Fear the Wushu
Registered User
I am not saying Patrick should be #1. NJ has no reason to second guess Nico as their pick.
I just wanted to bring info to the discussion and show that the gap between Nico and Patrick, was certainly there to start the year. But by February onward...that gap was very little but few took notice.
In the end, pre-draft, Patrick was compared to Monahan but with better defense. And Mono has been a 60+ point guy. I am happy to see that Patrick was at a 50+ point pace during those last 33 games and more importantly, the progress was noticeable. It was night and day.
And the fact that he ended the year healthy, he finally gets to have 5 months of working out on his weaknesses.
EP could produce more and I know he is defending his boy. Don't care, as long as Patrick becomes that 60-70 point 2-way C. The Flyers know how much of an impact that guy can be by having Couturier be that this year. And almost every Flyers fan will say that Patrick is more skilled than Couts.
Not saying this holds any weight at all considering the sample size but I remember one game where Nico made Patrick look silly a few times on the face off dot and dominated his line, Patrick also took like three or four penalties that game. I just think Nico is a level above Patrick when it comes to hockey IQ, puck skills, compete level, and all around play. He is still growing into his body as well and the rate he produces at ES is amazing for an undersized teenager. Point production may have been close from January on but I really think Nico is just flat out a level ahead of Nolan and is the kind of player who has ceiling we really wont see for a few years once he gets bigger and plays on the PP1 for a whole year.