Guess Who’s the Fastest Skater in the NHL?
According to NHL EDGE tracking, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid leads all NHL skaters this season with a top speed of 24.61 miles per hour.
McDavid reached his highest top speed (since EDGE tracking was introduced in 2021-22) during Edmonton’s home opener against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 8. Though he recorded two assists in the contest, the Oilers lost 4-3 in a shootout.
The 28-year-old center recently signed a team-friendly, two-year contract extension worth $25 million. He is the only player to record four 22 mile per hour bursts this season.
McDavid is the only player to win the fastest skater competition at the NHL All-Star Skills Competition four times. His 2024 time of 13.408 seconds beat out Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders, who finished runner-up at 13.519 seconds.
Columbus Blue Jackets wing Miles Wood holds the all-time speed record since EDGE tracking began in 2021 at 24.82 miles per hour, set last season while he was a member of the Colorado Avalanche.
Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point Rank Among NHL’s Speedsters
Last season, McDavid’s teammate broke the 24 miles per hour barrier. Mattias Janmark clocked in at 24.36 miles per hour on Nov. 30, 2024 against the Avalanche.
Colorado’s alternate captain Nathan MacKinnon was recorded at 24.05 miles per hour on Dec. 23, 2023. Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning reached 24.15 miles per hour on Dec. 27, 2023.
Who’s the All-Time Fastest Skater?
Since EDGE tracking has only been recorded for five seasons, it’s hard to say who definitively is the NHL’s all-time fastest skater.
Pavel Bure, Peter Bondra and Sergei Fedorov were among hockey’s blazing skaters during the 1990s.
Bobby Hull was nicknamed “The Golden Jet” for a reason. The Hall of Famer was believed to have skated at 29.7 miles per hour, according to a Popular Mechanics story published in 1968. Similarly, Yvan Cournoyer of the Montreal Canadiens was called “The Roadrunner” for his blistering speed.
Thankfully, modern technology can accurately track today’s skaters.
New Celtics free agent addition flashes intriguing potential in Grizzlies win
The Celtics bet on players with untapped upside with many of their offseason moves this summer and saw some encouraging returns out of their gate in their preseason opener Wednesday night. One of the promising highlights in Boston’s 121-103 win over the Grizzlies came from reserve forward Josh Minott. Boston signed the 23-year-old to a two-year deal back in July after he spent the first three years of his career largely buried on the bench in Minnesota. Opportunity in Boston helped Minott land with the Celtics in free agency and he started to show the promise of a potentially increased role on Wednesday night.
Minott stuffed the box score with eight points, seven rebounds, three rebounds, three steals and a block in a team-high 26 minutes off the bench in the 18-point win. He struggled from the 3-point line in the victory (0-of-3) but left his fingerprints all over other aspects of the game with constant energy on the defensive end or hitting the boards.
“He just has a knack for the situation or play on both ends of the floor,” Joe Mazzulla told reporters in Memphis. “Whether it’s getting offensive rebounds, a couple steals, a couple blocks. He has some good versatility, but he has a knack for the ball and a knack for being in the mix. He was able to generate some steals an deflections tonight and obviously some offensive rebounds.”
Minott has never played more than 20 minutes in a regular season game during his three years in Minnesota on a stacked playoff roster so Boston’s wing rotation should open the door for some opportunity for him. Beyond Sam Hause and Jaylen Brown, there’s no one who is a lock for big minutes at the position as the likes of Minott, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez will battle for minutes off the bench. All of those players acquitted themselves well at spots in Wednesday’s win but it was Minott and Gonzalez that stood out from the pack with their defense and motor.
The Celtics gave Minott a two-year deal (with a team option) this summer so this bet has the potential to produce big dividends when Jayson Tatum returns to the fold next season if Minott can establish himself as a rotation player. The Celtics have not had a player that brings his athleticism and energy off the bench for a few years now and it’s evident that uptempo is the style that Joe Mazzulla wants this team to have as its identity. Minott played well into that a reserve in the blowout win.
“At both ends of the floor we played with the right intentions,” Mazzulla told reporters in Memphis. “So we’ve got to continue to do that. Of the 48 minutes, I’d probably say 32 to 34 of them were at the pace we wanted to play with at both ends of the floor. We just have to work to maintain those habits.”
Minott’s role in the rotation will be worth watching on Friday night as Payton Pritchard, Anfernee Simons and Neemias Queta return to the lineup after getting the night off in Memphis. It’s possible other starters are rested for the matchup but Minott did enough on Wednesday night to warrant another long look from the coaching staff.
