If Paul McCartney played hockey: center, rated 83

Paul McCartney as a hockey player: scouting report

Paul McCartney plays center the way he played bass in the Beatles: holding everything together while the people around him take turns in the spotlight. A left handed bassist with the famous violin shaped Hofner, he would shoot left, and he would play the middle of the ice as an anchor. Defense is one of the two best marks on his card and goaltending is the other, which says he sees the game from the back end the way a goalie does. He is the center who wins the defensive zone draw, collapses to the slot and reads the cross ice pass before it happens.

His passing and skating are both strong, and together they make him a natural playmaker. The songwriting partnership with John Lennon produced dozens of classics, so he understands a give and go better than most. He has said the melody for Yesterday came to him in a dream, and that kind of easy invention shows when he spots a trailer arriving late into the zone. He was still filling stadiums decades after the Beatles broke up, which is the stamina a two way center needs to handle the toughest minutes night after night.

Shooting is the weakest part of his game. He will set up more goals than he scores, so pair him with a finisher on the right wing and let him feed the puck. Goaltending is his single best skill, so he can step into the crease if needed, and defenseman is a sensible third spot. Knighted in 1997, he has been a reliable professional for more than six decades. Draft him as a shutdown center for your second line, and if John Lennon is also on your board, the old partners make a fun pairing with one of them shifted to the wing.

Plays like A steady two way center who anchors the whole line

Put Paul McCartney in your lineup

8 rolls, a starting six and a bench, 82 games. Can you go 82-0? Free, no account.