Careers?

[Borsch 0]

One thing you've got is the right heroes: Kovalev (I think) is the smoothest, most skilful player of all time. Both his skating and puck handling are poetry in motion. Its like his made of water or something -he goes for the moves other players can only dream about and succeeds...

No offence

PPPS Equipment does NOT matter, my friend;) Soviet/russian players are testimony to that!

Ok, I just have to object to that...Kovalev is a sick player, for sure, of that there can be no doubt, but "the smoothest, most skilful player of all time?" Not a chance in hell.

IMO, Lemieux is the most naturally talented and smooth player ever. Just watching him is like watching the game in slow-mo...so effortless, it sounds dumb, but when he's got the puck on his stick, he just looks like a flowing river...

I just think you can really notice Lemieux vs. everyone else...Bure, Kovalev, all the Russians/Europeans seem to really rely on quickness and their dangles all look nice, but SPASTIC to me...I watch Lemieux and it's evident that he doesn't need to pull off his moves at the highest speed - he's just that good and that smooth.

And regarding the equipment point: I think that in the past, it was obvious that Russian players didn't have access to the highest quality equipment, but these days, the high-level players seem to all have the same stuff that we do...not sure about the tykes tho, they may not have access, since cost is so prohibitive...

Hehe I saw this coming:)

Lemieux is maybe the best player of all time - but!.. His skating stride (maybe cause he's so tall and all) IS kinda awkward. And he doesn't really flow and mix his skating moves with stickhandling- his stickhandling being so good and his reach so huge he almost doesn't need it... Ha, just remembered how my girlfriend sort of cringed when she saw #66 in action, but comented how "sexy" did Gretzky look when skating... You know what I mean!! :D what i mean of course is Lemieux is not the smoothest - not by far: Gretz, Fedorov (only his skating and in his heyday), Balderis ('80's soviet player) AND Kovalev.

"Bure, Kovalev, all the Russians/Europeans seem to really rely on quickness and their dangles all look nice, but SPASTIC to me..."- Kovalev is nothing like Bure. And is nothing like "spastic". Actualy you'll hardly ever see him skating full bore(repeat: nothing like Bure). AND he never "jerks" his moves (and that's probably why he's so effective ) he just flows from one element into another: crossover into zig-zag into head/shoulder fake... Watch him!!!!

[crosskore 0]

Lemieux Isnt very smooth. I would say Lemieux is slow. I didnt get to watch him that much in his prime, but it seems now his best asset is his vision on the ice and his thinking, not so much his athletic ability. Watching him with the puck makes everything look like its in slowmotion because once he gets the puck, he makes it slowmotion because he skates so slow. Mind you, thats with his bad back and kneese and everything. I cant comment on him when he was younger.

[2048 0]

Lemieux was NOT slow at all. He could burn anyone he wanted to. Thing is, he looked slow because he had such an effortless stride. Lemieux's about 6'5, a lot of people seem to forget that.

Edit-

Regarding Kovalev. He is silky smooth and fast, but he also gets burned just as quickly sometimes. I'm guessing you're not a Rangers fan...

[Borsch 0]

Regarding Kovalev. He is silky smooth and fast, but he also gets burned just as quickly sometimes. I'm guessing you're not a Rangers fan...

"Burned"- you mean when playing defence? Who cares (shrugs shoulders) :)

Not a rangers fan, no. I like some players, I like some teams, I like HOCKEY;)

Not a fan of any particular team

[Chadd 916]

Lemieux was NOT slow at all. He could burn anyone he wanted to. Thing is, he looked slow because he had such an effortless stride. Lemieux's about 6'5, a lot of people seem to forget that.

Edit-

Regarding Kovalev. He is silky smooth and fast, but he also gets burned just as quickly sometimes. I'm guessing you're not a Rangers fan...

Emphasis was placed on the wrong word, that statement should have read:

Lemiuex WAS not slow at all......

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

Kovy, man, way to go!

