Fedor Tjutin or Ryan Whitney

[fedorov_jr]

not sure who will be a better NHL defenseman in terms of offense, or overall contributions to his team.... what are their top end potentials? #1 dman? #2 dman? pp specialist? share your thoughts

Click to read more...

 

[Levitate]

tjutin is probably more of a #2 guy who does everything well

don't know enough about whitney

 

[davemess]

Whitney is definetly more of an offensive defencemen but still has reasonable all around skills. Where he projects is tricker to call, he could easily be a #2 or a #3 depending on who the Penguins choose to play with Orpik who is the clear #1 guy in waiting.

76 games, 6 goals, 34 assists, 40 points in his first AHL season.

 

[borro]

Whitney is definetly more of an offensive defencemen but still has reasonable all around skills. Where he projects is tricker to call, he could easily be a #2 or a #3 depending on who the Penguins choose to play with Orpik who is the clear #1 guy in waiting.

76 games, 6 goals, 34 assists, 40 points in his first AHL season.

Whitney has more potential than Tjutin

 

[bruins4777*]

This is a really hard pick...Tytuin doesn't have that franchise talent, but definently is a more solid and reliable pick than whitney. However whitney's great ceiling is hard to ignore. Whitney has better passing talent than pitkanen or bouwmeester at this stage in his career, but mentally and everything else wise he is far, far, far behind the other two in terms of development.

Whitney has no.1 dman potential, maybe even norris winning POTENTIAL. But he isn't exactly the surest bet. I'm a big whitney fan and i'll be pulling for him to reach his full potential.

However tytuin has these certain dynamic characteristics, however unlike whitney, bouw, or pitkanen who have franchise talent. He doesn't have that talent that allows him to play both a perfect defensive game or offensive game. He can play one or the other but which ever he picks he can do very well. He's a safe bet to be a solid no. 2 or 3 specialty guy who can play very well on special teams.

I like both a lot, i can't decide who to pick.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Tyutin has #2 potential and has basically already shown it with the Rangers. He has IMMENSE skills.

I'll take him right now very easily over Whitney who I never liked in college and still think he won't be a #1 in the NHL.

 

[Jacob]

To say he won't be a #1 in the NHL, is that even playing him down at all?

 

[Levitate]

He's a safe bet to be a solid no. 2 or 3 specialty guy who can play very well on special teams.

what do you mean by specialty guy?

I personally think Tjutin is extremely talented...based on watching him play. But he isn't the kind of talented where he can display amazing offensive skills and still play good defense at the same time (then again, most defensemen can't do that) so he usually settles for the middle road with good defense and pretty good offense. Then sometimes he'll turn on the offense and rack up points for a couple of games until the coaches reign him back in. If he wanted to play offense all the time I bet he could put up some real good numbers, but that's ultimately just not his game.

I'd look at Tjutin as a top pairing guy but not a franchise guy unless he *really* put it all together...I think he might have that potential but the possibility of him doing that is very remote. and before someone jumps down my throat, i'll point out the words *very* and *remote*

Whitney certainly sounds like a nice prospect though

 

[bruins4777*]

what do you mean by specialty guy?

I personally think Tjutin is extremely talented...based on watching him play. But he isn't the kind of talented where he can display amazing offensive skills and still play good defense at the same time (then again, most defensemen can't do that) so he usually settles for the middle road with good defense and pretty good offense. Then sometimes he'll turn on the offense and rack up points for a couple of games until the coaches reign him back in. If he wanted to play offense all the time I bet he could put up some real good numbers, but that's ultimately just not his game.

I'd look at Tjutin as a top pairing guy but not a franchise guy unless he *really* put it all together...I think he might have that potential but the possibility of him doing that is very remote. and before someone jumps down my throat, i'll point out the words *very* and *remote*

Whitney certainly sounds like a nice prospect though

eerrrr is it just me or did you just say pretty much the exact same thing as me?

By specialty i ment he'll play well on pk and pp

 

[Levitate]

could be

but i wasn't quite responding to just you, just kinda running my mouth.

i just wanted to voice my opinion that tjutin is actually a very talented player even though he doesn't put up the flashy points all the time like other guys might. sometimes i feel people think he's not that talented but IMO he is.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Whitney has more potential than Tjutin

Whitney has more potential than most. The question is whether he lives up to it. Personally, I think he'll be another Kevin Hatcher. A guy that puts up good numbers, tantalizes you from time to time, but leaves you wanting for more.

