In ice hockey, power forward (PWF) is a loosely applied characterization of a forward who is big and strong, equally capable of playing physically or scoring goals and would most likely have high totals in both points and penalties. [1] It is usually used in reference to a forward who is physically large, with the toughness to dig the puck out of the corners, possesses offensive instincts, has mobility, puck-handling skills, [2] [3] may be difficult to knock off the puck or to push away from the front of the goal [4] and willingly engage in fights when he feels it is required. [5] Possessing both physical size and offensive ability, power forwards are also often referred to as the 'complete' hockey player. [6] [7]
Historically, power forward was not originally a hockey term, finding comparatively recent origins from basketball. [8] [9] Harry Sinden, former president of the Boston Bruins, claims power forward first became part of hockey terminology because of the style of play of Cam Neely, an NHL player from 1983 to 1996, who could play ruggedly and also score goals. [7] [10]
Punch Broadbent was one of the first players who pioneered the style before the NHL was founded in 1917, [11] while Charlie Conacher, Phil Esposito, Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard and Bert Olmstead are likewise considered quintessential examples of power forwards in the decades before the term entered hockey vernacular. [12] [13] [14] [15]
† Hockey Hall of Fame inductee
Robert Gordon Orr is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the position of defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 12 seasons, the first 10 with the Boston Bruins, followed by two with the Chicago Black Hawks. Orr remains the only defenceman to have won the league scoring title with two Art Ross Trophies. He holds the record for most points and assists in a single season by a defenceman. Orr won a record eight consecutive Norris Trophies as the NHL's best defenceman and three consecutive Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player (MVP). Orr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979 at age 31, the youngest to be inducted at that time. In 2017, Orr was named by the National Hockey League as one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.
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Guy Damien Lafleur, nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six consecutive seasons as well as 50 goals and 100 points in six consecutive seasons. Between 1971 and 1991, Lafleur played right wing for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Quebec Nordiques in an NHL career spanning 17 seasons, and five Stanley Cup championships in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979. Lafleur was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history in 2017, and was named to the Order of Hockey in Canada in 2022.
A Gordie Howe hat trick is a variation on ice hockey's hat-trick. It is accomplished when a player collects a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game. It is named after Hall of Famer Gordie Howe.
Mark Louis Recchi is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger and current assistant coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fourth round, 67th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft and played a total of 22 seasons in the NHL for the Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. Recchi won the Stanley Cup three times in his playing career: in 1991 with the Penguins, in 2006 with the Hurricanes, and in 2011 with the Bruins. During the 2010-11 season, Recchi was the last active player who had played in the NHL in the 1980s. Subsequently, in Game 2 of the 2011 Finals, Recchi became the oldest player ever to score in a Stanley Cup Finals game at age 43. On June 26, 2017, in his fourth year of eligibility, Recchi was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Brendan Frederick Shanahan is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player who currently serves as the president and alternate governor for the Toronto Maple Leafs, having previously served as the director of player safety for the National Hockey League (NHL). Originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils second overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, Shanahan played in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers.
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