I guess so... of course now I have to make sure its perfect so I dont have to hear it from all you A holes
Actually no i wont, ask me tomorrow and i probably will
But I'm a Pens fan and I have seen at least 90% of Malkins games
Before I get to malkin let me comment on the other 2....
Crosby is the best player in the league, hands down. The guy does something that makes my draw drop and leaves me speechless on a routine basis, maybe not every night, but some nights he'll do it 5 times in a game. Given he doesn't hit which is one of my later criticisms of Malkin, but he doesn't have size either... And he actually does hit occasionally, when he should, doesn't chase them or anything of course. But aside from hitting, and scoring which AO is the best at, he is pretty much the best in the league at everything else. He is so good at passing that sometimes you have to believe god is taking over his body, if Crosby is not god himself in a human form. I dont even know how he does it, its like he can not only somehow hear the slight cracking of the ice of a guy behind him and know exactly where it is and if they are on his team, but I think he can actually smell the hockey tape of his teammates and pass to within a tenth of an inch of it at any given split second. Of course this isn't true and sounds ridiculous but I mean how the hell do you want me to explain it, EVERY GAME he makes no look passes to guys and puts it RIGHT ON THEIR TAPE. Anyone who plays hockey knows that there is a huge difference between a good pass that sets you up and GREAT pass that is right in your wheelhouse, the great ones seem to just flow right off your stick and come out perfectly. Sid makes the GREAT passes 95% of the time. He is also deceptively fast and quick, has the best hockey sense in the league, almost never turns it over, wins just about every battle, and makes 1st line NHL d-men look like clowns. I know me talking about how he is amazing at drawing penalties will stir some chatter up, im not here to argue about whether its good or not (obviously if you like him you agree with it and if not he's a person for doing it) but honestly you guys should see the way he sells some penalties, it is as impressive as anything else he does. At least 5 times I have seen him sell penalties and it literally amazed me as much as anything else he has done, he doesnt just feel it and go down, he does everything perfectly, he manipulates other peoples sticks to get them where he needs them to draw calls and he doesnt just fold it up, he knows exactly how somebody would react to the infraction and sells it like (insert best actor of all times name.... im not a movie person) and all the while he makes it look like the guy is applying heavy pressure to the stick and forcing the reaction. I know many of you arent going to think this is so glorious but TRUST ME, you would have to see it to understand... its seriously amazing. I go back on my tivo and watch some of them in slow motion and I dont know how he executes these things so perfectly in a single instant. There's no time to think about it and figure out how to sell it , its boom - boom snap of the fingers blink of an eye quick. Jesus christ all ive talked about is passing and selling penalties and ive written a book. Look, ill spare you but he's #1 at almost everything eles too...
Ovechkin - Easily the best goal-scorer in the game, the most electric player too. He plays with so much fire and passion on a nightly basis, it is truely AWESOME to see it from a pro athlete who is making huge money. He hits like a train, he puts every single oz of power in his body into every shot, he is a master at one-on-one moves and at top speed the man is a blur.
Example of speed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l53nByjjsm8
Skip to 6:59.... he passes it ahead to his teammate, who clickly lays it forward, and magically ovechkin is already coming up on the puck, hes just too fast. He's also big and uses his size, physically he is a monster. Here is the move that blows my mind that AO does. He often comes in on defenders looking at their feet and has his stick out to the side, ready to make a one-on-one move... He does a 'toe drag' (uses the toe of the stick only to drag the puck back) and gets it in his wheelhouse and then fires ---- through the legs of the defensemen and inch-perfect into the corner of the net. All the goalie sees in about a 5 second span is AO flying in with a defender to beat, he starts a move, and all of a sudden a puck that miraculously flies out from between his D-mans legs is going 70+ mph over his glove.... there's just no way a goalie saves that when he does it right, and he tries it all the time and has scored on it a number of times, only 2 maybe 3 that ive seen that were as perfect as I described, but he does try it all the time, obviously confident that he can do it fairly often. Ok im running out of time ive got work in the morning i gotta get this thing movin
Malkin...
The guy is an amazing scorer and has incredible talent, no question. But he is worse than the
average player in the passing department, he has size but he never uses it to his advantage and never hits (I dont expect him to chase hits or try to knock anybody out but there is a point to checking other than looking cool). He doesn't make anyone around him better, he simply makes the score better for his team, whereas AO is a freak show of talent and energy all over the ice and sid... well sid is sid, but weve discussed those 2 already. Malkin is a competitor and loves hockey, sure, but he just doesn't have that FIRE, doesnt have the EXPLOSION... you can tell he wants to win, but not as much as a LOT of other players do. And this coming from a guy who LOVES Russian hockey players, their the most fun to watch and often dont hold anything back. I dont have enough love for Malkin to blab about him the way I did sid or ovie either (I know, lucky for you guys...)
What the hell I'll name ten quick ones off the top of my head who I would rather have on my team... in NO particular order.... thats a whole 'nother brain buster
Sidney Crosby
Alex Ovechkin
Ilya Kovalchuk
Healthy Scott Niedermayer
Marian Hossa
Nick Lidstrom
Joe Thorton
One of those pesky Red Wing forwards (HZ or PD you pick)
Jarome Iginla
Brooks Orpik
Okay you got me the last one is a joke but Brooksy is the man
All of those players, if Im a GM and I get to pick one for Christmas, would come before Malkin. I dont want to hear how im trashing Malkin because Im a fan of his, for a guy who spoke just about no english the 2 times I met him he did seem to be a pretty chill guy, and he's an amazing talent... he's just not a complete player and he doesnt help the team as much as he helps his own stats, and I dont mean that he's selfish he just doesnt have the skills/drive to do so.