O'Sullivan is way above the other two right now...
But to say Kosystsyn is way above Pouliot... Pouliot outplayed him last year in Hamilton and Kosistsyn, despite beeing the same age... was at this 2nd AHL season.
Anyway we won't know before they all get a fair opportunity at the NHL...(at least 10-12 minutes)
only O'sullivan have been given this opportunity thus far and only for a few games.
I don't agree with those that say Pouliot outplayed Kostitsyn. I saw more then half the games last year and I seem to remember Kostitsyn outscoring Pouliot in one less game played. Pouliot played better early on for sure, but Kostitsyn turned it on after being sent down last year when he had a good run with the Habs. I know it's only stats but lets not forget that Kostitsyn was 2nd on the team in scoring, despite being one of the youngest players, one of the most raw players on the team. Kostitsyn didn't speak much English, was still adapting to the North American game, which sadly has taken him a long time to adapt to, but he's getting noticeably better each year.
Imo last year he was the Habs top player in Hamilton last year and he's one of this year.
You clearly haven't seen Pouliot play. Anyone who has seen the Hamilton Bulldogs play would agree that Pouliot is a much better player than Kostitsyn. However Kostitsyn has shown flashes of talent, and probably has the higher upside, but he is way more unlikely to reach his potential, compared to Pouliot reaching his potential.
I can tell you I've seen him play and likely a lot more then most since I got a season pass to Dogs and have seen them in various cities across North America. Pouliot is a better all round player. Kostitsyn lacks effort and an understanding of the game and his role in said game. He doesn't know how to effectively use his teammates, tries to do too much on his own, I suspect he grew up watching Kovalev does he does a lot of the same I think I'll try and skate through the entire team crap only to lose the puck after beating 2 guys.
Is Pouliot a much better player then Kostitsyn? Doesn't matter to me, but I don't think so. Kostitsyn is very frustrating to watch but he was one of the most skilled players on the team and Coach Lever didn't hesitate to goto Kostitsyn when he needed offense and he even used him at times on the PK and late in the game when holding a lead, which shows that he has come a long way from the guy that had no clue whatsoever of what to do when he didn't have the puck.
If Pouliot is much better then good for him. As a Hab fan I can only hope that Kostitsyn continues to get better, he came over so raw and so poor defensively along with a very bad of habbitt of taking shifts off or not working as hard as he can. He was good in hamilton last year, he was good when called up for the most part, this year he's been better but still has work to do and may never get to where the Habs hope for.
it's always funny when people post this.
