Malkin VS Ovechkin

[Mothra]

Centers are absolutely more important than wingers.

I agree.....but given the choice I take the more talented player...I would not sacrifice talent for position (and thats a general statement...not comparing AO/EM)

Now....given team needs and the like....I may take a less talented center over a slightly more talented winger, where I would rarely (if ever) do the reverse.

its pretty simple...look back in history and the list of teams whose clear cut best forward was a winger is indeed a small list

 

[freakazoid]

There is no way Crosby can ever be compared to Shaq. A fundamental aspect of Shaq's game is his ability to dominate with his unrivaled size and strength. The only comparable to Shaq in hockey would be Eric Lindros 10 years ago. For basketball players Crosby is probably comparable to Allen Iverson.

I don't mean in terms of style of play or size or anything close to that. I mean the attention he will be getting from oppisition night in and night out. Opposing coaches will start preparation for a game against his team but asking themselves how to stop him, and make a game plan according to that. Kind of what SHaq is getting night in and night out. Malkin/AO need great coverage, Crosby needs a defencive game plan, because he will make everyone on the ice better.

 

[wilka91*]

I take both of them. Malkin is a better passer, Ovechkin is a pure scorer. They're both better than Kovalchuk.

 

[Jeffrey]

I prefer Malkin over Ovechkin .. Malkin speed is unbeleivable !

 

[bryan579]

I prefer Malkin over Ovechkin .. Malkin speed is unbeleivable !

everybody talks about all of Malkin's speed but wasn't Ovechkin the one who won the fastest skater contest earlier this year and had times better than ones on NA rinks?

 

[Biscuit Bullet]

I don't buy that Malkin is faster than Ovechkin, who absolutely flies at top speed.

Anyway, on a different note, I see the word 'vision' tossed around all the time here. It's kind of a vague term that can apply to countless situations. I think the concensus is that vision applies to playmakers instead of goalscorers, and I don't think this is true. Does Malkin really have better vision? Vision seems to me to apply to goal scoring situations as well, and Ovechkin knows how to seize brief windows of opportunity to score that Malkin doesn't. I'm not making a final judgement on either, because I haven't seen enough of either of them, but just putting it out there that you should be careful when using the word 'vision,' because it is MUCH more vague than any other aspects in which you can categorically rank players.

And again, Malkin can't be faster than Ovy....

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Yeah, I don't understand the crap about Malkin's speed.

Ovechkin has world-class speed. He is top flight in puck possession and has multiple gears, great control and balance.

Malkin skates well, especially for a guy his size, but doesn't come close. Ovechkin is a better skater, period. Faster, shiftier, more explosive.

 

[Karnage]

Didn't Ovechkin win the fastest skater competition in some sort of skills competition or something?

 

[KH1]

People act like because Malkin is a year younger than Ovechkin he will progress more than AO. It's simply not the case.

They will both be great players, but I really think that Ovechkin will be something special.

 

[FlyersFan10*]

I sometimes think that maybe both players a little too overhyped and it wouldn't surprise me at all if Cam Barker ends up being the best player chosen that draft. With that being said, I do think that Ovechkin will be the better of the two players, but it won't be by a landslide that most people think. As well, Malkin will have the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest players to ever the play the game. The Mario influence cannot be overlooked. Either way, the Pens and the Caps have two great players and the Eastern Seaboard will become a hotbed for hockey when you consider all the great players along there (Thornton, Parise, Carter, Richards, Pitkanen, Malkin, Fleury, Whitney, Ovechkin, Semin, Eminger [I think he's gonna be a super player], etc....). I for once am excited that probably the cream of the crop players will all be located in the East.

 

[CRUNK JUICE]

Semin is a flying bullet, probably the fastest skater in the world right now.

Not even close. I would say Konstantin Koltsov and Jason Chimaera currently co-own that title.

edit: And for the record, Ovechkin is faster than Malkin, although Malkin's no slouch.

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

IMO that statement is ridiculous and simply indicative of the pro-prospect kool-aid that people drink before posting on HF.
The kid looks promising and seems to have a great future in front of him, but lets acutally let him play in the league before we start making comparisons like this one.
We need to remember that Joe has surpassed 100 points and at 25 is one of the top young stars in the game. Malkin may get there; then again he may not...

You know what bothers me? When angry little people insult others because of differing opinions.

 

[Epsilon]

I sometimes think that maybe both players a little too overhyped and it wouldn't surprise me at all if Cam Barker ends up being the best player chosen that draft.

That would surprise me a ton. Cam Barker is absolutely nothing special at all. Any other draft year and he's definitely not top 5. In 2003 he wouldn't make the top 10.

