Chaos said:
Its enough of an argument. A guy calling himself Crosbyfan saying its not even close. What a shocker. Meanwhile, 13 out of 30 NHL GM's(you know, guys who actually know something other than media hype) say otherwise. I think I'll take the opinion of NHL GM's over some kid on the internet who bases his opinion on hype(and perhaps nationality)
Did 13 out of 30 GMs say that, though? The
article says 'If both were eligible this season, McGuire said the split would
probably be “17 general managers who favored Crosby and 13 who favored Kessel.†' Just what the hell is with the "probably"? Obviously he didn't talk to all 30 GMs, or rather, obviously 13 didn't categorically say they would choose Kessel, while the other 17 categorically said they'd choose Crosby because if that was the case, there'd be no need for Kevin Allen, the writer, to include "probably."
Does anyone have the full context of McGuire's quote--was it on air or was it in an interview (possibly from Kevin Allen)? Because as is, it seems to just be McGuire postulating on what GMs would do, not what actual GMs said they'd do, kind of like how people here say things like "no GM would take player x over player y." So, really, who knows? Maybe more would actually take Kessel. Maybe none would take Kessel. As is, without any real context or firm assertion, I hardly think McGuire's quote holds much weight.
As for Kessel and Crosby, not to take anything away from Kessel, but I think Crosby is the superior player/prospect by a decent margin as of today. I think the next year is going to clear things up, though: we'll see how Crosby does in the NHL and we'll see how Kessel is viewed after the inevitable backlash that all hyped top prospects receive.
Even though, he's an old player for his draft year, Kessel's still got that new car smell. He's got to perform noticeably better than Parise did as freshman or people are going to start comparing him more to Parise than a LaFontaine/Hull hybrid. He's also going to have the people coming out wondering just how dominant he can be when his speed is more neutralized. Right now, he can walk by many of his peers at will, but in the NHL, everyone's a good skater. Look what was written about a former hyped to death prospect: "He has fine, soft hands, but in junior he could just swat the puck past somebody and say 'Let's race for it,' and would win most of these races. But the same move in the NHL doesn't pay off. He wins maybe half. The other chances go to waste." Kessel's shot should help him succeed even if his speed is neutralized (at least more neutralized than it is now by U20 Swedish defenders and 17 year olds), but the dominance of his game, at least from what I've seen (a handful of games and more than a handful of goals), is based on the dominance of his skating, so how will his game react when he loses his dominant advantage? He hasn't been tested yet and has been able to rely on his wheels, but what happens when his wheels alone aren't able to allow him to dominate? Sure, he'll most likely be smart enough to adapt or maybe he'll luck out and his skating will be enough (or maybe a little bit of both), but I think these are the things that are going to be questioned, and questioned to death in the coming year (based on how guys like Crosby, Ovechkin, and Spezza were treated).
BTW, that other super skating prospect was Daigle, and, imo, Kessel compares a lot closer with Daigle than Crosby does: Kessel and Daigle were/are average/smaller sized guys who dominated junior age competition with their incredible skating, while the only thing Daigle and Crosby really share are that physically they were/are both average/smaller sized guys--though Crosby has shown uncanny lower body strength and strength on the puck that belies his stature--and they both dominated the same league, but their games as a whole, at least from a junior prespective, are noticeably different. Kessel might escape the Daigle comparisons because he doesn't play in the Q, but, in my eyes, he's going to have to overcome what Daigle couldn't if he's going to be an elite player. He probably will adapt, but there are going to be questions until he does, and since he's a year away from being drafted, he's going to have to put up with the questions (and the unreasoned backlash), and, like his predecessors, he and this whole board are going to have to put up with it because he obviously can't prove himself if he's too young to play in the league. We've seen this story time and time again, and Kessel's going to be no different.
Give it time and we'll see how things play out. Whatever the case, it'll be fun to watch.
