An Ode To 'The Great One'

SteamboatJackson

Today is the birthday of Wayne 'The Great One' Gretzky and Cousin Money Mike and I wanted to honor him by ranking the three best young stars in the NHL right now. Before I wanted to just honor him with a few words and statistical knowledge. He is in the rarest of company because he might not have any company with him. Let me explain, in all the other sports there are several players that make up a Top 5. Then if you had 20 people arrange their top 5 you would probably have each one of those five getting at least one top spot nomination. In the NBA you have the big guys in Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar then the guards in Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michale Jordan. While I would put Jordan in the #1 spot that is because I am fan biased and I am not old enough to know about the other guys another.

With anyone who has hockey knowledge and you ask them who the greatest player of all-time is the answer will 99% of the time will be Wayne Gretzky. That 1% is a joker usually that will come around and give in that Gretzky is the greatest of all-time. When Gretzky retired he held 61 NHL records. Many of which will never be broken, just like Cal Ripken Jr's of most games started will never fall - MARK MY WORDS. He evolved the game and made good players look like they were second tier to him. In all honesty they really were he is in a class of his own, he ranks number one and whoever you want to put at two is such a distant two it is like the NBA Central Division standings right now. Happy Birthday Wayne.

Cousin Money Mike

To honor Wayne 'The Great One' Gretzky my buddy Steamboat and I decided to move past our differences of the Jay Cutler saga and talk about the NHL. Who is the best player in the NHL? The way any hockey fan should see it is you got 3 legit choices. Sidney "Sid the Kid" Crosby, Alexander "Ovie" Ovechkin or Steven Stamkos.

Crosby was drafted in 2005 by the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is Sids 6th season in the NHL and now captain of the Penguins has turned them into a powerhouse. In 6 season Crosby has played in 412 games (Not including postseason). He has compiled 215 goals, 357 assists, and a whooping 572 points. Not to mention he is only 23 years old. In first season as an 18 year old he tallied 102 points which was good enough for 6thd in the league. In his 2nd season he won the MVP by posting 120 points.

Ovie (25) was the first pick of the 2004 NHL draft by the Washington Capitals. Ovie is also in his 6th season as a left winger and also the captain on the Capitals. And has turned them into a powerhouse. Ovie has played in 446 games (Not including postseason). He has totaled 228 goals, 292 assists and 580 points in 6 seasons. In his first season he led all rookies in points with 106 points and edged out Crosby for rookie of the year. Ovie is known along with his dynamic ability to create to be a force as well with monster hits.

Stamkos (21) in the last two years has put up ridiculous numbers. He was the first pick on the 2008 draft selected by the Tampa Bay Lighting. Stamkos has played 161 NHL games. He has 74 goals, 67 assists, and 141 points. Wow! He has never been to the postseason. Although the way Tampa is playing right now you will see him come playoff time.

All three of these guys are phenomenal players. With Stamkos only being in the league 2 years he ranks 3rd on my list. Crosby and Ovie have changed the NHL. It was a sport where nobody was watching and now is becoming more and more popular mainly because of these two players. This past winter classic was a great having Ovie and Sid on the ice at Heinz field. Ovie takes 2nd on my list only because of his postseason play. He can't win in the postseason. (Him and Lebron should get together and talk). Let's look at my guy Sid the Kid. Been in the league 6 years and has been to the finals twice already. Runner up in 08 and won it in 09. It took Crosby this year to finally catch Ovie in total points. Mainly in part because he was putting up monster numbers until his head injury and Ovie is having a below average year. Ovie is the more talented player, but I'm sticking with Crosby because he has a two Cup appearances and one Stanley Cup. This postseason is shaping up to be a great one. Can't wait!!!

SteamboatJackson

Cousin Money Mike said many things that I like, while we have very different opinions in football - hockey is where we see eye to eye often. Stamkos is the young gun that is trying to show these older guys that he is in their tier. Crosby wills his team to victory and is a leader much like Jonathan Toews of the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Ovechkin is a leader that knows only one speed and always plays at a certain level of craziness.

3) Third for me is the same, Steven Stamkos. He is just too young to jump these other studs and be called the NHLs new golden child. While wearing a 'C' or an 'A' has nothing to do with how good a player is it an important part of in my eyes of being one of the best players. A lot of players have chosen to be great for themselves, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Barry Bonds and did nothing for those surrounding them. While Stamkos is not like any of those guys in a any regard; he has a lot to grow into and learn. When this list is redone when they all retire he could find himself sit atop it. While the Tampa Bay Lightning have finally started to build an orginization down in Florida they have to keep getting this guy some gamers to surround himself with. He leads the league in goals because he has St Louis feathering him passes, but has an unbalanced assist number due to not many people around him that can finish and Simon Gagne not staying healthy. He reminds me of Ovechkin a few years ago when he was ending the season with 200 more shots than the next closest guy because he didn't have much and was doing it all on his own. Stamkos your day will come especially with Steve Yzerman building that organization, as much as I hate the Red Wings that organization is a model on how to build good teams.

2) Sidney Crosby is number two for me. He was having one of the best seasons of his career until he went down with a concussion. In all honesty I just do not like Sidney Crosby, I acknowledge his talent and desire are top notch. Other than the guys on his team I don't think many other guys in the league like him much either because he seems like a cry baby. I do wish he would have finished this season playing all 82 games because us as fans got cheated. He could have put up possibly around 140 points. Where he has really benefited this year is that him and Malkin been playing more shifts together this year. His playoff success is also noted but his buddy Malkin has actually outplayed him ever so slightly in the playoffs. So while Malkin isn't the face of that franchise he does take home the second most valuable award from the Stanley Cup, the Conn Smyth Award. Many things are handed to Crosby on a silver platter which is what I don't like; he is deemed the golden child and the face of the NHL. Crosby is also on the best team top to bottom of these three guys.

1) Alex Ovechkin brings home the trophy for me as the number one player in the NHL right now. Cousin Mike calls him 'Ovie' but he also goes by he is also known as 'Alexander the Great (Gr8 if you choose)'. When I see Ovechkin everything about him screams that he is a man's man playing a man's game. He has won the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard twice for leading the league in goals and was the runner-up last year behind Stamkos and Crosby by one goal. Ovechkin has also won the Hart Memorial Trophy twice and was runner-up last year to one of the ginger-headed Sedin brothers. Personally I thought he got snubbed and he should have won his third one in a row. He has a top 5 slap shot for forwards and maybe even in the entire league. His energy and desire to win are second to none because he is crazy as shit. While that might not be the most important to who he is as a player it makes him easier to relate to because I'm crazy as shit to. The guy lights the lamp and is actually becoming a better passer. When I see 'Ovie' on the ice it reminds me of when I smile into that mirror and see no tooth. For me I have always liked his recklessness and excitement for the game. His ability and talent put him at number one two, once he wins the Stanley Cup this year too he will silence a lot of critics. Some bonds run deeper than others and mine and his starts and ends with our toothless smiles.