This thread applies to me as well, so I've read through it and have to say that you are on exactly the right path. Doing what we love is the way to go(maybe the only way to be happy, since happiness is a journey), important thing is to go with heart and full commitment. Then resonance effect will be achieved - passion ,head and hard work are all needed for that though. Practice new stuff all the time do not go through the motions with what you already can do. Be hard on yourself- be very critical, you don't need someone's else’s criticism or praise - you know everything about yourself exactly.  And use your head as well. Just working hard will never be enough to make it in any field like yours. Many people work like mad through their lives but achieve relatively little. Oh well, I could say many things to you from the height of my 24 year-oldness, but... I'm a bit lazy in putting it all together... 

PS Honestly do you really think you're good enough?  :) What's your skating like - can you do Allen Slide Glide, Russian Kip... Stickhandling - head always up? One thing you've got is the right heroes: Kovalev (I think) is the smoothest, most skilful player of all time. Both his skating and puck handling are poetry in motion. Its like his made of water or something -he goes for the moves other players can only dream about and succeeds...

PPS Iam not jealous B) For one at the moment I'm a student and as such able to do whatever I like (for most part) - play hockey for fun is one thing and I'm also grade 9 on piano... but also spending my entire life in hockey would mean spending entire life among hockey players, who (no offence) are a bit narrow minded(to put it politely:) No offence

PPPS Equipment does NOT matter, my friend;) Soviet/russian players are testimony to that!

Nice to heard this from you Borsch and also thanks for your couple advices.

Honestly, I'm good enough to make a pro career, not sure if I will be good enough to play in the NHL but I have a lot skills that's for sure, my three best skills are my stickhandling, my skating agility and my hockey sense. I need to gain strenght but I think it will come with the time and training.

I also think Kovy is the most skillful player of all time but we can't all share the same point of view. (nice to see there's another MSH member that think like me on that point) :D . I like your term of "poetry" when you described Kovalev's skills.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Kovy where are you playing right now anyways? I know people who led Tier II teams in scoring and are working at the Steel Mills right now. It's a difficult field, but i do wish you luck.

[2048 0]

Regarding Kovalev.  He is silky smooth and fast, but he also gets burned just as quickly sometimes.  I'm guessing you're not a Rangers fan...

"Burned"- you mean when playing defence? Who cares (shrugs shoulders) :)

Not a rangers fan, no. I like some players, I like some teams, I like HOCKEY;)

Not a fan of any particular team

It's a team game and Kovalev can screw a team over just as well as he can help it. So many turnovers at the blueline while trying to beat 5 guys...but then, his fans don't really care about his shortcomings.

[Borsch 0]

Nice to heard this from you Borsch and also thanks for your couple advices.

Honestly, I'm good enough to make a pro career, not sure if I will be good enough to play in the NHL but I have a lot skills that's for sure, my three best skills are my stickhandling, my skating agility and my hockey sense. I need to gain strenght but I think it will come with the time and training.

I also think Kovy is the most skillful player of all time but we can't all share the same point of view. (nice to see there's another MSH member that think like me on that point) :D . I like your term of "poetry" when you described Kovalev's skills.

Yeah, Kovy_ribs, good luck once again!

Make sure you train hard! :D THE important thing... First on your own/with a friend and then impimenting learnt skills at your team practices & games. I know that Bure brothers have done that (5-6am till 8am practice on there own with their father, 9am-2pm school, 3pm-6pm practice with a team. Every day) and to me it sounds like the best way to learn... Plus going to bed early, running, proper diet(make sure you take cod liver oil for your joints;))...

...Just remembered another little fact that speaks volumes as well: young Jagr was doing 2000 squats every day to build his legstrength... Talk about determintaion and commitment. (general public of course tends to not know such things and blame it all on "talent" haha)

Practicing with a good team/coach is imperative as well of course.

