The 9 Scrappiest Players in the NHL

Superstars are nice to have on your team, but a team cannot possibly be successful without some scrappy players.

The guys who crash the net, take hits, punish players in the offensive zone and create turnovers.

The guys who go stand right in front of the net and take all kinds of punishment from defenders and goalies all so that sniper can pick the corner.

The scrappy players are the ones that fill a team out.

Here are the scrappiest players who are in the league right now, in no particular order.

As always, if I leave a name out, feel free to add it in the comments section.

Brad Marchand

Brad Marchand is the epitome of what being a scrappy player is all about.

Marchand is not a big guy, but you would never guess based off of the way he plays the game.

He hits hard, stick checks very well, has a great amount of skill and isn't afraid of going right to the areas of the ice that will result in him taking immense amounts of punishment.

He's also an effective agitator, always looking for that extra little shot that he can take to get under his opponent's skin.

Brad Marchand does scraps just as well as anybody in the league right now.

Ryan O'Reilly

Ryan O'Reilly is becoming not just a great defensive player, but a capable offensive player as well.

O'Reilly has always been good about playing a responsible defensive in his own zone, but the offense is what has been coming on of late.

O'Reilly's great play is a direct result of how hard he works every single shift that he's out there.

If he gets near the puck carrier, chances are very good that he will be able to steal the puck from the opponent or force a turnover.

Currently, Ryan O'Reilly leads the entire NHL in takeaways, with 43.

He scraps in the corners, fights along the boards and makes every moment he's on the ice difficult for his opponents.

Zach Parise

Zach Parise has a ton of skill and is capable of putting up 40 goals a season.

Part of the reason he's so good at scoring is his scrappy ability.

You're never going to see Parise dropping the gloves, but you'll see Parise working hard in his offensive zone, pressuring opponents into mistakes and driving to the net to pick up loose pucks.

It's rare to see the type of skill and tenacity that this guy has, but it's a thing of beauty to watch when it does all come together in one player as it has with Parise.

Rene Bourque

Rene Bourque is another strong offensive player that sees a lot of his offensive success come as a result of his hard work.

He hits hard, keeps his head up, can take punishment and just gets into the scoring areas.

Bourque is a scrappy second liner that's a secondary scoring threat, and he does his job very well.

Chris Neil

Chris Neil is a scrappy player in the more traditional sense of the word.

Neil likes to drop the mits and will go with anybody at any time.

He's no stranger to the penalty box, frequently finding himself close to the 200-penalty minute mark.

Whenever Neil is on the ice, you have to be aware, or you could find yourself in a lot of pain.

Johan Franzen

When your nickname is "The Mule," that should give everybody who watches the game a bit of an idea as to how you play.

Franzen is capable of scoring pretty goals, but he's just as happy scoring the goal that sees him being checked to the ice as he's sliding the puck past the goalie.

He's tenacious in the offensive zone on the forecheck and can punish players who don't make decisions fast enough or have their head down.

He's one of the scrappiest guys in the league and always has been.

Cal Clutterbuck

Lots of scrappy players in the Northwest Division, and Cal Clutterbuck might be the scrappiest of the bunch.

Clutterbuck is an agitator and a scrapper in every since of the word.

His job is quite simple, hit absolutely everything that moves out there on the ice.

He's frequently at the very top of the league when it comes to hits delivered.

Whenever Clutterbuck is on the ice, people have to make sure that their heads are up and they know where he is, otherwise they might be on the receiving end of a crushing hit.

Brenden Morrow

Brenden Morrow became the well known player that he has because of how scrappy he is.

Morrow has a lot of skill and speed, and the strength he possesses makes him a difficult player to play against.

He leads by example and is the type of player that will stand up for everybody on his team.

If there is some extra activity after the whistle blows, then you can count on seeing number 10 in the middle of things.

He plays hard, hits hard, scraps hard, and makes you notice him.

Tim Thomas

If there was a player that would be a non-traditional inclusion into this scrappy list, it would be Tim Thomas.

Tim Thomas has got to be the scrappiest goalie to play the game since Billy Smith and Ron Hextall were in the league.

I have never seen a goalie just check a player like he did to Henrik Sedin. Why make a save when you can just flatten the guy with the puck?

Then the battle he had with Alex Burrows was something you don't see from a lot of goalies anymore.

Scrappy is a perfect way to describe Tim Thomas.'

Kevin Goff is a Featured Columnist for the Colorado Avalanche and NHL on Bleacher Report. For more NHL news and discussion,