Highlander
Active member
Anyone think if we sign Matthews that the Stamkos thing falls apart?
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Nik the Trik said:Eh. Patrick Laine looked pretty freakin' good.
It?s been said many times that Auston Matthews is the ?consensus first pick? since last summer, but therein lies the rub.
Scouts, pundits and fans anointed him as the top guy last summer ? and in many cases seemingly decided that he would be the top guy in the rankings no matter what.
Well there is a ?matter what??a Finnish fellow named Patrik Laine that has more than a couple of scouts reminiscing about a fellow named Mario Lemieux. It was apparent at the U-20?was noticeable down the stretch in the SM-liiga regular season, and even more apparent during the playoffs ? this kid is scary good, and the closest thing comparable to Mario since?..Mario.
?He looks like Mario when he?s carrying the puck,? noted one top scout during the U-20, and he wasn?t alone in that assertion. When asked for a comparison, Teemu Selanne brought up Lemieux as well, and McKeen?s chief amateur scout Grant McCagg was making the correlation between the two even before there were others echoing it?he first made the suggestion early on in the World juniors, and he hasn?t changed his mind. If anything it has only been reconfirmed.
?I can?t honestly recall scouting a forward over 6-4 with a skill set as similar to Mario?s as Laine?s,? says McCagg. ?The way he creates space when he has the puck, his hands, his release, his shot, his vision?maybe he?s not quite at Mario?s level?but he?s not that far off. He?s a tier above Rick Nash at the same age?and as we know both Nash and Mario were first overall picks. I have a hard time thinking anyone should be drafted ahead of him even if I really like Matthews a lot?I see a future 50-goal NHL scorer, maybe a 60-goal guy. I don?t see that same upside with Matthews.?
Potvin29 said:So clickbait-y. I don't see even a tenuous Mario comparison but I am only going off highlights.
CarltonTheBear said:Potvin29 said:So clickbait-y. I don't see even a tenuous Mario comparison but I am only going off highlights.
I love the "maybe he?s not quite at Mario?s level" quote. Oh, geeze, he's not as good as one of the 3 best humans to ever play hockey? Ya think?
Matthews is a prospect of equivalent talent to Buffalo's Jack Eichel at the time of Eichel being drafted, and is the favorite to be picked first. Matthews' pure skill level is the highest in this draft class. The things he can do with the puck border on freakish, considering his frame. He also has above-average speed and great hockey IQ. He has been on a tear in the NLA since returning from the WJC. While some may scoff at the league and say his numbers aren't impressive in a global sense, recent studies have shown the NLA has actually surpassed the top Finnish league, and is nearly on par with the AHL, with many ex-NHLers making Switzerland their post-North America destination.
Highlander said:Anyone think if we sign Matthews that the Stamkos thing falls apart?
Potvin29 said:This is from Corey Pronman (it's an ESPN Insider post) on Matthews:
Matthews is a prospect of equivalent talent to Buffalo's Jack Eichel at the time of Eichel being drafted, and is the favorite to be picked first. Matthews' pure skill level is the highest in this draft class. The things he can do with the puck border on freakish, considering his frame. He also has above-average speed and great hockey IQ. He has been on a tear in the NLA since returning from the WJC. While some may scoff at the league and say his numbers aren't impressive in a global sense, recent studies have shown the NLA has actually surpassed the top Finnish league, and is nearly on par with the AHL, with many ex-NHLers making Switzerland their post-North America destination.
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:McKeens pfffft.
No Auston? He's off to (gasp) Boston? Then let me taste hot death, I solemnly chant. April 30th is a good day to die.
Zee said:In order of how pissed off I'd be if another team got first overall would be:
Habs
Oilers
Canucks
Sens
Buffalo
Boston
Calgary
Winnipeg
Carolina
Jersey
Columbus
Colorado
CarltonTheBear said:Zee said:In order of how pissed off I'd be if another team got first overall would be:
Habs
Oilers
Canucks
Sens
Buffalo
Boston
Calgary
Winnipeg
Carolina
Jersey
Columbus
Colorado
Colorado would be higher on that list for me. I hate seeing incompetent front offices rewarded.
Zee said:To be fair, the bottom 4 or 5 on the list for me is pretty much interchangeable. Not really upset if one of Carolina, Jersey, Columbus or Colorado get it.