Article on how Kovalev develop his stickhandling..

[tokes 0]

He's also good at this too:

look, Kovalev vs Ovechkin, 1vs1, I take Kovalev anytime.

Get off kovalev's nuts, seriously.

What does Kovalev do? An occasional nice stickhandling play? Whoo-de-freakin-doo. Ovechkin can stickhandle, he has heart, plays physical, plays hard, and doesn't fake injuries like a little bitch. Jesus christ, all you ever do is ride his dick around here and it's getting a bit rediculous sounding how you'd put him on a pedestal over somebody like Ovechkin who plays an infinitely more complete game.

[Dante2004 0]

Kovalev is about the only guy in the NHL that I've seen that half-asses more than Lecavalier. It's a shame because both could have been two of the greats, especially considering that their half-assing and still as good as they are. What both of them need is a coach that can light a fire under their ass and get some hustle.

You have to throw Fedorov into this mix too. I remember back a few years when he was in Detroit...and got something like a $12 million bonus if they made say far into the playoffs (conference final?). He was on fire though the playoffs until they reached that milestone and then he completely disappeared.

Same thing would happen near the end of a contract.

Lazy, selfish...could have been great.

[Neo5370 132]

Kovalev is about the only guy in the NHL that I've seen that half-asses more than Lecavalier. It's a shame because both could have been two of the greats, especially considering that their half-assing and still as good as they are. What both of them need is a coach that can light a fire under their ass and get some hustle.

You have to throw Fedorov into this mix too. I remember back a few years when he was in Detroit...and got something like a $12 million bonus if they made say far into the playoffs (conference final?). He was on fire though the playoffs until they reached that milestone and then he completely disappeared.

Same thing would happen near the end of a contract.

Lazy, selfish...could have been great.

Could've been great???? You don't think a few stanley cup rings, an MVP, multiple selke's and 1000+ NHL points is great? I understand your point is that he could've tried harder but give the guy (Fedorov) a break.

I agree with a previous post that if they changed their mindset maybe they'd be worse off than they are. In the case of Kovalev, maybe, in the case of Fedorov probably not.

I mean they must've worked pretty hard to get to where they are.

[willc7786 0]

In Fedorovs case, I also give him credit because he let the Red Wings play him on defense for a while. I remember reading that his agent, which I think is actually his dad, flipped out about it but Fedorov went along with it.

[stick9 884]

Kovalev is about the only guy in the NHL that I've seen that half-asses more than Lecavalier. It's a shame because both could have been two of the greats, especially considering that their half-assing and still as good as they are. What both of them need is a coach that can light a fire under their ass and get some hustle.

You have to throw Fedorov into this mix too. I remember back a few years when he was in Detroit...and got something like a $12 million bonus if they made say far into the playoffs (conference final?). He was on fire though the playoffs until they reached that milestone and then he completely disappeared.

Same thing would happen near the end of a contract.

Lazy, selfish...could have been great.

I wouldn't compare Kovalov and Fedorov. Many nights Kovy needed a road map to find the defensive zone. Other nights he got lost and ended up there by accident. Fedorov on the other hand would be the first guy up ice and the first guy back down ice on the back check. I never saw Fedorov loaf. I never saw him take the easy way out or avoid contact. If Kovy played with the heart and grit Fedorov did he would have been the player everyone thought he could be.

[ktang 34]

Fedorov won the Selke, too, IIRC.

[TBLfan 25]

Kovalev is about the only guy in the NHL that I've seen that half-asses more than Lecavalier. It's a shame because both could have been two of the greats, especially considering that their half-assing and still as good as they are. What both of them need is a coach that can light a fire under their ass and get some hustle.

They might not be as good if they didn't half ass it. Maybe it allows them to relax more and show thier talent. Not advocating lack of hustle, just if it aint broke don't fix it.

If the guys are some of the best in the NHL, why change thier mindset.

IF you have seen Vinny skating hard and really playing he just dominates the ice. It's just incredible. The thing is; when Vinny isn't fired up he seemingly gives up on plays and doesn't use his speed and strength. He would have scored a lot more when he was younger and he would have learned a LOT more than he has. He'd probably be one of the greats, in my opinion a definite top 10 of all time... maybe even higher. But right now he's not even top 50. But we'll never know.

[#96 0]

My wood chopping skills on ice are excellent. In other words, my stick-handling sucks. I usually get some ice before work and the other day decided to put out 3 orange cones to work on the wood chopping. MSG showed Straka stick-handling in and out of the cones before the Leafs game a week ago. I put in about 20 minutes of just weaving in and out with the puck around the cones. It helped a lot when I played the next day. Sometimes we do spend too much time working on our strengths and not nearly enough time on our weaknesses.

Kovalev's stick-handling is awesome. The other night against Toronto though he screwed up and skated himself right outside the blueline with the puck. Oh well, nobody's perfect.

Good point, Pete. That's what separates the Pros from the Amateurs. Pros work on what they need to work on, amateurs work on what they're already good at.

[opus22 0]

to agree witht the other poster, one on one i would take kovy over ao - and im not into kovy's nuts. that kind of game would lean towards kovys's strengths. fwiw, ive seen ao live and a bunch on tv, and im not saying he isnt the man...he is... but he isnt as dominant as he was last year. i saw him here in denver last week and it was actually a disappointment. he floats so much more than i thought he did. im looking forward to seeing ilya this year live, its my contention that in the end he and ao will be about the same. ilya did some shocking things as an 18 year old in the old nhl.

[stick9 884]

to agree witht the other poster, one on one i would take kovy over ao - and im not into kovy's nuts. that kind of game would lean towards kovys's strengths. fwiw, ive seen ao live and a bunch on tv, and im not saying he isnt the man...he is... but he isnt as dominant as he was last year. i saw him here in denver last week and it was actually a disappointment. he floats so much more than i thought he did. im looking forward to seeing ilya this year live, its my contention that in the end he and ao will be about the same. ilya did some shocking things as an 18 year old in the old nhl.

I think AO has it over Ilya. In the end I think people will talk about how Ilya had all the tools to be an AO type of player, just not the heart.

[willc7786 0]

I'm pretty sure Ilya doesn't have the physical strength that AO uses. I could be wrong and just be going by the way he plays, and not the way he COULD play though. On the other hand, I'd take Kovalchuk on a breakaway any day of the week over AO.

My line I like to call the Russian Renaissance:

Kovalchuk-Malkin-Ovechkin

[DP_57 1]

but he isnt as dominant as he was last year. i saw him here in denver last week and it was actually a disappointment. he floats so much more than i thought he did. im looking forward to seeing ilya this year live, its my contention that in the end he and ao will be about the same. ilya did some shocking things as an 18 year old in the old nhl.

Thats what I thought when I saw him at the Bell Centre last year.