We asked our readers along with sites from the Hockey Alliance to rank the forwards currently in the NHL and come up with their very own Top 10 list. Like last year we received a wide array of responses from a number of people and we have tabulated all the votes to come up with a definitive Top 10 list.

In all there were 48 different players, 11 more than last year, that garnered at least one vote. However, only the Colorado Avalanche's Peter Forsberg made it on to every voter's list. Mats Sundin (7th) and Paul Kariya (9th) were bumped off the list and replaced by Boston's Joe Thornton and Atlanta's Dany Heatley.

Scoring System:
Each first place vote was awarded with 10 points, second place vote with nine points, third place vote with eight points and so on…

Drum roll please… The Top 10 Forwards in the NHL as voted by the readers and staff of McKeen's Hockey for 2003 are:

1st Place – Peter Forsberg
Colorado Avalanche (828 points)
As I began adding up the votes it became clear early on that the race for first was a one horse race as Peter Forsberg threatened to lap his peers. He was also the only player to be on every voters' ballot. The majority of votes he received were for first place, and the worst vote he had was for 9th.

Your Comments:
"… tough as a nail, scoring title will always be his if healthy and playing ..." and "… Great combination of skill and size, there's a reason he won the Hart …"

2nd Place – Joe Thornton
Boston Bruins (524 points)
One of three players to surpass 500 points, which is even a bigger accomplishment considering that last season Thornton finished in a dissapointing 14th place. He only received five first place votes, however, he was left off of far fewer ballots than his nearest competitor.

Your Comments:
"…Turning into what Lindros might have been with a level head …" and "…will be #1 on this list very soon and may possibly be better than Forsberg in the long run, he's just not there yet …"

3rd Place – Mario Lemieux
Pittsburgh Penguins (510 points)
Climbed three spots to third place. Had 21 first place votes, but was left off of 23 ballots to hurt his chances at passing Joe Thornton for second spot. Still, all in all a remarkable achievement for a player that is on a horrible team and that could easily be enjoying his retirement years.

Your Comments:
"… Doesn't matter that he plays on an AHL team …" and "… the best player to ever play the game …"

4th Place – Markus Naslund
Vancouver Canucks (454 points)
Moved up six spots and was the only player not in the top 3 to reach 400 points. Like last season, few people had anything negative to say, but there was a perception that he wouldn't be as good without Bertuzzi and vice versa.

Your Comments:
"…Awesome offensive skills, great shot, great vision …" and "… ice water in his veins. Nothing (short of a team-wide collapse) can stop him from showing up on the scoresheet. He seems to do it almost unconsciously …"

5th Place – Joe Sakic
Colorado Avalanche (399 points)
Fell three spots to fifth place overall, but still impressed five voters enough to be first on their list. It is quite possible that playing in only 58 games last season had a negative impact on his rankings.

Your Comments:
"… He used to be better, but still puts up the numbers and is always dangerous when on the ice) …" and "… teammate Peter may have size and youth on his side, but captain Joe holds everything together. Colorado (and Team Canada for that matter) has accomplished nothing with him watching in street clothes …"

6th Place – Mike Modano
Dallas Stars (367 points)
It seems as Modano gets older more people are starting to see how good he really is and give him the credit he is due. He climbed two spots in the rankings from last year, even though he only had one first place vote. Last player on the list to eclipse the 300 point mark.

Your Comments:
"… I thought he was good, but the more I watch him, the better he is …" and "… More than just a pretty face, probably the most consistent player in the game right now (consistently good that is) …"

7th Place – Jaromir Jagr
Washington Capitals (268 points)
His days in Washington have not been kind to him and some will argue that they haven't been that great for the Capitals either! His stock dropped amongst our readers four spots from last year. Not that long ago he would have been first or second, but with only one first place vote and a number of no-votes it is not surprising that he was only seventh.

Your Comments:
"… should be higher but seems to have lost some heart, if he finds it again then he's holding down the no. 3 spot …" and "… Write this great off at your peril …"

8th Place – Todd Bertuzzi
Vancouver Canucks (259 points)
He had a career year once again producing personal bests in goals, assists and points, however, some fans felt he wouldn't be as good without Naslund as well as his poorer than expected play in the playoffs combined to drop his rankings from 5th spot last season to 8th overall.

Your Comments:
"… plays with heart emotion and brute strength has soft hands and can score. You can teach anyone to score goals and make plays and if they have the god given talent the will excel in this game but, 6-4, 245 try and teach that! …" and "… a bully that can score too, He is the real deal …"

9th Place – Jarome Iginla
Calgary Flames (246 points)
For awhile it looked as if voters might hold his "bad" season against him, but he was able to rally enough votes and not fall all the way off our list. Iginla didn't have one first place vote, but did get a number of second to sizth place votes helped offset the no- votes.

Your Comments:
"… has little support in Calgary, but will be back this upcoming season …" and "… ranked as high as he is (on my list) for the plain fact that compared to the others on this list Jarome doesn't have the talent beside him like the others …"

10th Place – Dany Heatley
Atlanta Thrashers (207 points)
Excellent All-Star performance may have vaulted him on to the list, even then he probably is still a bit of a secret having to ply his trade in that hockey hotbed in Georgia. Heatley actually did have one first place ranking, but generally he garnered votes in and around the 7th to 10th range.

Your Comments:
"… With him and Kovalchuk, the Thrashers have a chance at the playoffs …" and "… in a couple years, could be number 1 …"

The rest of the forwards that received votes in order were: