[icarus]

Another summer 'best' thread, pretty simple question:

Who's the best hockey player you've ever watched?

But a few rules:

1. You must have seen them in-person. (i.e. no tv, no highlights, no smuggled VHS tapes from CCCP. Maybe an arbitrary requirement but no one is going to brag to their grandkids about someone they watched on tv)
2. You must have been old/young/sober enough to appreciate (and remember) it (i.e. if you watched Bobby Orr play when you were a toddler, doesn't count)
3. They must have performed exceptionally when you watched them (i.e. not reputation-based, so if you only saw Jagr play in Flames silks, no. Likewise if you watched Bobby Orr play when he was a toddler, doesn't count).

Since most of us have seen the Flames play live more than any other team, we'll do a Flames and non-Flames selection.

Here's mine:

Flames: Jarome Iginla. I saw the Cup era team play plenty but I was more interested in ice cream in those days, so I gotta go with Iggy. His physical play, vision, speed, shot, fighting were all so exciting to watch on so many nights. The 2004 playoffs were special, he just dominated on so many shifts and blew the lid off the 'Dome.

Non-Flames: Steve Yzerman. I have been thinking about this a bit, and I just remember during the 2004 playoffs how through sheer determination, IQ, and skill just created so much every time he was on the ice -- even while not at 100% health. It was a pleasure to watch a legend of the game elevate in the playoffs and be a perpetual threat.