Canada's Greatest Hockey Players

From various "greats" to The Great One himself, Canada has produced many of the best hockey players the world has ever seen.

Sidney Crosby:

Drafted 1st overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005, Sid the Kid began his NHL career by proving that he was every bit as good as he was projected to be.

During his rookie season in 2005-06, Crosby set franchise records for the Penguins in both assists and points for a first year player, surpassing previous records held by Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux.

He would finish the season with a total of 102 points and with several milestones under his belt, including being the youngest player in the history of the NHL to score 100 points in a season.

Although he had set the league on fire, he would eventually lose out to rival rookie Alexander Ovechkin for the NHL's rookie of the year award.

Wayne Gretzky once famously mused that out of all the prospects at the time, he thought Crosby had the best chance to beat many of his records. But while this doesn't appear at present to be possible, The Next One (as he became known after Gretzky's show of faith) is still a force to be reckoned with and is without a doubt one the very best players in the history of the NHL, even at the tender age of 22 and with his entire career still ahead of him.

NHL Totals:

GP - 322
G - 152
A - 283
PTS - 435

Gordie Howe:

When your nickname is eponymous with the very sport that it's derived from (in this case, Mr. Hockey), it's a pretty safe bet that you are the embodiment of pure awesomeness.

Howe began his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1946-47 season, where he netted a mere 22 points in 58 games played.

This would hardly foreshadow his future status as one of the greatest athletes of all time however. Howe would go on to play an astounding 26 seasons in the NHL during a career that spanned several decades.

In this time, he would lead Detroit to 4 Stanley Cups and would amass a slew of both personal awards and league records. Some of these include 6 Art Ross and 6 Hart trophies, as well as 23 All-Star Game appearances.

He is also recognized as being the only professional athlete to have placed among the top 5 in scoring in 20 consecutive seasons of their respective sport.

In 1998, Gordie Howe was named the 3rd greatest hockey player of all time in a list published by The Hockey News.

NHL Totals:

GP - 1,767
G - 801
A - 1,049
PTS - 1,850

Maurice Richard:

Maurice "Rocket" Richard played his entire NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens, beginning in the 1942-43 season.

His rookie season saw him score 11 points in 16 games. While respectable, he would follow up with a significantly higher points per game average in subsequent years.

Known as one of the greatest goal scorers of all time, Richard had a special NHL trophy named after him. First awarded at the conclusion of the 1998-99 season, the Maurice Richard Trophy is given to the top regular season goal scorer in the NHL.

The Rocket won 8 Stanley cups in his career, 5 of them in consecutive years. On top of this, he played in 13 All-Star Games and won the Hart Trophy in 1947.

NHL Totals:

GP - 978
G - 544
A - 421
PTS - 965

Bobby Orr:

Regarded by many as the greatest defenseman of all time, Bobby Orr also excelled in the offensive aspects of the game. He still holds the record for most points in a single season by a defenseman and is the only defenseman in NHL history to win 2 Art Ross Trophies.

Orr played the majority of his career with the Boston Bruins, who had signed him when he was just 14. As per NHL rules however, he couldn't play in the league until he turned 18.

When he finally entered the league, he managed 41 points and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

During his career, Bobby Orr became the first defenseman to score 40 goals in a season, won 2 Stanley Cups, 8 Norris Trophies, 3 Hart Trophies, 2 playoff MVP awards and played in 7 All-Star Games.

NHL Totals:

GP - 657
G - 270
A - 645
PTS - 915

Mario Lemieux:

Super Mario played his first NHL game in 1984, and during his first shift with the Pittsburgh Penguins he scored his first goal on his first shot. This was only the beginning.

Lemieux was one of the greatest playmakers, goal scorers and stick handlers of all time. And in a career cut short by injury and illness, he still managed the second highest points per game average in NHL history (1.8 to Gretzky's 1.9).

Mario scored exactly 100 points in 73 games during his rookie season, earning him the Calder Trophy. That same year he made it to the NHL All-Star Game and took home the All-Star MVP award, setting a record as the first rookie to ever do so.

In the 1990-91 season, Lemieux led the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup Championship, winning the Conn Smyth as playoff MVP in the process. The following year would be an exact repeat of this, with Pittsburgh taking home the Stanley Cup and Lemieux taking home the MVP award.

During his career, Mario Lemieux set many records, won heaps of awards and posted stats that were second only to Wayne Gretzky himself.

He retired in 2006 at age 40, having played just 26 games that season.

NHL Totals:

GP - 915
G - 690
A - 1,033
PTS - 1,723

Wayne Gretzky:

Wayne Gretzky is the greatest of them all. Number 99, or The Great One as he is known in the hockey world, has broken and set more NHL records than can conceivably be matched by any other player in the near or distant future.

Gretzky got his start with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1979-80 season, where he managed to tie Marcel Dionne for the overall scoring lead with 137 points. He would not be awarded the Art Ross however as Dionne had managed 2 more goals and thus was given the trophy.

Gretzky would also lose out on the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year due to a technicality that excluded him from consideration because of a previous season of professional play in another league.

Despite this, he was awarded the Hart Trophy as league MVP and set records for most points by a rookie (137) and for being the youngest player in NHL history to score 50 or more goals in a single season.

Wayne would go on to lead Edmonton to 4 Stanley Cups and in the process won the Art Ross and Hart Trophies in 7 and 8 consecutive seasons respectively.

Upon his trade to the Los Angeles Kings, Gretzky turned the franchise around and made them an immediate contender for the Cup, although he would never actually win the Stanley Cup again.

His presence in LA gave rise to the popularity of hockey in California and other less traditional hockey markets, allowing the NHL to expand throughout the 90's.

During his career, Wayne Gretzky set numerous records that have yet to be broken, such as scoring 200 or more points in one season, the most goals in one season (92) and the most assists (163).

The Great One retired as a New York Ranger on April 18, 1999, scoring one final assist in a 2-1 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He is, and will most likely always be, the all time points leader of the NHL.

NHL Totals:

GP - 1,487
G - 894
A - 1,963
PTS - 2,857

SOURCES:

nhl.com