Puckhead said:
Brock, Vlad, Sharkie...
I am interested to hear what you guys think about Anthony Stewart vs. Patrick O'Sullivan?
I agree with the other guys that O'Sullivan is a nicer prospect. I'd pick him if I was building talent. I might pick Stewart if I was rounding out a lineup looking for a specialty player.
However, Stewart is more of a rarity.
If both reached their potential, he could end up being a more sought after player, IMO. He's a more skilled Artukhin. And Artukhin is very intriguing just on the basis he can make life miserable for you.
O'Sullivan and Stewart don't make for a good comparison. It's not really Stewart VS O'Sullivan, it's Stewart OR O'Sullivan.
There are teams in this league who have been looking for any kind of tough, relatively talented forward for years. On the other hand O'Sullivan is exactly what the doctor ordered for Minny.
Despite the knocks on O'Sullivan's attitude earlier, I think he's the safer prospect in this respect. I don't agree with Jason that Stewart's skating is piss-poor but yeah, I've always found his skating was a tad overrated in various reports.
Points? O'Sullivan is probably an 80 point guy, Stewart a 50 point guy. But I don't believe much in point predictions because the whole NHL mutates over time. Suffice it to say I think O'Sullivan can be a good point producer at the NHL level.
If the league finds ways to open up the game like I think it will, all these points projections we make are going to be useless when we get a lot more 100 point players and maybe some 120, 130, 140+.
O'Sullivan is a gutsy little player with a lot of talent. I don't think he was ignored exclusively because of bad attitude concerns. He was in an amazing draft year and people went with guys they believed in. I don't agree with all the choices. I had him 20th overall before that draft, I think.
There will always be teams taking a flyer on players such as Hugh Jessiman. Some of these will pan and some will not. This is business as usual in the NHL. I also see Steve Bernier has a very challenging project for instance.
As for Stewart, I think if he develops he will surprise a bit. Could be a factor in this league, have one or two hot playoffs, be a headache for the opposition and be one of the guys all the teams ask about. I do think O'Sullivan is progressing more nicely but then I always saw Stewart as a long term project. I question his smarts and that's not something I usually like in a player but when you've got a bull with a very acceptable skill level, you make an exception. I was diappointed when I first saw him after reading the word "Bertuzzi" thrown around but over time, I still like what I see.