Auston Matthews vs Patrik Laine - Round III

[dubey]

Yes and at least Koivu, Barkov and Bäckström have praised Laine in a player and also his shot.

Kool & irrelevant

This is from someone that is part of the US Developmental program comparing Matthews to other U.S. 1st round picks

 

[CashMash]

Mckenzie is just blowing smoke to cause controversy. Vuori would more focused with the other picks the Leafs will have in the later rounds. He's not gonna devote a lot of time and energy trying to differentiate between two star players at the top of the list where the differences are minimal. The Leafs have a lot of picks to work with and like Dubas said in the last draft, they would rather focus more energy on perfecting their actual lists of prospects lower in the pecking order and trying to find gems rather than worrying about the difference between Matthews and Laine.

How do you figure that? What motive would he have to lie?

 

[Riellyfan04]

Both will be solid players. Any can be better than the other but as of right now, Matthews is ahead. The guy can play a solid 2 way game and also can score goals.. Id rather have that on my team... But yea, both will be superstars

 

[kujo31]

To me it seems a lot like what have you done for me lately, Laine had a great playoffs and he did some great things and granted I don't know anything about the fins junior teams so I may be biased here

But to me Mattewes is BPA because of not only what did in the Swiss-a but what he did in the US development league, last year he had the most dominant season of anyone ever in the history of that league. Considering guys like Eichel, Kessel, Kane he was able to up one all of them

Laine had a great playoffs and a really good season but to me Matthews resume is still much more impressive and arguably his seasons this year is more impressive then Laine's at least that's my opinion.

This may also be a bit of North American bias but from what I've hear from professional scouts on radio and TV here in Canada it's not really much of a debate, I mean most are 99% sure Matthews is a better prospect

But once again this is my opinion take it for what it is

 

[McMatthews]

This is basically Ovechkin/Malkin from 2004.

Franchise goal scoring winger or franchise centre?

Toronto and Winnipeg win.

 

[Loffer]

Laine is raw like a green banana in the hands of a clueless gorilla but he will be good come October.

 

[Atomos2]

How do you figure that? What motive would he have to lie?

It's not a lie, it's an exaggeration. He never definitively said Vuori wanted Laine over Matthews. But he's making a bigger deal out of this then it should be because he (like most media types) want to add a bit of intrigue to the draft. Leafs are picking Matthews. They have seen these players over the course of the year, the minimal differences in their expected impact at the professional level, doesn't overtake the positional importance.

Leafs still have the Pens 1st rd and their 2nd which is 31st overall, the debate over taking the #1 or #2 ranked player overall, has minimal importance over their entire draft ranking system and who is available at those later position. Media moguls love exaggerating the scrutiny over the top picks, but I'm almost positive its the later picks the Leafs are having the more intense discussions over.

 

[Captain Timo]

Finn U-20s vs USA men's team

Sorry but what exactly do you mean U-20s vs USA"s Mens team?

 

[Gsus]

Sorry but what exactly do you mean U-20s vs USA"s Mens team?

He just probably meant it because Aho and Laine were the ones creating the chances.

 

[Loffer]

Sorry but what exactly do you mean U-20s vs USA"s Mens team?

Obviously the fact that the to kids driving the offence in that shift on OT were and are U-20 Finns Aho and Laine.

 

[Stephen]

Mckenzie is just blowing smoke to cause controversy. Vuori would more focused with the other picks the Leafs will have in the later rounds. He's not gonna devote a lot of time and energy trying to differentiate between two star players at the top of the list where the differences are minimal. The Leafs have a lot of picks to work with and like Dubas said in the last draft, they would rather focus more energy on perfecting their actual lists of prospects lower in the pecking order and trying to find gems rather than worrying about the difference between Matthews and Laine.

I feel like the notion that Vuori would a) prefer the Finnish player b) create this controversy might be more a media driven narrative. I imagine his role on the staff is to be like a Thommie Bergmann and make sure we pick those Sebastian Aho type gems when we come across them.

 

[The Beyonder]

Mckenzie is just blowing smoke to cause controversy. Vuori would more focused with the other picks the Leafs will have in the later rounds. He's not gonna devote a lot of time and energy trying to differentiate between two star players at the top of the list where the differences are minimal. The Leafs have a lot of picks to work with and like Dubas said in the last draft, they would rather focus more energy on perfecting their actual lists of prospects lower in the pecking order and trying to find gems rather than worrying about the difference between Matthews and Laine.

Chances are pretty much all the head scouts have watched Matthews/Laine/Pulju extensively. Whether Vouri or some european scouts like Laine or Matthews more won't be the only factor. They'll all watch them a lot and then make the decision together. With the draft less than 2 months away, they've watched these guys a lot and have probably already made their decision.

 

[Atomos2]

I feel like the notion that Vuori would a) prefer the Finnish player b) create this controversy might be more a media driven narrative. I imagine his role on the staff is to be like a Thommie Bergmann and make sure we pick those Sebastian Aho type gems when we come across them.

