

1. Mobility – the ability to move on theice, forward, backward, lateral movement.
2. Acceleration – factoring in start andstops and the ability to gather speed quickly.
3. Ability to stink handle – puck movementand ability to stick handle at high speeds.
4. Overall foot speed – how quick the playermoves their feet, factoring the stride of the skater.
5. Top End Speed – quickness and overallability to skate at high speeds and generate separation.

We used our own NSI (Nimetz Skating Index) score to grade the players. We have rated the players out of ten for each metric. Top score a player could obtain was 50.

NHL’s All-Time Greatest Skaters

Here is a look at the best skaters the NHL has seen over the years.

1. Connor McDavid

   Edmonton Oilers. We begin will the most electric skater the NHL has ever seen. Connor McDavid does things with the puck at high speeds that no one has ever done before. His edgework is great and his ability to start and stop is unmatched. He has reached 42 km/hr with his top end speed in live game action. He possesses it all when it comes to skating.

2. Bobby Orr

   – Boston Bruins/Chicago Blackhawks The great number four Bobby Orr was able to control the game with his skating ability. While many of the younger generation will not have seen Orr skate, there are some classic YouTube clips of Bobby Orr dominating entire shifts with his natural skating ability.

Paul Coffey

Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, and Boston Bruins.

One of the most beautiful strides ever to grace the ice ofthe National Hockey League. Paul Coffeywas as smooth as skater as there ever was.He played defence with the ability to move the puck out of his own endand join the rush like no one else. He’sthe only NHL defenseman to challenge the 50 goal in a season plateau havingscored 48 in 1985-86.

Pavel Bure

Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers

The Russian Rocket was aptly named due to his explosive skatingand overall skating speed. This guybrought energy to the game like fans haven’t see before. Like Bobby Orr, chronic knee injuries wouldplague the rocket forcing him to retire in 2005.