Top 10 List | Top Ten Lists

1. Alexander Ovechkin

Country: Russia

NHL Team: Washington Capitals

Captain and Left winger of Washington Capitals, Ovechkin was selected in the 2004 entry  draft of the National Hockey League. He joined the Dynamo Mosco from 2004 -2006. He transferred to NHL in 2006, winning Rookie of the Year, scoring 52 goals, leading with 106 points. Winning a list of trophies each season, Ovechkin deserves the Number # 1 spot.

2. Sidney Crosby

Country : Canada

NHL Team: Pittsburgh Penguins

This Canadian Centre and Captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is nicknamed ‘The Next One’.  Sidney Crosby started his NHL Career in 2005. In his second season when he won the Art Ross Trophy, he was the youngest to win a scoring title in any North American League. In 2009 he became the youngest captain to win the Stanley Cup. He has won awards like the Rocket Richard Trophy and the Mark Messier Leadership award. Crosby has represented Canada in World Junior Championships, IIHF World Championship and Winter Olympics.

3. Steven Stamkos

Country: Canada

NHL Team: Tampa Bay Lightning

Stamkos had a breakout season in 2009–10, being near the NHL lead in goal scoring for most of the season. Stamkos ended the season with 51 goals, tied for most in the NHL with Sidney Crosby. Stamkos is the third youngest player to achieve this accomplishment. He is currently leading NHL in points and goals scored.

4. Alexander Semin

Country: Russia

NHL Team: Washington Capitals

Semin  made his professional debut in Russia’s second-tier League in 2001–02. He made his NHL debut in the 2003-2004 season. Due to confusion about Semin’s obligations to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which requires all Russian men to serve two years, Semin was not allowed to return to the Capitals when NHL resumed the following season in 2005–06. Along with Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, Semin helped form a highly offensive core with the Capitals in 2008–09. Semin was identified as one of the currently most improved NHL players.

5. Brad Richards

Country: Canada

NHL Team: Dallas Stars

Richards was drafted in the 3rd round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, despite recording 82 assists and 115 points in his draft year. He won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004. On February 26, 2008, roughly 3 hours before the NHL trade deadline, Richards was traded to the Dallas Stars in a blockbuster deal along with goaltender Johan Holmqvist for goalie Mike Smith, centre Jeff Halpern, winger Jussi Jokinen and a 2009 4th round draft pick. Richards finished 7th in the NHL points standings in 2009-2010 season, just behind former teammate Martin St. Louis. He also finished fourth in total assists, and second in powerplay production in the league.

Here are some hilarious interviews. You can see what you SHOULDN’T do in case you are being questioned by some journalists. If not, you can get pretty embarrassed.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… C: wait…

Let us examine top 10 NHL players of all time. We only considered total number of points per player as reported by the National Hockey League.

1. Wayne Gretzky – 2857 points

The Great One” was born on January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario. Even at the young age, Wayne Gretzky raised many eyebrows on the ice by collecting 517 points in a season. He began his National Hockey League career when the Edmonton Oilers moved from the WHA to the National Hockey League in the 1979-80 season. Gretzky would go on to win seven straight Art Ross Trophies starting at the age of 18, and ten in total. He also led the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cup Championships (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988) Gretzky played for four teams throughout his successful NHL career. (Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers) After his retirement in 1999, he was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He became Executive Director for the Canadian national hockey team. In 2000 he took  partial ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes and head coach position thereafter.

2. Mark Messier – 1887 points

“The Moose,” was born on January 18, 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta. Mark John Douglas Messier emerged from the great Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s to become a hockey superstar. He was a powerful skater who combined play-making skill and a goal-scoring touch with the toughness. Six times his teams sipped from the Stanley Cup (1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994) and on two occasions Messier took home the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player. Mark  played for 3 NHL teams (Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks) before retiring in the summer of 2005. A year after, both the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers retired his number 11 in pregame ceremonies. Earlier that year, the National Hockey League created the Mark Messier Trophy, a monthly leadership award.

3. Gordie Howe – 1850 points

“Mr. Hockey” was born in Floral, Saskatchewan on March 31, 1928. Gordon “Gordie” Howe entered the NHL in 1946 played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers; and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association (WHA). A four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Red Wings (1950, 1952, 1954, 1955), he won six Hart Trophies as the league’s most valuable player and six Art Ross Trophies as the leading scorer. He was the recipient of the first NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.

4. Ron Francis – 1798 points

Ronald Michael Francis, Jr. was born on March 1, 1963 in  Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Ron played 23 NHL seasons  for 4 teams: Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs. Francis was drafted by the Hartford Whalers fourth overall of the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. He was a model of consistency, averaging more than a point a game. He won 2 Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins (1991 and 1992). He retired from the NHL before the 2005–06 season and assumed a position with the Raleigh Youth Hockey Association.

5. Marcel Dionne – 1771 points

“Little Beaver” Dionne was born August 3, 1951 in Drummondville, Quebec. Marcel Dionne played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for 3 teams: Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. During his first NHL season for Detroit in 1972, he set an NHL record for scoring by a rookie with 77 points. In his best NHL season 1979–80 he recorded 137 points and was awarded the Art Ross Trophy for scoring two more goals than Gretzky. Dionne also won the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1979 and 1980, and the Lady Byng Trophy in 1975 and 1977. Dionne retired in 1989 and  currently resides in Niagara Falls, Canada and owns Marcel Dionne enterprises.