Who are your top 3 favorite power forwards?

[goon attack]

You know... those forwards who could score, hit, fight...

Here are my picks:

1. Rick Tocchet
2. Brendan Shanahan
3. Terry O'Reilly

[Toasted Oates]

Iginla
Shanahan
Tkachuk

[theohall]

Neely
Shanahan
Kevin Stevens

[Winning Unlimited]

Great question! I looked up a few lists, and they were consistently Iginla, Neely, Lindros, Tkachuk, Shanahan, Howe. These are the forgotten - none of them ranked in the top lists! So, here are three of MY favorites!

Theo Fleury
Scott Mellanby
Claude Lemieux

And a few others I considered: Dino Cicarelli, Dave Andreychuk, Ian Laperriere, Matt Barnaby, Chris Simon, Sean Avery

[jeffwilson.it]

Shanahan
Neely
Wendel Clark

Honourable mentions:
Backes
Tocchet
Lindros (from the hash marks in maybe the best I've ever seen)
Messier

[WaukeeBlues]

Tkachuk by far. He's the reason I'm a Blues fan. My favorite player growing up by far.

Backes will always tug at the heart strings. He's gotta be in my top 3 favorites.

#3? Ehh. that's tough. Some lists online include Ovechkin as a power forward: dude can check and he doesn't shy away from contact so if he counts he'd be my #3.

[theohall]

#3? Ehh. that's tough. Some lists online include Ovechkin as a power forward: dude can check and he doesn't shy away from contact so if he counts he'd be my #3.

To me, that's stretching the definition of a power forward. Power forwards, to me, are the guys like Tkachuk, Neely, Shanahan, Tocchet, C. Lemieux, Mellanby, K. Stevens that actually went to the front of the net and worked that area. Able to take the punishment in front of the crease, give out the punishment in front of the crease (not needing to skate to hit - *cough* Ovechkin *cough*), while having the skill to score while handing out or taking that same punishment. Of course, with the rules shift this century the power forward role is changing.

[goon attack]

Wendel Clark, while I hate him since he was on the hated Leafs, was a total effin' badass... right up there with Tocchet and Gary Roberts, IMO.

I liked Neely too, but he didn't seem to be as great as a fighter as some of the others.

I loved Shanahan because he had a big presence out there. He wasn't the best fighter, but he was willing, which I loved. He was certainly above average with the fists, but he was never in the elite category of fighters.

[WaukeeBlues]

#3? Ehh. that's tough. Some lists online include Ovechkin as a power forward: dude can check and he doesn't shy away from contact so if he counts he'd be my #3.

To me, that's stretching the definition of a power forward. Power forwards, to me, are the guys like Tkachuk, Neely, Shanahan, Tocchet, C. Lemieux, Mellanby, K. Stevens that actually went to the front of the net and worked that area. Able to take the punishment in front of the crease, give out the punishment in front of the crease (not needing to skate to hit - *cough* Ovechkin *cough*), while having the skill to score while handing out or taking that same punishment. Of course, with the rules shift this century the power forward role is changing.

Can't believe I forgot about Gary Roberts! Goon mentioned him, he'd be in my #3 for sure.

Yea you wonder how much longer there will be a "true" power forward classification. I still think it can be done. You just have to be faster (both on your skates and with the puck) than in years past but the physical presence along the boards, in the corners, in front of the net, I think it's still there.

[StL_Dan]

Backes
Neely
Shanny

[cprice12]

1) Shanny - One of my favorite players of all time. 600+ goal and 2000+ PIM...the only player to ever do this. Great, great player.
2) Neely - It's a shame his career was hampered by knee issues. He was awesome.
3) Tkachuk - Best USA-born power forward.

Interesting to toss in The Rocket Richard. He put up a decent amount of PIM's for a high scoring forward. Gordie Howe was tough as nails too. Iginla would drop the gloves with just about anyone. Wendel Clark, Lindros, Tocchet, Bertuzzi in his hayday was a badass.
And Ovechkin, while not your typical "stand in front of the net" power forward, is as tough as anyone and throws his body around like a wrecking ball...he's a blast to watch.