 

[Chief]

i just wanted to voice my opinion that tjutin is actually a very talented player even though he doesn't put up the flashy points all the time like other guys might. sometimes i feel people think he's not that talented but IMO he is.

Because Tyutin wasn't a glitzy first round pick and hasn't played as well in the AHL as he did in his stint with the Rangers, I don't think people (other than Ranger fans) realize just how good Tyutin was and can be. The Rangers are very high on Tyutin's offensive ability and I doubt they'd trade him straight up for Whitney right now. Whether their faith in him is warranted will be borne out in the near future (if the NHL ever gets around to having a near future!).

 

[Hunter Gathers]

To say he won't be a #1 in the NHL, is that even playing him down at all?

He has #1 potential. That's what everyone says.

I say he has #3/4 potential, really. I don't see anything above that.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Whitney has more potential than most. The question is whether he lives up to it. Personally, I think he'll be another Kevin Hatcher. A guy that puts up good numbers, tantalizes you from time to time, but leaves you wanting for more.

That's a PERFECT comparison, IMO. Right on.

 

[Jacob]

I disagree and feel he has #2 upside. Less proven than Tjutin, more upside.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I disagree and feel he has #2 upside. Less proven than Tjutin, more upside.

I never said he didn't have the upside, I said I highly highly highly doubt he will ever come close to it.

"He has #1 potential. That's what everyone says.

I say he has #3/4 potential, really. I don't see anything above that."

That was meant to say I don't think he'll hit higher than a 3/4. I watched him throughout college so I'm not just speaking out of my ass on this. I just don't think he has the will or drive or anything to ever be higher than that. I agree that he has #1 potential, just that he will never hit it.

Tyutin has already established himself as the Rangers #2 d-man, which is something. He played EXCELLENT for the Rangers when he was called up. Something I hadn't seen in a rookie for them since York or Johnson.

 

[Jacob]

Maybe it's the homer in me, but I would question Tjutin's drive before I question Whitney's.

Never showed interest in the AHL game. I guess none of that matters though as long as you put up in the NHL.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Maybe it's the homer in me, but I would question Tjutin's drive before I question Whitney's.

Never showed interest in the AHL game. I guess none of that matters though as long as you put up in the NHL.

He was amazing in the NHL and knows he is way too good for the AHL. There was no reason for him to be playing there which is why he left for Russia, where he has been playing solid against NHLers. I could care less about his AHL play as long as he brings it in the NHL, which he definately did.

He played great in Juniors also. Gave it his all. The first year in the AHL he did the same, until he moved up and showed he belonged there. That's the thing with him -- he'd play amazing at the lower level until he could move up, and then if he ever went back to it, he'd just play like he didn't care since everyone knew he was too good for it already. Just a little weird trait about him, I guess. But he's been only fantastic at the NHL level. And that's all that matters to me in the long run.

Whitney never showed much motivation in college at all. Never seemed to really care. That scared me a lot and still scared me that he never really gave it his all at the lower level.

 

[bruins4777*]

He was amazing in the NHL and knows he is way too good for the AHL. There was no reason for him to be playing there which is why he left for Russia, where he has been playing solid against NHLers. I could care less about his AHL play as long as he brings it in the NHL, which he definately did.

He played great in Juniors also. Gave it his all. The first year in the AHL he did the same, until he moved up and showed he belonged there. That's the thing with him -- he'd play amazing at the lower level until he could move up, and then if he ever went back to it, he'd just play like he didn't care since everyone knew he was too good for it already. Just a little weird trait about him, I guess. But he's been only fantastic at the NHL level. And that's all that matters to me in the long run.

Whitney never showed much motivation in college at all. Never seemed to really care. That scared me a lot and still scared me that he never really gave it his all at the lower level.

I've seen whitney a decent amount of times this year and i think he's really starting to care more. I hope this fight this past night against babchuk is an indictator of him starting to show more passion for the game.

I still don't see that "steely fire" passion in whitney's eyes, which i'd like to see and i see him as not very gritty, although i've seen him become more so lately, but i don't see him playing non-chalant o i don't care either.

Whenever i see whitney there are just these few things that i feel he could REALLY improve to become a better player and those few things will separate him from being, like you say a no.3 or 4, or being franchise good. And at the top of the list is always grit and passion. I think i saw whitney go for a big hit once this season out of at least 4 or 5 games, i think more. When whitney gets hit he tends to rub it off or take it nicely, but he won't show the anger to go after the guy he just hit him. Its not like he's soft, cause he can play physical, but he just doesn't have that "desire". Its hard for me to describe. Because he won't get rubbed off the puck or shy away from physical play, but he has yet to show me he can initiate it.

