Welcome back to WDYTT, the only hockey column on the internet that’s hoping to catch the attention of prospective hockey owner Ryan Reynolds. Hello, Ryan!

Speaking of shooting one’s shot, it’s something that obviously happens a lot on the ice, too. And some players are naturally a little bit better at it than others.

The Vancouver Canucks have been blessed with a great many high-quality puck-shooters over their 50+ years of franchise existence.

Last week, we sought out opinions on the best skater in team history, and we knew it would come down to just two candidates: Pavel Bure and Quinn Hughes.

Well, when it comes to best shot, Bure might still be in the running (sorry, Quinn, not even close). But he’s got some stiff competition in the form of some stiff shots from the other decades of Canucks hockey, and the field is a busy one.

There’s Markus Naslund and the wrist shot that briefly made him the greatest player in the world. There’s the legendary and awe-inspiring slapshot of Sami Salo. There’s the Elias Pettersson one-timer. There’s the All-Star Game record-setting accuracy of Daniel Sedin. There’s that one bar-down clap-bomb by Cody Hodgson against the Bruins in Game Eight.

The point is, there’s a lot to choose from when it comes to naming the best shot in Vancouver Canucks’ franchise history.

Which, conveniently enough, is your job today in our newest installment of the WDYTT Summer Debates.

This week, we’re debating:

Make your case in the comment section.

 

Your responses are below!

No comparison, because they have two totally different skating styles. Bure was obviously faster in a straight line, but Hughes’ edge work is supernatural. So, a tie.

Bure’s first game as a Canuck is one of my top-10 sporting highlights. Coliseum was absolutely electric that night. The end-to-end rush in the second period was a sign of things to come, even though he didn’t score. The buzz from that shift seemed to go on forever. He was the only thing people were talking about when leaving the building that night. Truly awesome.

For speed and explosiveness, it has to be Bure. Pavel was able to get the crowd out of their seats every time he touched the puck because of his potential to skate through the entire opposition team. McDavid is the modern day evolution of Bure, in that he has the speed and explosiveness with more playmaking ability.

Hughes is a better technical skater than Bure, in that his edgework makes him almost impossible to catch and track down because he can turn and change directions without losing much, if any, speed to keep possession of the puck and keep plays alive. The equivalent of scrambling QB on a football field!

Honorable mention – Mason Raymond!

Bure hands down. A true power forward, with speed. Speed kills!

Who was a better boxer, Mike Tyson or Sugar Ray Leonard? The answer is: it doesn’t matter and you can rationalize a case for either.

Speed vs agility, goals vs assists, offence vs defence. Both Bure and Hughes are stars largely because of their skating and you can rationalize a case for either being better.

It was a lot more fun watching Bure play. Every time he touched the puck the whole place moved to the edge of their seat.

IMO, like comparing an apple to an orange.

Hughes is a brilliant skater and a solid player and if we ever can find him a legit number one to play with, a player that will be a huge asset to the team’s potential future success .

IMO, Bure was on his own planet and it’s impossible to even try and compare him to any other Canuck player.

Like trying to compare McDavid to any other NHL player.

Sure, maybe someone might win the fastest skater contest at an All-Star Game, but anyone actually think anyone out there is better than McDavid?

Bure added more to the excitement of watching him than just his skating. The best player us fans have been blessed to watch in a Canucks jersey.

Pavel’s speed vs. Quinn’s edgework, who wins? Tough call on that. I will say that Pavel’s edgework was better than Quinn’s speed though. I guess I give Bure the edge. Pun intended.

Definitely Bure.

The primary reason for me saying this is that he brought an element to the game that was groundbreaking at the time. His mixture of speed and power, mixed with the ability to have hands that match his feet, were an innovation to the game. The high-speed stick to the feet back to the stick move is something copied by the next generation of speedsters along with other high speed moves all came from Pavel. Ultimately no one could catch the Russian Rocket.

Hughes is a tremendous skater in his own right, but he relies more on slick edgework to beat opponents. It sounds like I am downplaying this, which is not my intention, but it does seem like many NHL teams have a defender that has a similar style these days, so this style is not as unique and groundbreaking as that of Bure.

Third-party candidates that deserve mention are Greg Adams, Alex Mogilny, and the Courtnalls. These guys had exceptional straight-line speed up and down the wings, but are were not the best overall.

Bure was a world class sprinter, or NFL running back on skates. Pure power, muscle, testosterone.

I lived in Fernie at the time he played his first game, watched it on TV, and the next night was at the rink watching my son play, chatting to another dad who also watched the game. We both could not believe that guy played for the Canucks?!?!?

Hughes is an artist, figure skater, classical musician on skates. A joy to watch and incredibly gifted.

Bure was in another world.

Tough to compare, because they were/are different kinds of skaters. Bure was a speed skater and Huggy is a figure skater. I prefer straight-away, pull-away speed, so I would say Bure.

Bure and Hughes are two completely different types of players.

Bure is more of a North-South skater with unbelievable speed. He would dance among players, but typically in a rush to the opponents goal.

Hughes is more of an elusive player, who makes tight turns and can fool opposing players trying to figure out where he will go next. Hughes does not have the speed of Bure, but he is more wily.

They are both masters of what they could do skating-wise, and it is like comparing apples to oranges.

I would say they are both the best skaters in Canucks history.

The best skater in team history, hands down by that overall evaluation, is Hughes who has phenomenal control on his skates. The best at all that skating implies. However, ask me who was the fastest? Bure. Who was the most exciting to watch skate? Bure. It’s not even close, as Hughes’ excellence is a little more subtle, while Bure was often jaw-dropping as he took two steps and was gone.