Eric Staal or Alexander Ovechkin

[MS]

I'd take Staal.

I'm so leery of Russian players it's unreal. Seems like every single talented Russian ends up underachieving. Lazy play, contract headaches, threats to go home and play there. Whether it's right or wrong, I'm expecting the same from Ovechkin in a couple years.

Staal looks like he'll be one of the dominant centers in the game for the next decade. Good enough for me. I could care less about the bit of extra flash or talent that Ovechkin has.

 

[Crosbyfan]

These guys are all great players. Not just great young players.

It would not be too much of a stretch to see Staal win the Art Ross, Ovechkin the Richard, and Sid tops in assists and win the Calder.

Not the most likely prediction, but I bet if I knew the actual results from the end of the season, and posted it as a prediction today, it would probably seem more far fetched.

 

[KStewart113]

Ovechkin.

He'd be doing just as good or prly better if he had some help.

 

[Doomsday Device]

There were a lot of people who felt that philosophy didn't matter. That Crosby was just that good. I mean, he's a good player right now, but not a game changer. As much as he has been hyped, he certainly will have a hard time matching that.

Well, so far he's on pace to have the second best season scoringwise of any 18 year old (behind Gretzky) and of any rookie (behind Selanne). It doesn't mean much since it's only been 10 games, but I'd say that wouldn't be too far off from what was expected.

 

[Transported Upstater]

There were a lot of people who felt that philosophy didn't matter. That Crosby was just that good. I mean, he's a good player right now, but not a game changer. As much as he has been hyped, he certainly will have a hard time matching that.

Crosby has nothing to do with this thread. Period.

This is Eric Staal v.s. Alexander Ovechkin.

 

[PSUhockey34]

There isnt much to say that hasnt already been said about the two in this thread...both are great, young talents...comes down to whether you want a LW to build around or a center

 

[alecfromtherock]

Respectible? Respectible? Your talking about Respectible? 44.8% is a horrible FO % for a #1 Centreman. Average would be about 53%, very good 55%+, anything less than 50% is just plain horrible.

Taking nothing away from his scoring or any other part of his game, but that is not a good FO% alec

As another poster pointed out I did not say good or great FO% just respectable.

Crosby has a FO% of 32 what word would you use to describe that Mr. Thesaurus?

Lundqvist and Ward are both 4-1, but after looking at the stats I might have to agree that 1.55 and 0.942 clearly better then 3.07 and 0.895.

Staal or Stall, you say potato I say pototo

Clearly Crosby is living up to his hype as the NHL saviour with his what 2 goals

 

[mach 1]

staal 1g 3a tonight i take him over alex.

 

[Chimaera]

Crosby has nothing to do with this thread. Period.

This is Eric Staal v.s. Alexander Ovechkin.

Oh, so get after me, instead of the other people who did it first.


It's hard not to bring in the 3rd party within this dicussion. Especially since Crosby as a prospect is more or less the measuring stick, but Ovechkin, Crosby and Staal (of late) are being the measuring sticks of their respective rookie classes.

 

[Lars]

IMO i dont think they are the same league... they are close but not in the same leauge.

AO is my vote

 

[mach 1]

IMO i dont think they are the same league... they are close but not in the same leauge.

AO is my vote

your right there not in the same leauge staal has 22pts in 11 games and ovechkin has 13pts in 11 games.

 

[Transported Upstater]

Oh, so get after me, instead of the other people who did it first.


It's hard not to bring in the 3rd party within this dicussion. Especially since Crosby as a prospect is more or less the measuring stick, but Ovechkin, Crosby and Staal (of late) are being the measuring sticks of their respective rookie classes.

Sorry about directing it at you; I did mean it for the whole board.

 

[Jakethesnake]

As another poster pointed out I did not say good or great FO% just respectable.

Crosby has a FO% of 32 what word would you use to describe that Mr. Thesaurus?

No-one backed it up, they were taking a stab at me. 44% is not repectable. 50 % is repectable, any lower is horrible

What word would I use to decribe crosbys FO%?? Absolutely brutal. I couldnt imagine anyone would have a worse % at the same number of attempts. There isnt any adjectives to describe how bad that number is.