Exactly. Just like when we thought Nylander was a Bergmann pick. Bergmann outright said that he wasn't the only person who watched him and can not take the full credit. It was agreed upon by the entire scouting staff. Hunter is the one who is most likely gonna make the final call. Vuori is just a voice. Just one voice.

 

[SCP Guy]

Laine is raw like a green banana in the hands of a clueless gorilla but he will be good come October.

I sure hope you have watched 20+ full games of his to form this opinion? And not 45 min of YouTube videos and an exhibition game like most of us?

 

[The Beyonder]

Also, McKenzie has no idea what Vuori feels, or else he would have just said that some scouts in toronto like Laine. He is just creating entertainment, and I'm sure there's good reason for it, but its much better when you create a mystery around the draft so that more people will tune in.

 

[Gsus]

I sure hope you have watched 20+ full games of his to form this opinion? And not 45 min of YouTube videos and an exhibition game like most of us?

Having seen probably 30 games of his this season and you can tell he's nothing like a raw banana in the hands of a clueless gorilla (whatever he meant by that). I'm not sure why'd he come up with that since he's probably finnish himself.

 

[93LEAFS]

Exactly. Just like when we thought Nylander was a Bergmann pick. Bergmann outright said that he wasn't the only person who watched him and can not take the full credit. It was agreed upon by the entire scouting staff. Hunter is the one who is most likely gonna make the final call. Vuori is just a voice. Just one voice.

Vuori has more of a say than Bergman did, but I still doubt that we are taking anyone outside of Matthews. He fits too big a need, and is the type of player championship teams are built around (see Bergeron, Toews and Kopitar). Laine is exciting and dynamic, but you just can't pass on Matthews, he has the higher floor and just as high a ceiling. Matthews is a great goal scorer for a center, with a complete game. Can't wait to see him lined up with Marner.

 

[psycho_dad*]

To me it seems a lot like what have you done for me lately, Laine had a great playoffs and he did some great things and granted I don't know anything about the fins junior teams so I may be biased here

But to me Mattewes is BPA because of not only what did in the Swiss-a but what he did in the US development league, last year he had the most dominant season of anyone ever in the history of that league. Considering guys like Eichel, Kessel, Kane he was able to up one all of them

Laine had a great playoffs and a really good season but to me Matthews resume is still much more impressive and arguably his seasons this year is more impressive then Laine's at least that's my opinion.

This may also be a bit of North American bias but from what I've hear from professional scouts on radio and TV here in Canada it's not really much of a debate, I mean most are 99% sure Matthews is a better prospect

But once again this is my opinion take it for what it is

What do you mean you don't know about the finjunior teams? Laine played in Liiga.

 

[BB88]

Also, McKenzie has no idea what Vuori feels, or else he would have just said that some scouts in toronto like Laine. He is just creating entertainment, and I'm sure there's good reason for it, but its much better when you create a mystery around the draft so that more people will tune in.

But hasn't that been mentioned before on his rankings, few months ago?

 

[Lennu32]

Right now I think Laine is a bit better than Matthews or on a hotter streak, but who knows in a couple of years? Maybe Puljujärvi will outscore them both

I'm sure TOR will pick Matthews, he is really good and fits their needs better

That being said, Laine has a way more charisma and cooler name. Auston sounds like a girly ringette player

It's scary to think about Jets future top-6: BIG, fast and skilled

 

[TheLeastOfTheBunch]

How do Finns fans see Barkov vs Laine?
Since Auston plays much the same way as Barkov

 

[Semantics]

How do you figure that? What motive would he have to lie?

Surely you're not serious?

TSN's ratings and thus Bob's career are DIRECTLY affected by having stuff like this to talk about on air. TSN doesn't have rights to broadcast games nationally any more, so if anything, it's even more important than ever for them to create a side show.

Also, the emails from the concussion lawsuit discovery show that Bob isn't the saint a lot of people assumed he was.

 

[Stephen]

Right now I think Laine is a bit better than Matthews or on a hotter streak, but who knows in a couple of years? Maybe Puljujärvi will outscore them both

I'm sure TOR will pick Matthews, he is really good and fits their needs better

That being said, Laine has a way more charisma and cooler name. Auston sounds like a girly ringette player

It's scary to think about Jets future top-6: BIG, fast and skilled

Laine seems like a bit of an eccentric.

 

[Gsus]

How do Finns fans see Barkov vs Laine?
Since Auston plays much the same way as Barkov

Who will be the better player? Hard to compare since Laine is 18 and Barkov turns 21. Comparing centre to a winger raises more questions than answers. Barkov is a proven player at NHL while Laine isn't.

As of now I would probably take Barkov if I had to choose. Tomorrow it could be Laine.

 

[Gavy]

Finn U-20s vs USA men's team

I love this video. It's like it was a little battle between Laine and Matthews. Laine went and created a scoring chance so Matthews turned around and did the same thing. I love it