hockey player's prime?

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I would say 27-28 years old.

[Keith 0]

This is somewhat of a hard question. I really think a player's style factors into what age he will be at his peak

[Karly14 21]

it really depends on who you are, most people probably prime before theyre 19 because they dont play at a high level after that

[lee92 2]

i say its anywheres from 25-35. anything below is too young, anything over is too old

[Shorthanded67 0]

Tough question depending on the player and how you define "prime". I'll use myself as an example (obviously not an NHL player....).

I was way faster when I was 19-22 and could use my speed to burn people, but that's all I had.

I'm 26 now (turn 27 in 2 weeks). I've slowed down a lot (either that or kids have just gotten a lot faster.) But my overall game is better now than it was 5-6 years ago. I see the plays develop better, make smarter passes, have a better vision of "knowing when to shoot, knowing when to pass", play a hell of a lot better defensively, and make way less mistakes. I'm less flash and dash now, but I quietly play a better game.

Overall I'd say my physical prime was when I was 21. My body might ache a bit more now after games, but my general hockey prime is now. And whose to say that? I may be a better overall player in 5 years....

[Chadd 916]

I would say around 25 for most NHL players. Gretz and Mario put up their best numbers before the age of 30 and I would expect that, on average, most players put up their best numbers once they were in the league a couple of years and were still young.

[Dan_The_Man_16 0]

Before I even voted I was thinking NHL not regular hockey players. For NHLers I would definatly say around 29-30. Lots of experience, and lots of go and fire still left in them. As for the regular guy I would say from 16-17.

[D3nZ 0]

I curently am in my prime and I am 21, probably cause i practiced 5 times a week last year and got in great shape, I sure hope everything will be holding up so I can ameliorate my play this year and maybe reach my prime next year ;).

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

You can't know if you are in your prime if your still improving.

[Sniper15 0]

You can't realize when your prime was until you're already on the decline.

[Eazy_b97 1]

I couldn't tell you a general age. However from what I've seen generally Forwards reach their prime the quickest, then Defense then Goalies. Defense takes a little longer to learn than forward and its more of a thinking game where you need to be able to adapt to everything all of the time. Goalies take the longest because they generally have to step into a team, take over the back-up role, move upto starter and then after excelling they move upto the next level and repeat the process. Obviously there are exceptions to these rules, but this is generally how I see these things at a high level.