 

[FlyersFan10*]

That would surprise me a ton. Cam Barker is absolutely nothing special at all. Any other draft year and he's definitely not top 5. In 2003 he wouldn't make the top 10.

Really? I just find that over time, the number of defensemen who have gone on to develop far outnumbers the number of forwards. Defensemen are a safer bet in the sense that with forwards, you get all kinds of offensive projections and if players don't meet them, then they are considered a bust. If a defenseman doesn't meet those offensive numbers, one can say that they have changed their role on their respective clubs. As well, with defensemen, they are more versatile in the roles they can play on a team. You've got power play specialist, shut down specialist, etc......

Let's face it, when you draft a forward as high as Malkin and Ovechkin, it's not with the intention that they are going to be the second coming of Mike Peca or John Madden. You're drafting them with the intention that they are going to be high scoring players. With defensemen, you draft someone that high and their roles can vary. There's no limit in the sense on defensemen that there is with forwards. As well, there is also a much larger window given for defensemen to develop than there is for forwards.

That was my reasoning behind Barker.

 

[Smart Alek]

Yeah, I don't understand the crap about Malkin's speed.

Ovechkin has world-class speed. He is top flight in puck possession and has multiple gears, great control and balance.

Malkin skates well, especially for a guy his size, but doesn't come close. Ovechkin is a better skater, period. Faster, shiftier, more explosive.

Well, there are different types of speed.

There's explosiveness, and shiftiness, which as you stated, Ovechkin excels at.

However, there's also the deceptive 'ramped up' speed that only a big man like Malkin can posess, which is better suited for making end to end rushes than breaking in from the point. (i.e. Malkin made many end to end rushes in the RSL this year, and when he did, it looked like the opposition was standing still.)

Two different skating styles for two different types of players would be how I see it. Personally, I would not say either are better than the other at it.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

That would surprise me a ton. Cam Barker is absolutely nothing special at all. Any other draft year and he's definitely not top 5. In 2003 he wouldn't make the top 10.

You beat me to it. If Barker turns out to be the better pro I will eat a puck, and share it with you. The consensus . . . and by consensus I mean by everyone and written over and over by sports writers that I have seen . . .hell, everyone anywhere except for one poster here . . . has been that the team that really got screwed by Washington leap frogging to number one to nab AO was not Pittsburgh but Chicago.

 

[Epsilon]

The fact that Ovechkin and Malkin are both good enough right now to play, and play well, on one of the top international teams in the world, in a tournament loaded with top NHL talent, makes me confident they will have no problem being better players than a juniors guy like Barker.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

i doubt malkin is faster than ovechkin, but i think what everyone is so impressed with is that malkin's skating is breathtaking for a guy his size. reminds me of mario circa 1989 ; smooth, long strides with great speed for being so tall.

 

[rt]

I'd take Ovenchicken.

 

[Slabber Chops]

So give me Ovechkin now and in the future. But as another Penguin's fan said (I forget who), if when all is said and done, Malkin ends up the second best player from this draft only behind Ovechkin, I'll be very happy.[/QUOTE]

As truer comment has never been spoken on this one.

It's interesting to consider if you had to take one over the other, which one would you pick. As a Penguins fan, I find it impossible to waiver from Malkin. That is not to say that Malkin is the better player or has the greater potential, but a bit of a case of "six of one, half a dozen of the other". In short, they're both going to be great.

 

[freakazoid]

I'd take Ovenchicken.

Yeah, there's that I don't like about AO. Malkin takes it like a man.

 

[Mothra]

Yeah, there's that I don't like about AO. Malkin takes it like a man.

Just what is this supposed to mean?

 

[Barnaby]

The comparison is bad because I've only seen Malkin once.

And yet you can say he's better then Thornton? Thornton is one of the top centers in the game today. I don't think there is an objective hockey mind that could take Malkin over Thornton right now. It just doesn't make sense. A proven 100 point scorer who dominates game against someone who hasn't even played in the NHL yet... he may prove to be better, but I doubt it - a #1 center most likely - but him even being comparable to Thornton dominance is going waaaay to far at this point.

 

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

Just what is this supposed to mean?

Post game showers?

 

[EroCaps]

i doubt malkin is faster than ovechkin, but i think what everyone is so impressed with is that malkin's skating is breathtaking for a guy his size. reminds me of mario circa 1989 ; smooth, long strides with great speed for being so tall.

Agreed. The first time I saw Malkin skate and pass at top speed I was blown away. He does remind me of Lemieux in that respect. The Sundin comparison is a bit off IMO. Thornton reminds me more of Sundin. Malkin has more Lemieux in him than any prospect I've seen in some time. I also heard an analyst compare him to Jean Belevieu (sp?). That sounds about right. He's going to be an anchor in Pittsburgh for years. Which gives me a reason to like the Pens for the first time ever.