As Crsoby and Staal get more experienced, take more reps, and get stronger, those numbers will get much much higher, dont worry about that. But at the moment, they are bush in the circle

 

[Jakethesnake]

sounded more like Jim Mora

Yea, my bad

 

[Rather Gingerly 1*]

Both are future first line centers, so who would you rather have now, and in the future?

a few months ago I would have said Ovechkin for both, but now Staal is making me seriously reconsider...

No wrong choice either way. Give me Staal. I am big on Canadians.

 

[Bluesman]

I'd take either one of them on the Wild and smile the entire time. Both are great young players, and great players right now. A hat trick one night and four assists? Keeping his team in games by himself? It's guys like these that make me look forward to next season when I'll have satellite and center ice.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Personally I'd take Ovechkin, if for nothing else other than the fact that elite left wing talents are much harder to find. There are more great left wing talents coming in every year, but to grab one that is of Ovechkin's calibre, why not?

Staal is AMAZING, he's patient and smart with the puck. But again, there's a lot of elite centers out there, when compared to the left wing position at least.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Clearly Crosby is living up to his hype as the NHL saviour with his what 2 goals

thats a really dumb thing to say. assists count just as much as goals, and i think he has 12 assists.

 

[alecfromtherock]

thats a really dumb thing to say. assists count just as much as goals, and i think he has 12 assists.

Goals are what people want to see: breakaways, short-handed, shoot-out and unassisted goals are the icing on the cake in hockey.

So are you saying that if AO has 10-20 more goals then a player with a higher point total that he is not going to win the Calder?

Projected based on Oct 30 stats

AO: 60G 38A 98P
SC: 15G 90A 105P
ES: 67G 97A 164P

We all know that 60 and 67 goals is not happening, 15 goals and Crosby = BUST.

38 assists for AO seems plausible, 90 and 97 are far too high.

Realistic projections:

AO 30-40G 20-30A 50-70P(0.609PPG – 0.853PPG)*
SC: 15-25G 45-55A 65-85P(0.792PPG –1.036PPG)
ES: 45+G 40+A 95+P(1.158+PPG)

Staal has the advantage of being on a decent team and has NHL experience over the other 2 in question

* wins Calder unless a rookie goalie has great stats or gets the ‘New York’ vote.

 

[Berkut]

Staal is not a rookie anymore.

 

[Twist and Shout]

AO is already better than Eric Staal.

 

[octopi]

I'd take Staal.

I'm so leery of Russian players it's unreal. Seems like every single talented Russian ends up underachieving. Lazy play, contract headaches, threats to go home and play there. Whether it's right or wrong, I'm expecting the same from Ovechkin in a couple years.

Granted, there have been contract problems or the "I'll go home thing",while underachieving is hard to gauge and often a matter of injuries /opinion.

But do you think peoples predjudice plays a factor?
Seriously, players for other countries, including Canada have done these things but especially with Candians it generally doesn't seem to get as much notice, IMHO.

 

[CSKA]

But do you think peoples predjudice plays a factor?
Seriously, players for other countries, including Canada have done these things but especially with Candians it generally doesn't seem to get as much notice, IMHO.

Agree, everybody talking about Yashins huge contract but hey there are at least 10 Players who have contracts like him and plays crap. Tkatchuk......

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Agree, everybody talking about Yashins huge contract but hey there are at least 10 Players who have contracts like him and plays crap. Tkatchuk......

Please don't compare Keith Tkachuk to Yashin. I recognize Tkachuk is vastly overpaid and has had a tough start to this season, but in 03/04 he had an excellent year, and as a power forward takes more abuse in one game than a guy like Yashin does all year.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

AO is already better than Eric Staal.

i think that they are completely different players. Staal has better vision and i think he is smart and patient with the puck. They both have rockets and are physical. Ovechkin reminds me more of a "sparkplug" with tons of offensive potential, i mean, he flies around out there at 100 mph hitting everything , staal reminds me of the typical playmaking star, with other great attributes (such as a loaded shot).

For point production, I'll take Staal, but for goal scoring/intangibles, I'll take Ovechkin. Overall its very close, hard to say who is better.