Well it's August, quite possibly the most boring time of the year for hockey fans. I've run out of comedic material so I'm just going to compile a list of the top clean hits from the 2010-2011 NHL season (although I guess some of these could be considered comedic anyways). Let me know if you agree with the rankings / if you disagree with the rankings / if you think I'm missing any big ones / if you enjoy long walks on the beach ... in the comments section below:
11. Marc Staal on Wellwood (Honorable Mention)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc4K_gl5ICU#t=00m03s
This hit is impressive when you consider the fact that Wellwood has at least an 100-pound advantage on Staal.
10. Rome on Smid (Vancouver Hipcheck #4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGRQFjhZanM
Rome starts off the Vancouver hipcheck highlights.
9. Ovechkin on Subban
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fp_Hg9z2rc
Would've been ranked higher, but it wasn't really a hit as much as it was Subban trying to play leap frog.
8. Ballard on Miller (Vancouver Hipcheck #3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoqPLIhykXA
At first glance there doesn't appear to be much here, but then you realize it's an open ice hip check. Miller can clearly see Ballard, the boards aren't there to use as leverage, and Ballard still up-ends him.
7. Hamhuis on Murray (Vancouver Hipcheck #2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q599OC7UM-4&feature=related
Douglas Murray is listed as 6'3", 240 lbs. Just sayin'. It should be noted now that this wasn't even Vancouver's best hipcheck of the year.
6. Doughty on Hall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6oj0JGQpgY
To Hall's credit: he picked his head up after the hit.
5. Phaneuf on Ruutu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkpbxl36Cb8#t=00m20s
It was a tough decision of which Phaneuf hit to feature on this list... until I saw this one.
4. Ballard on McGinn (Vancouver Hipcheck #1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhrtvlVlVJQ
Topping the Vancouver hipcheck rankings. From the crowd's reaction you'd think the game was in Vancouver.
3. Subban on Marchand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rpk0JlVZ4I#t=00m02s
I'm not sure if you can classify this as an open-ice hipcheck.
2. Staal on Stajan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qHibz-pZ0o
Sure, you could argue there's a Rangers bias in these rankings, but try telling that to Matt Stajan.
1. Tootoo on Frolik
moose dupont?
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