5
)Jeremy Roenick- How can you not like JR? Sure he cried when his former team won the Stanley Cup, but who cares. This guy was entertaining on the ice and off the ice. There was a reason why reporters always flocked to him and why all the various networks used to mic him during games. He was always good for a sound bite and he never held back what was on his mind. The fact that he's a hotel room wrecking American helps his case too. I'll always see him as a Blackhawk even though he played for numerous teams and I definitely like to ignore the time he played in Philly.
4)Brian Leetch- My favorite American born d-man. Watching him represent Team USA growing up was always exciting since he was a great puck mover and always had a knack to kick his offense into high gear. Since he played locally for most of his career I was able to watch the majority of his Hall of Fame caliber play. It was just a shame he had to play most of his playing time in that Rangers uniform. He was much more likable in his USA, Maple Leafs, and Bruins jerseys.
3)Mario Lemieux- In my opinion the greatest player to play the game in my lifetime. When he was healthy he was even better than Gretzky. He had a finesse game and a power game. Super Mario single handedly saved the Penguins franchise not once, but twice. He battled cancer, overcame it, and returned to his Hall of Fame form. I still can't take ESPN seriously after they awarded Michael Jordan the "Comeback Player of the Year" Espy for his return from baseball over Lemieux's return from battling a life threatening disease. I was fortunate enough to see Super Mario play (and usually defeat) the Islanders at the Coliseum many times and was always amazed by his skill level.
2)Scott Stevens- Now here was a player when he was at his best he was leaving a path of mayhem. His hits on players who would have their heads down coming into his zone really should've been greeted with an ECW Joey Styles "Oh My God!!!" upon impact. Whether it was Ron Francis or Paul Kariya or (my personal favorite victim) Eric Lindros or some mid talent no name on your favorite team, you knew that player deserved that hit for their lack of being aware of him being on the ice. When I played growing up he was one of two guys that I based my style of play on. Once again he played for a rival team, but I couldn't help but enjoy watching him play. To this day I still watch old clips of him on YouTube during the offseason when I need my hockey fix.
1)Darius Kasparaitis- My favorite player of all time. He was a pest. He was the guy on the ice that the other team hated. He even got physical with Gretzky and Lemieux. His hip check was a work of art and he was never afraid to play the body on anyone (Eric Lindros being one of his victims too). He was another player who other players had to be aware of when he was on the ice. Every kid growing up picks their favorite players number to be on their jersey and I had his #11. I still remember the old "Kaspar the Unfriendly Ghost" signs people used to have at the Coliseum. I was even fortunate enough to meet Darius at a local ice rink when he played on Long Island and he signed my sweat stained Caldor bought Islanders hat. I still have it laying around somewhere at my parents house. I even became a bit of a Penguins fan when he got traded from the Islanders and like Stevens he was a player that I based my style of play after. I was able to master Stevens' shoulder check, but could never quite get low enough to mimic Kaspar's hip check.Well that's my list of my favorite players from when I was growing up. I'll eventually get to my list of most hated players (hint- Brett Lindros' brother being one of them) soon enough. Back to counting down the days til training camp begins. As usual, I'm Bill Elvis... Go fuck yourself San Diego.