And i think its that kind of desire that really translates to the main thing for the rest of his game. He doesn't seem to have that fire to shoot. I barely saw him wind up and go for a big shot from teh point at all this season, but when he used it it was huge. But he rarely used it at all, which kind of pissed me off, after hearing so much about it. He also tends to play the puck rather than the man. It doesn't show to be a huge problem at the AHL level, because his talent level is so high that he can gamble like that and get away with it. But in the NHL facing guys like kovalev and kovalchuk he'll get burned over and over and over, until he learns. But that part i don't worry about as much, because of the fact that its something lots of young dmen do, so i'm sure he'll grow out of it.

Whitney has a lot of these "little" problems he needs to work out in order to achieve true greatness. Once the NHL starts back up, i'm not so sure i'd like him to play with the pens. He's getting 25-30 minutes a night with the baby pens as their num 1, but he really still has stuff to work on. He'll probably go straight to the NHL anyways because of the team he plays for, but i think the better thing for him to do would be staying in the AHL, but i dunno we'll see. To me whitney seems kind of like a slow learner...but i could be wrong.

 

[MS]

Whitney has more potential than most. The question is whether he lives up to it. Personally, I think he'll be another Kevin Hatcher. A guy that puts up good numbers, tantalizes you from time to time, but leaves you wanting for more.

If Whitney is another Kevin Hatcher, Pittsburgh would take that in a minute. The guy played 17 seasons and almost 1200 games, was a 5-time All-star, and was a #1 or #2 defender in the NHL for 10 or 12 years. Yeah, he never took his play to the Norris level that many thought he was capable of, but he was an excellent defender for a very long time, and one of the higher-scoring defenders in the history of the game.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

If Whitney is another Kevin Hatcher, Pittsburgh would take that in a minute. The guy played 17 seasons and almost 1200 games, was a 5-time All-star, and was a #1 or #2 defender in the NHL for 10 or 12 years. Yeah, he never took his play to the Norris level that many thought he was capable of, but he was an excellent defender for a very long time, and one of the higher-scoring defenders in the history of the game.

I'm not saying that he'll duplicate Hatcher's numbers, just that they are similar players: Big, good skaters for their size, awesome offensive ability, yet not an overwhelming physical presence, and a bit inconsistent.

 

[Ola]

I would say that right now Tyutin is well ahead of Whitney, Fedor played against men at the age of 17 and have established himself as one of the better defensemens in the RSL. He was for example on the first pairing in the Sweden Hockey Games. Still that doesn't mean that he will be a better player in the NHL in 5 years. In the end that only means that Tyutin has more experience playing against better players and playing in systems at a higher level, it takes allot of diffrent skills to make it in the NHL. In the end both he and Whitney need to show that they have the extreme durability to be a elite defensemen in the NHL.

Both are very good defensemen but to me it doesn't make any sense comparing them since they really have a completly diffrent background and there is still soo many factors that are unpredictable that will in the end decide how good they will become, like injurys, coaching and oppertunity to play ect.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

I would say that right now Tyutin is well ahead of Whitney, Fedor played against men at the age of 17 and have established himself as one of the better defensemens in the RSL. He was for example on the first pairing in the Sweden Hockey Games. Still that doesn't mean that he will be a better player in the NHL in 5 years. In the end that only means that Tyutin has more experience playing against better players and playing in systems at a higher level, it takes allot of diffrent skills to make it in the NHL. In the end both he and Whitney need to show that they have the extreme durability to be a elite defensemen in the NHL.

Both are very good defensemen but to me it doesn't make any sense comparing them since they really have a completly diffrent background and there is still soo many factors that are unpredictable that will in the end decide how good they will become, like injurys, coaching and oppertunity to play ect.

I would agree that Tjutin is ahead of Whitney, mainly because he's actually played in the NHL, but that shouldn't take away from the potential Whitney has, which is to be much better than Tjutin, or most other defensemen for that matter.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I would agree that Tjutin is ahead of Whitney, mainly because he's actually played in the NHL, but that shouldn't take away from the potential Whitney has, which is to be much better than Tjutin, or most other defensemen for that matter.

Tyutin is a potential 1/2 where Whitney is a potential GOOD #1 d-man. There isn't as MUCH seperating the two in terms of potential as you might think. The reason Tyutin even went second round wasn't because of his lack of potential, but because he was so, so raw.

 

[bruins4777*]

I think potential is more tyutin at good 1/2, where whitney is outstanding norris #1. I think that one jump from no.1 to norris is pretty huge in my mind.