Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Random
Yes and no.
I was fascinated by Sergei Makarov when he first came over to the NHL, and watched him every chance I got when he was on the ice. (Hard to do, alas, for those games that were only on radio.)
Offhand, I don't recall Makarov ever winning a board battle… but he hardly ever lost one either. He just didn't get into them. If he had the puck, nobody could trap him against the boards because he was so quick and shifty on his feet. If he didn't have the puck, he would just reach in with his stick and see if he could pry it loose, and next thing you knew, he was streaking the other way towards a scoring chance. He didn't need to outmuscle guys along the boards. That wasn't his game.
Johnny Gaudreau reminds me of Makarov more than any other player I have seen play in all the years since then.
|
Makarov, IMO, was one of the strongest and proficient puck protecting forwards of his generation.
Incredible strength and balance for 5’ 9” 185 pounds.