most potential points from '06 forwards...

[Jaded-Fan]

Crosby and Malkin who do you play defense against if they are on 2 different lines or on the powerplay?

That is the real wild card in this equation. Malkin's line, assuming Staal ends up with Crosby, will certainly create headaches for defenses and matchup problems more than merely Crosby + Staal considered alone. It gives that pair a leg up on the others.

 

[Seph]

brassard if he ever plays a full season in the nhl. no offense to the kid, but he is the skinniest hockey player at 18 that "I" have seen. i just dont get gmdm drafting strategies. we might have a team that has 8 first rounders in the line up in a year, and at some point in the year, have all 8 out with injuries

Maybe, but I have a feeling Brassard and Nash will be a lethal combination.

 

[HFNHL Canadiens]

Toews gets no respect, he will be the best forward to come out of this draft, hands down.

 

[SChan*]

AO + Backstrom vs Crosby + Malkin is going to make NHL interesting again.

talent-vise Backstrom absolutley exploded in his last 4 months of the season. Remember nobody talked about this kid 1 year ago. If his talent curve will continue to grow for another year, wow! Like Bob Mckenzie said, sky is the limit!

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Toews gets no respect, he will be the best forward to come out of this draft, hands down.

I don't doubt that Toews will probably end up the best overall forward from this draft, but that's not what this thread is about-it's about point production, and I think there are few other forwards who have higher ceilings than him in that regard.

 

[HandshakeLine]

AO + Backstrom vs Crosby + Malkin is going to make NHL interesting again.

talent-vise Backstrom absolutley exploded in his last 4 months of the season. Remember nobody talked about this kid 1 year ago. If his talent curve will continue to grow for another year, wow! Like Bob Mckenzie said, sky is the limit!

I dislike the Caps with a passion that borders on holy, but damn, do I love AO and Backstrom. I'm not disappointed with our selection of Staal, Sneep, and Strait, but Backstrom is a player I'd love to have, hands down.

 

[turnbuckle*]

The ideal situation for Hab fans would be if Maxwell becomes a solid point producer on a highly productive line with Kostitsyn and Larendresse some day. Time will tell. Maxwell's speed and playmaking abilities may translate well to the NHL in a few years if he has the desire.

 

[Zeus6754]

I can only see one reason why the Pens drafted Staal over Toews who is the only center that proved to play wing: Staal´s trade value might be higher than Toews.

With the Rangers in desperately need for a big firstline center I wouldn´t be shocked if a Staal - Staal trade would happen. The Pens could also fill two holes at once in a deal with the Rangers, who likely would give up Fedor Tyutin + Petr Prucha for Jordan Staal.

The Pens were hoping for Staal = JJ + Ladd apparently which is very similar to that Rangers deal. I think you're underestimating Staal though.

I've heard that he is 'dominating' away from the puck. If that is true then he is pretty much the perfect LW for Sid.

His size can't be ignored either. He is 6'4" 215 right now (17 years old). In 4 years he will be around 6'4" 230 - 6'5" 245. The epitomy of power forward.

If he plays on Sid or Malkin's line he should score around 100 points/year... maybe more.

Backstrom will score around 100-115 pts/year as will Kessel probably. I think Toews will be a little less like 90-100 pts... depending on who is wingers are. I think Toews will be better all around, especially defensively and on the PK.

 

[EroCaps]

It's more like: Crosby/Malkin/Staal vs. Ovechkin/Backstrom/Semin vs. Kessel/Bergeron.

Kessel/Bergeron doesn't really belong in the argument IMO.

Over the next few years I'd give the edge to the Caps seeing as that Backstrom is more "NHL ready" than Staal. He played on Sweden's 1st line Gold Medal club. Over the long haul I think it'll be fairly close. Semin has more offensive potential than Staal.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

The Pens were hoping for Staal = JJ + Ladd apparently which is very similar to that Rangers deal. I think you're underestimating Staal though.

I've heard that he is 'dominating' away from the puck. If that is true then he is pretty much the perfect LW for Sid.

His size can't be ignored either. He is 6'4" 215 right now (17 years old). In 4 years he will be around 6'4" 230 - 6'5" 245. The epitomy of power forward.

If he plays on Sid or Malkin's line he should score around 100 points/year... maybe more.

Backstrom will score around 100-115 pts/year as will Kessel probably. I think Toews will be a little less like 90-100 pts... depending on who is wingers are. I think Toews will be better all around, especially defensively and on the PK.

Those are some lofty expecations....even in a seeming era of higher offensive production.

 

[Zeus6754]

Those are some lofty expecations....even in a seeming era of higher offensive production.

I don't know if I'd call it 'expectations'. I think that it is more likely than not that Staal, Backstrom, Toews, and Kessel perform that well by their early-mid 20's.

My opinion is heavily influenced by the fact that I think that scoring will continue to increase every year for the next 5-7 years. Also by who their teammates will likely be.

I acknowledge that at least 1 of them will not have that type of success but injuries/bad management are impossible to predict.

 

[Stealth JD]

I've heard that he is 'dominating' away from the puck. If that is true then he is pretty much the perfect LW for Sid.

With the crackdown on obstruction/interference, how can anybody be dominating away from the puck? Bob Probert was dominating away from the puck....but everybody else just skates and gets into position....