TSN’s top 25 world juniors of all-time list has Pavel Bure and Peter Forsberg battling for the top spot. Bure spent seven years with the Vancouver Canucks.
As the NHL offseason has come to a crawl, the hockey world looks forward to the WJC’s that take place every year after Christmas. TSN just released a list of what they believe to be the top 25 players to ever partake in the annual World Junior Hockey Championship. Near the top of that list was the legendary Pavel Bure, who spent seven seasons with Vancouver and eventually had his jersey number retired by the club.
Although it was Peter Forsberg who won the top spot after several recounts (divided by a single point), Bure was the player who received the most first-place votes. Forsberg won the number one spot by having several more second-place votes than Bure’s one. But either way, both players deserve all the credit.
As the Swedish Forsberg scored 42 points while averaging three points per game by dominating with his incredible all-around play, Bure was an entertaining pure-blooded sniper. The “Russian Rocket”, who was known for his blazing speed, put his wheels to work and scored 27 goals posting a mind-blowing 1.28 goals per game. The combination of deadly speed and an accurate wrist shot was too much for any goaltender to handle.
Bure went on to make history by being the only player to average over a goal per game in all three world junior tournaments. In 21 total games played he notched 27 goals and earned himself two second-place finishes and a gold medal.
Bure went on to be one of the greatest players to ever suit up for the Vancouver Canucks and he’s probably the most mesmerizing forward to ever wear the Canucks colours. He was electric in every way imaginable.
What do you think? Does Bure deserve the top spot as the best world junior hockey player in history?