What is the difference (if there is one) between calling a player a first line foward or a top-six forward?

Question

I've heard both terms used in describing players but i didn't know if there was a difference, like if one was considered to be better than the other

Answer 1

a first liner is a leftwing, right wing or center who are the best on the team in that position.
A top six player means he can play either on the first line, or is good enough to play on the second line. A 3rd line is generally power forwards - not as much skill but determination.
a 4th liner is a high paid bum like martin lapoint or mark bell.

Answer 2

1st-Line Forward: A player who is, of course, playing on the 1st Line of a hockey team. Generally this guy would be the top player of that position on the team. Players like Crosby, Ovechkin, Naslund, Forsberg, and so forth are 1st-Line guys. They also tend to play on the 1st Power-Play unit, and often on a PK unit as well.
In fact, sometimes a team is so stacked that a player who would normally play on the top line, like Evgeny Malkin or Robert Lang, ends up playing on the 2nd line.

Top-Six Forward: A guy playing on the 1st or 2nd line. Often this is a guy who is ALMOST good enough for a 1st-line role, but is moved around based on team needs. These are usually players who are also more defensively-capable, or somewhat inconsistent enough for a definite 1st-line role. They will play on the first or second PP unit.

Answer 3

IFirst line is usually your best scoring unit, second line is usually a combo scoring/checking, 3-4 lines are usually checkers with a scorer sprinkled in. Top 6 get much more Ice time which woul be the top 2 lines.

Answer 4

top six forward is some one who should be playing either on the first OR second line. first line forward is a player who should be playing on the first line.