And can you do russian kip and allen side glide?:)

EasyB:

Datsyuk was never a top scorer in the RHL (0.2 - 0.3 points per game). Its not "how many you score" (unless its A LOT hehe) that gets you to the NHL its the touch of class about the player.

Everybody else about Kovalev:

I've not really watched him play for the Rangers (but there is something wrong in the NY air anyway- and Leech (maybe Bure in his short spell) was the only superstar who have ever perforemed for them consistantly lately) But in Pitsburgh Kovalev has hardly put a foot wrong. No givaways. Amazing plays. The most watchable player in the league by far.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

...Just remembered another little fact that speaks volumes as well: young Jagr was doing 2000 squats every day to build his legstrength... Talk about determintaion and commitment. (general public of course tends to not know such things and blame it all on "talent" haha)

Practicing with a good team/coach is imperative as well of course.

And can you do russian kip and allen side glide?:)

EasyB:

Datsyuk was never a top scorer in the RHL (0.2 - 0.3 points per game). Its not "how many you score" (unless its A LOT hehe) that gets you to the NHL its the touch of class about the player.

Everybody else about Kovalev:

I've not really watched him play for the Rangers (but there is something wrong in the NY air anyway-  and Leech (maybe Bure in his short spell) was the only superstar who have ever perforemed for them consistantly lately) But in Pitsburgh Kovalev has hardly put a foot wrong. No givaways. Amazing plays. The most watchable player in the league by far.

Sorry Borsch, english is not my first language, can you explain to me what is a russian kip and allen slide glide?

Interesting story about Datsyuk, Jagr and the Bure's.

Do you know Kovalev was shooting 700-800 heavy pucks every morning on summer time, talk about developing a hard and accurate shot.

A thing I know about hockey, it's all about passion, practice and hard-work. All the skills I'm good at are the results of long practice time.

For the Bure's story, it's very interesting, never heard of that before. I have a brother also that is pretty good but not commit to training like I am, He's younger than me though. I will ask him about training with me. I have a question for you for the Bure's brothers, do you know what they were doing from :

5 am to 8 am : and 9am to 2 am, I like those kind of stories, I also have at home the Kovalev road to sucess book written by his father. That's a very interesting book and we can learn in the book how Alex was training hard. In my training, I tend to do what Alex was doing so it's why I would like to know more about the Bure's brothers.

Oh and for Jagr, do you know if he was doing 2000 squats in one shot? I'm doing a lot of squats but not that much. I will try to reach his numbers with the time. And some people wonders why Jagr got so much balance on his skates, lol ;) .

I remember the days Alex spent with Pittsburgh. I have never seen a player take the control of a game like he was doing in that time.

Its not "how many you score" (unless its A LOT hehe) that gets you to the NHL its the touch of class about the player. Hey I love that...

Oh sorry folks, I forgot something to say. IMO, it's very important to work on your physical strenght, but it's more important to work on your skills on dryland. I talk about practicing stickhandling, shooting, skating technique on dryland.

[Borsch 0]

[Borsch 0]

Allen Slide Glide

[JR Boucicaut 3803]

Um...

Is this a showboating book? Then all of the guys you guys admire probably have autographed copies of the book ;)

[Borsch 0]

Um...

Is this a showboating book? Then all of the guys you guys admire probably have autographed copies of the book ;)

Russian Kip is from "Skating for Hockey" book (This exercise is used in russian hockey schools)

Allen Slide Glide from "Hockey Handbook" by legendary Lloyd Percival. Ever heard of him? ;)

[MDE3 0]

The fascination with extremes of training dates back a long way in the success of European hockey. However admirable this dedication may be, there are a couple of pitfalls on this path. One is purely boredom...you can train the passion out of the game. The second pitfall is developing certain aspects too much, which imbalances the players development. In the case of both Jagr and Bure, the loss of flexibility from their training regimes should be noted.

Jagr has never been the same since he pulled his groin muscle...a typical injury from not being flexible enough....and Bure's tremendous leg development allowed him to over power his own knee joints, inflicting damage which led ultimately to his demise.

