<Mr Jiggyfly> said:
The hype was always justified.
As my cousin is from Russia, I have had the chance to watch Malkin play in close to 50+ games.
I was one of the select few people trying to talk Pens fans out of suicide back when they lost the lottery in '04, because I knew how good Malkin was.
If you think he is overhyped that is your opinion.
However, your statements swing both ways. So if you haven't watched Malkin play at all or in enough games, then I don't believe you are educated enough about Malkin to decide if he is overhyped or not.
As for those saying he will be better than Crosby and AO, that I would agree is ridiculous.
I haven't seen Malkin play enough to know for sure and, in a sense, we won't know for sure until he plays in the NHL, but I have been one of those who has bought into the hype:
At the 2003 draft, Ovechkin pretty much was the consensus #1. At best, he was going to be a Kovalchuk type of explosive offensive player who also played a physical game and might play better defense. At worst, he was going to be a physical Kovalchuk.
Malkin was seen as a wild card. He was seen as incredibly skilled, but he was 6'3, 185 lbs, had suffered an ugly concussion earlier in the season, and was seen as anything but a sure thing. Potentially, however, he was seen as growing into a 6'4, 220 lb franchise center who would play like a combination of the two NHL players he said he admired, Mario Lemieux and Owen Nolan, with the added plus of being a selke caliber defensive forward.
While anyone with the #1 overall would have taken Ovechkin, a couple of teams looked at the franchise center who might be and rated him higher than Ovechkin. My brother, who lives in Nashville, said Ray Shero said in a generic draft interview that he preferred Malkin.
What has Malkin done since then? He is almost a year younger than Ovechkin. He dominated the RSL a year after Ovechkin. He dominated the world juniors only to be shut down by Canada just like Ovechkin a year later. He was Russia's best forward at the Olympics.
During his press conference, Ray Shero talked about the Penguins general talent level. He specifically mentioned only Crosby and Malkin, but not Fleury, as people to build the franchise around. During a later interview, when asked a "#87 had to have something to do with your coming" question, he again talked about the general young talent, again specifically mentioned only Crosby and Malkin, and then offered the unsolicited comment that, if the Penguins can figure out how to get Malkin over, he's going to make Shero and Therrien look a lot smarter.
Each time Shero mentioned Malkin, a half smile seemed to come to his face, as if he knew something for a fact that we sit here debating in theory.
Will Malkin score 100 pts? I don't know. He's going to be on the first PK unit. He's going to take a lot of defensive zone draws. He'll probably play more minutes than Crosby for these reasons, but he may have fewer offensive opportunities. That said, he is a more complete player than Crosby or Ovechkin and should, as Shero's example demonstrates, be mentioned in the same breath.
