The 10 Worst Skaters in the NHL

The NHL is host to some of the greatest athletes in the world, but even some of these guys have some limitations.

Though the speed and ability of most of the players require you to be a good skater, there are still some players in the NHL that just don't skate that well.

Here are the worst skaters in the league right now.

Honorable Mention: Joe DiPenta

Currently in the AHL, Joe DiPenta has earned a lot of interesting comments based off of the way he skates.

This guy falls a lot and almost always when skating forwards.

Thought he deserved a mention since he's still playing, just not in the NHL.

Ryan Smyth

Ryan Smyth is an awesome teammate, works hard and does everything that you want out of a player, but he is not a great skater.

He's pretty much a straight-line guy that makes his money in the dirty areas and as a team leader.

Nothing wrong with that—he's just not good at skating.

Colton Orr

Colton Orr is one of a dying breed, the true enforcer.

Orr isn't around for much more than to fight somebody on the other team.

As an enforcer, not too much is expected out of his skating abilities.  It's a good thing too, because Orr is not a good skater.

Brandon Yip

As an Avalanche follower, I feel especially justified in this choice.

Yip has good speed, but that is about the only thing that he has going for him. Any time he tries to fake or do anything other than shoot, he loses the puck.

Just so people in Nashville know, this is what you can expect from Yip.  Skate into the zone fast, chip it by defender, try to check the guy, miss, skate back lazily.

Enjoy.

Jonathan Cheechoo

Technically, he's not in the NHL right now (playing in the AHL), but Cheechoo is another bad skater.

Cheechoo seemed to have gotten too used to playing alongside the likes of Joe Thornton in San Jose, where he didn't really have to be a great skater.

Once he was out of San Jose, his lack of skating ability has caught up with him.

Guillaume Latendresse

Latendresse's a big body that doesn't do a lot more than throw his body around.

He did have 25 goals in his first year with Minnesota, but that was an aberration based on the rest of his career.

Latendresse is pretty much there to hit people, not because he is a skater.

Filip Kuba

Filip Kuba is a solid defender but a fairly weak skater.

He's found success by being strong in front of his net and down low and with a cannon of a shot.

He's not as bad of a skater as some of the other guys on this list, but he isn't a very mobile guy by any stretch of the imagination.

George Parros

George Parros is another enforcer that somehow manages to still have a place in the league despite the fact he doesn't do too much more than just hit people and fight.

Parros is an ugly skater, but he still has that magnificent mustache.

Zack Stortini

Stortini is another enforcer watching his role disappear because he simply can't skate well enough to keep up with the league anymore.

He plays with the Predators now but has only actually been on the ice for one game.

Can't skate, can't play.

Nik Antropov

Nik Antropov is another big guy that is pretty much a straight line skater.

He's big and strong, so he's hard to move off of the puck; therefore, he is an effective presence.

Still, I don't know if the term lumbering can be applied better to any other skater than to him.

Hal Gill

Those big guys on the blue line that don't ever really go too far away from the goalie can aren't as frequent in a league where more and more people skate so well.

Hal Gill still manages to make a living in the NHL, probably because he's 6'7" and 244 pounds.

The term "tree" seems to perfectly fit Gill—he doesn't move that much.

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