Z might have played hockey, but he was in the clock cleaning business man, what a machine

They laughed at him at Sparta Prague, told him go play basketball, he persisted and luckily, agent Henyš knew he was gonna get him drafted to the NHL just on that record-setting size alone. The rest is history. One of the hardest working athletes ever, the guy climbed the Kilimanjaro or cycled the whole Tour de France route as a part of his summer regimen. Once I asked Aleš Kotalík, a winger with a few productive seasons in Buffalo, who was the toughest D to play against, expecting to hear Lidstrom or Stevens, he didnt hesitate for a second to name Big Z, strong as a bear with a wingspan like a condor. My only gripe is he didnt choose to represent the Czech squad instead of the Slovaks. :)

As a lifelong FLYERS fan...Big Z was hated with a passion. But as a hockey fan...Big Z was an absolute beast of a player...if he wore orange and black he would be one of my favorite players to ever lace them up. As they say...I can respect his greatness and his dominance. First ballot HOFer. Great video once again my friend... I have one little bone to pick with your take on the Max Patches hit...your complete confidence in that is was 100% clean is something I cannot agree with...do I think Chara wanted to hurt Patches...no I do not...but Chara knew that area of the rink...and he didn't ride him into a normal hockey hit...he pushed him at a very precise time into the area where something bad could happen...and it was interference bye definition...I also think it was intentional. But opinions vary probably 50/50.

Id definitely feel the same if I was a Chicago fan.But since I'm Colorado fan-i like last 5 yrs much better

If you add "all around defenseman" he is easily number 1. There have been several who were either better offensively or defensively, but no one had a better all around game ever.

Hey my guy. Nobody makes vids like you. GOAT of the player documentaries.

Great video...I'm a Colorado fan,& work at the AVS,& Nuggets arena but will always remember these Chicago teams very well. I see a lot of the comments talking about "we didn't know how good we had it." And that's how I feel about 1st watching hockey with the '95-'02 AVS as 19 yr old when they came to Denver. Forsberg,Sakic,Roy,Bourque,Blake,Hedjuk,& Foote...the list goes on,& on. 2 Cups,& 6 WCF in 7 yrs-you do kinda take it for granted in the moment.Even getting to watch a power like Denver University-a big N Dakota rival all these years. Even now-I try to tell people never take for granted being able to watch or work at a place we get to see Jokic,McKinnon,Makar & Rantanen every night. And we haven't had remotely the success these Chicago teams had.But titles in each sport in the 3 yrs I've worked here isn't bad-lol. And since the AVS weren't great during most of this period-I can remember often pulling for Chicago in these playoffs,& remember their classic battles with especially Detroit,& LA...very special team. 1 of the best post cap era runs I've seen-if not the best.

Beauty

great channel man keep up the great work

Hell yeah

He not fight big boys of his era like Laraque, Worrell or Brashear enough times. One can say he ducked them.

There is 7 ft youth player for WB Knights in NEPA.

He’s like the Barry sanders of hockey

жаль!.. мало просмотров как и его недооценка

Miss watching my dude in the NHL. Also, very funny in interviews.

i remember as a kid playing my brothers gameboy nhl 98 i believe and big Z was the first player i got to know in hockey. He was fun to play with, he had the hammer next to his name. When i got older and started to watch hockey i see why he had the hammer. I also remember Hossa, he had skates next to his name.

Dudes iconic

He was amazing to watch live. Incredible offensively and defensively. Hardly ever took a penalty. Certainly one of the greatest of all time. A privilege to have been able to watch him in his prime (i.e. his whole career).

Alexander Karmanov is 16 yo, 211 cm and is eligible for NHL draft 2026.

always threw his name out there when discussing the heavy weight champ of the NHL. he also had some epic fights with scott parker in the minors. dude was tough.

One of your best videos. I started watching hockey in 2011 the year Big Z and the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. So he will always be one of the OG hockey players in my own personal hockey watching journey in a country that doesn't really play this great sport Keep up the good work

Its time for another Hawk video!! Dirk Graham has a story worth telling....Tony Amonte was the most consistent goal scorer of the late nineties.....The Eagle......

Woooooo and it clocks in at 33 minutes and 33 seconds you dawg !!

Chara evolved from a sideshow to a superstar.

if only he and the bruins had won game 7 of the 2019 final so it could be 2 cups for big Z!

I can't help but feel big Z meant to put patches into the stanchion, albeit he did not mean to run him face first into it. The hit was intentional, but the outcome was accidental.

Severely underrated and under viewed channel right here. Incredible as always friend.

Pacio Might have something to say about the fact that Chara isnt dirty

I'll never forget when he son'd Cindy

This comment is here to show support 😅

LFG

Let's hear it boys!! Whats your favourite Big Z memory!👀🎯

Benn-Getzlaf-Perry; that line was unstoppable in Sochi

HOF without a doubt. No Cups in Chicago at that time without the best defenseman in the league for a solid 5 to 6 seasons.

Canucks are garbage

I hate the canucks .

"it took him until his rookie season to find his stride" What the hell kind of sentence is that? Rookie season is his 1st season...

I really resent what the new ownership group has done in Pittsburg. Imagine going from Mario to this. I know its cliche but in order to win there needs to be a CULTURE of winning. A mindset. Especially in a really tough league like the nhl. As a pens fan its hard to watch.

Idk man, 🤷‍♂️ Edmonton has our reputation as the goon squad rehab centre for a reason.

Great video

For those that don’t skate or play hockey 🏒, his edge work with his feet was goat status, along with being deceptive on his entry or exit from a crowd , if you want to learn how to skate, he is the poster child and this was coupled with soft silky smooth hands with his puck control. Dangerous combination of skill that hasn’t been matched since he played.❤

He 100% the guy I wished was on my team during his era. My god was he special.

Time to ruffle feathers. Hasek is overrated, he always looked dynamic because he wasn’t positionally sound witch lead to lack of puck control consistently causing chaos and severely limiting transition and putting more pressure on his D core than most goalies. Brodeur made his D core look better as a result of excellent puck control and ability to handle the puck on dump in’s significantly benefiting his D core by regaining possession and saving energy by not consistently batting in corners down low. Teams play better in front of a tender like Brodeur than a Hasek.

back when professional sports werent rigged due to online sportsbook gambling

Yall ever heard of McDavid? Hes like Datsyuk but with skill and speed

Bro said 2070 when he meant 2007

Do one on Larry Robinson

We love ya

It's weird that Martinez is a Blackhawk now, lol. 😂 Such a great series and time period in the NHL overall.