Balance in your routines, with activities that take you away from hockey is extremely important to keep your brain fresh too.

Chadd your comment on "pro players not caring about what they use" is exactly my own experience too, in terms of brand and flash..other than how much they get paid to use it.....as long as it works and feels right. Even to the point of it becoming very difficult to get some to try anything new, for fear of losing what they already have. The difference with them and most of us in here? They already know what it took to make the cut, and it wasn't the equipment that tipped the scales.

[Borsch 0]

I don't understand you 2...

I am trying to give tips to developing "skills forward". Not hard nosed D. Not power forward...

are you doubting that russian kip develops foot quickness/speed (not to confuse with skating speed)?

are you doubting that a player with allen Slide has in his arsenal has a very advanced edge control?

[Chadd 916]

I don't understand you 2...

I am trying to give tips to developing "skills forward". Not hard nosed D. Not power forward...

are you doubting that russian kip develops foot quickness/speed (not to confuse with skating speed)?

are you doubting that a player with allen Slide has in his arsenal has a very advanced edge control?

Those moves demonstrate those skills, not develop them. There are a lot more important things to spend time working on. In fact, I would say that more than half of NHL players have never done anything remotely like the Russian Kip.

[Borsch 0]

Those moves demonstrate those skills, not develop them. There are a lot more important things to spend time working on. In fact, I would say that more than half of NHL players have never done anything remotely like the Russian Kip.

Of course they develop them!

Russian Kip exercise

start off without skates on a carpet>with skates on a carpet>on ice>voila!

Allen Aslide glide

Really is simply a progreesion of Swedish c-cut. Slowly glide on one foot into a glide. Then pick up speed.

[Chadd 916]

Those moves demonstrate those skills, not develop them. There are a lot more important things to spend time working on. In fact, I would say that more than half of NHL players have never done anything remotely like the Russian Kip.

Of course they develop them!

Russian Kip exercise

start off without skates on a carpet>with skates on a carpet>on ice>voila!

Allen Aslide glide

Really is simply a progreesion of Swedish c-cut. Slowly glide on one foot into a glide. Then pick up speed.

The "Russian kip" is nothing special off the ice. It's a 2 foot hop, a very basic p[lyometric excercise. I guess that name isn't sexy enough though.

[Borsch 0]

The "Russian kip" is nothing special off the ice. It's a 2 foot hop, a very basic p[lyometric excercise. I guess that name isn't sexy enough though.

Russin kip is a difficult on ice exercise. Like all difficult manuvers it needs to be broken down into elements and then practiced. Practice the basic mechanics first, then add skates into the equation. End result - faster foot speed, superior balance.

Russian players repeat this exercise the entire length of the rink.

[Chadd 916]

There are much better methods to reach the same objective.

[Borsch 0]

Oh yeah? :)

Listen, we are diviating... I have only braught up this russian kip etc so that our "pro to be" Kovy could test himself and also out my curiosity regarding how good he was. i don't know why...

Regarding advanced skating development- sure, there is no single way to get there, with each way having its own followers. Lets hear something constructive, ie what is the best exercise for you to improve foot speed. More effective than the "kip".

[beaucoup_fish 0]

I don't see how the Russian Kip would develop quicker feet...balance, yes, but foot-speed?

[Eazy_b97 1]

For alot of you guys looking into careers in hockey read "So your son wants to play in the NHL". It's a good read, I read it, but know my shots were gone LONG ago, but its a good story and comes from 2 perspectives. An NHLers and an NHLers father. It tells of things that helped him make it through, its interesting and may help with the "what it'll take aspect".

[Borsch 0]

Thanks, Easyb! That's it guys, something constructive.

beaucoup_fish

you need to shoot your feet from underneeth you and then to return them there before your backside hits the ice :D And do it the entire length of the ice, ie developing not just a one off quick movement, but consistant quickness!

It's a GREAT exercise for advanced skaters.