Hampered throughout his career by sluggish skating ability, which was often mistaken for a lack of effort, Stewart was rarely prone to the end-to-end rushes favoured by the other greats of the 1920s and 30s. Unlike
Howie Morenz,
Frank Fredrickson or
Aurèle Joliat, he resorted to – and perfected – a hard-hitting style of play, with emphasis on collecting rebounds and scoring from bad angles around the
crease.
Bruins goaltender
Tiny Thompson claimed that Stewart was hockey's most dangerous goal scorer around the net – when the latter was 34 years old and near retirement – while
Art Ross referred to him as “the greatest inside player in the game”. A few players from previous decades like
Pud Glass, similarly lacking in finesse or all-around talent but possessing strength, good balance and a hard shot, had made their living by playing a hard-nosed “garbage-collector” style. However, Stewart was the first to gain superstar status via this mode of play, and he paved the way for future garbage men like
Gordie Drillon,
Wally Hergesheimer,
Phil Esposito and
Tim Kerr. Notwithstanding his reputation as a cumbersome skater, Stewart was used as a defenseman by the
Maroons in his
rookie season before making the transition to centre. For eight playoff games, including four in the
1926 Stanley Cup Finals, Stewart served ably on the back end, where his physical presence and shiftiness kept the opposition hemmed in. His skating was often described as “lazy”, “careless” and “lackadaisical”. Nevertheless, as a defenceman Stewart was able to score 7 of his team's 11 goals during their Finals matchup against the
Victoria Cougars, including all four game-winning tallies, and several of his rushes were remarked upon. In general, it appears that Stewart was at worst a middling skater, and at best quite an agile and deceptive one, using “long, swerving strokes” to
deke opposing defencemen. Stewart's fame, however, rested squarely on his abilities as a clutch goal scorer around the net. He frequently had multiple-goal games, once marking 4 tallies against the
Toronto St. Pats, and was often at the top of the scoring race in his early seasons. This was partially due to his exceptionally hard and “heavy” shot, which was known to have injured several goalies due to its high trajectory. Notably, during the 1928 postseason, a Stewart shot caught
Rangers goaltender
Lorne Chabot in the left eye, giving him a hemorrhage. Stewart used his shot frequently from close-in, drifting around the crease and waiting patiently to receive a pass before burying it in the net. He had remarkable balance on his skates, as well as tremendous hand-eye coordination. This was demonstrated perfectly in his inaugural Stanley Cup Finals against Victoria. In the first game of the series, Stewart was rushing the puck up ice when he was knocked flat by a heavy check from Cougars captain
Clem Loughlin. Separated from the puck by five feet and sliding prone across the ice, Stewart nevertheless managed to hook the rubber with his stick and poke it past Victoria goalie
Hap Holmes for the leading goal. In the second game, Stewart was body checked by two Victoria players at once. Wildly off-balance, he managed to stay on one foot and fire another hard shot past Holmes. Thereafter, Stewart was notoriously difficult to knock off the puck, and could even propel it into the net one-handed – sometimes by steadying himself on the crossbar with his other hand and much to the irritation of opposing
goaltenders. This was aided further by his use of a heavy stick with a
lie of 10", almost L-shaped, enabling him to keep the puck close to his feet. Notwithstanding Stewart's accuracy and power, his best asset – and one that added to his reputation as a coaster – was an ability to collect rebounds. In the second period of the fourth and deciding game against Victoria in 1926, Stewart joined a rush which saw
Hap Holmes stop four shots in rapid succession, all from the left side. With the entire Victoria defence having moved over to block for Holmes, Stewart corralled a rebound, skirted behind the right side of the net and picked the top-left corner with a backhand shot. Sixteen minutes later in the period, he grabbed one of his own rebounds and repeated the feat, again hitting the left corner. As a large, heavy
centre who used his size and grit to complement his scoring touch, Nels Stewart soon developed a ferocious reputation as both a
fighter and an effective
pest. He
chewed tobacco constantly, and while hovering around the crease would spit the juice into opposing goaltenders’ eyes. Stewart would readily stand up for his teammates, and fought consistently as a result – he led the
NHL in penalty minutes with 133 in 1927, edging out famed bruiser
Eddie Shore by 3 minutes. He was equally infamous for using his stick to ward off opponents, liberally dishing out two-handed slashes across the wrists and ankles of those who he felt were being too rough. This resulted in several famous bouts, including one with Hall of Fame defenceman and Maple Leafs strongman
Red Horner. ==Influence on Ted Kennedy==