My original favorite player for Sega was Russ Courtnall. And probably still is, but it's evolved over these years more into a love/hate relationship lol. My original feeling (almost 30 years ago???) was that he wasn't an all-star or top player in the game. He was this hidden gem on a team that was also not recognized as a top team (Dallas Stars). I prefer righty shots on the LW, and SPEED is the most valued attribute, so he was the perfect player. I always loved dominating with Russ and the Stars because it provided more legitimacy than winning with the Blackhawks, Red Wings, etc. When I stumbled into this community back in Spring'11, I used the Stars in Classic. Probably not a coincidence.
Thanks to this community, I've amassed more knowledge about players and attributes than any normal person should know. And one thing that troubles me with Russ now is his poor stick handling skills (3 rated out of 6). Stick handling affects the ability of a player to handle a pass. So with Russ, you'll notice that many passes bounce off his skates. It's frustrating, and requires some patience and adjustments when you play with him. But since we go way back, I think I still have a soft spot for him and would be my favorite player for that reason. PLUS, @chaos got Russ to do a Cameo appearance for me to start CDL 05!
As far as SNES, I stink and have no idea.