Your favorite player of all time?

[Chadd 916]

...and Phoenix in the middle of the winter.

Who on Phoenix would you want to see?

The golf course and an utter lack of snow. I may tie that in to the Vegas trip for the other hockey show.

[Nov101775 0]

Mario - the man won the scoring title WITH CANCER.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

I had to read all the posts twice just to be sure that none of you picked Gretzky. It goes to show how young this board is. I, too, am a huge fan of Bobby Orr. He did change the game first. He was the first defenceman to lead the league in scoring, also the only defenceman to ever lead the league in scoring. Gretzky is right next to Orr, though, because he changed the game from the center's position, setting up behind the net and dishing out assists. In their prime, those two guys were unstoppable.

A lot of folks on this board are young, but I don't think that's why very few people have picked Gretz. I simply don't like him as much as the other guys I've picked, and I'm sure a lot of the other posters feel the same way.

[DarkStar50 679]

Its hard to choose your favorite player if he is someone you never saw play. Its hard for me to pick the Rocket since all I have seen are 50s highlights of him scoring on some old Rangers goalie.

[chikinpotpie 137]

I really didn't pick Gretz because I like the grittier style of hockey. A guy that is willing to go into a corner and dig the puck out or stand in front of the net and take a beating (ala Dino Ciccerelli) will always be higher than flash and dash. And before everyone jumps all over my case saying that it wasn't Gretzky's role, I know it wasn't his role, I guess that I just appreciate the "blue collar" work ethic instead of the "superstar" style of play.

[mew1838 0]

MYSELF

[J-Shera 0]

I will allways be an Yzerman fan, he had one of the greatest hearts in all of hockey. The man was pure class and one of the greatest leaders to play the game. He is also one of the most respected atheletes in any sport in the world.

[oggy_3 0]

The hitter of all hitters Scott Stevens and Forward have to be Joe Sakic or Peter Forsberg and Goalie Martin Broduer

[kovey10 0]

Brett Hull, great goal scorer and a great guy

[Neo5370 132]

I'll say Orr. I bought a Bobby Orr tribute vhs when I was young and watched it quite a bit. I was born after he retired but I am convinced he is the perfect hockey player.

For modern times I like Fedorov and Kovalev. I really wish Sergei wasn't getting old.

[flood 0]

Steve Yzerman

[kovalchuk71 212]

Zetterberg, Kovalchuk, Anson Carter, Gaborik

[Jason Harris 31]

Of all time? Bobby Orr. When I was a little kid we had no option but to watch hockey at our house. Dad used to tell me the stories of the players.. and I was completely captivated by Bobby Orr's story. Dad took me to see him play once... probably a waste of the price of admission, but I loved the game and that time with my dad.

HM, that's a wonderful tribute to your father. Is he still alive?

I second the notion about Orr. He was one of the few players that got people to lean out of their seat and hold their breath as he rushed the puck.

My second favorite was Terry O'Reilly. Think of the ferocity of Cam Neely but with one-tenth of the skill. I read that when he came to his first training camp, the others players said to the coaches, "You have to be kidding, right?" Yet he was such a hard worker that he built himself into a 600 point scorer with 2100 PIM's.

[interpathway 9]

present day it has to be alexander semin, hands down

watch that and tell me i am wrong....you see that goal against sweden??????

[Smitty34 0]

Patrick Marleau

[SuperMan3 1]

Jarome Iginla for what he does on and off the ice, he plays at an elite level and contributes 5000 it was everytime he scores a goal, contributes to kid sport, and a real fan favorite here in Calgary. Oh and he takes hometown discounts, if he was on the market there is no doubt he is a max player.

[Di Matteo98 0]

All-time: Börje Salming, I was really surprised that nobody said Salming. Even though he retired before I was born. My dad told me all of these stories about how great of a defenseman he was and how much punishment he took if it was verbal or physical. I have seen him play on the NHL network, Leafs tv and consider him my favorite player of all-time.

Currently: Dion Phaneuf and Sidney Crosby!

Future: Steven Stamkos and Luke Schenn

[JR97 2]

Roenick in his prime. Very exciting. Fast as the wind and he'd run guys through the glass.

I didn't see a lot of Gretzky, but did see him enough to know that he was probably the smartest guy ever on the ice. Passes to nowhere that ended up being perfect. And even though he didn't have the hardest shot, he always seemed to put the puck in the net. Maybe he made it look to easy.

Nowdays, I think Datsyuk would be my favorite to watch and I hate the Red Wings. He's just freaking incredible. Not that Ovechkin isn't incredible... but I love how Datsyuk pulls 4 or 5 new moves out of his butt every game. Plus, I like seeing the little guys tear it up.

[thejackal 46]

brett hull. for better or for worse i play exactly like him (but way crappier obviously) - quick hands, slow feet. i can light up AAA goalies in shooting camps, but cant seem to get more than 1 goal a game in my intramural C league

[cityofwalrus 0]

Marian Gaborik.

[Red5stby 0]

Mike Eastwood

[eric42434224 1]

Guy LaFleur was my favorite growing up.

[sjsharks11 0]

Owen Nolan, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby

[fastbrother7 0]

Ovechkin, Iginla, and Gretzky

[ashtonhutch05 0]

All time it is Brett Hull for me. Yzerman is close behind. I was just always fascinated with Hull and his shooting. Yzerman for obvious reasons, as well as being a Detroit fan all my life.

For present now it's Ilya Kovalchuk simply because he is the best offensive player in the game. I like Kovalev, Federov, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Zetterberg, and Heatley quite a bit as well.

Hate Ovechkin and Crosby.