Olesz or Meszaros

[hockeyfan125]

Meszaros, despite being a year younger, has looked WAY better than Weber this year. It's really not even close in my mind. Weber is really one-dimensional wheras Meszaros is good at everything. Meszaros exploded forward in development this season.

I'd say hes continuing his explosion from last year in the dub. He was coming into North America as a soft defenseman with many question marks, and emerged into a dominant two-way defenseman with an edge.

 

[Don Draper]

I'd say hes continuing his explosion from last year in the dub. He was coming into North America as a soft defenseman with many question marks, and emerged into a dominant two-way defenseman with an edge.

I just cant believe how much hes improved even from the half way point of the season. He just gets better and better. I couldnt be more impressed by the kid.

 

[Buffalo87]

I completely disagree, as he has played better than just about all of them save Pitkanen. Phaneuf's play has been about equal (perhaps slightly better due to his physical play) to Meszaros in terms of the impact they've had on their defense.

I'm sorry but there is a HUGE difference between the impact Phaneuf and Meszaros have on their teams. Phaneuf is a franchise player, somebody you can build your team around. Meszaros is a great player but not a franchise player. Phaneuf does it all, he racks up points (more than Meszaros), he hits, and he fights.

 

[J17 Vs Proclamation]

Meszaros, despite being a year younger, has looked WAY better than Weber this year. It's really not even close in my mind. Weber is really one-dimensional wheras Meszaros is good at everything. Meszaros exploded forward in development this season.

I said based on team needs. I also think Meszaros will be better, but Weber will catch up later on.

 

[Seph]

Both are studs, Meszaros shows a lot more polish right now, but I can't help but think Olesz may have the higher potential. He just feels so raw still, whereas Meszaros seems fairly put together. If I had to take one though, it'd probably be Mesz, but there's just something about Olesz. Really though, it's extremely difficult to compare forwards to defense, especially at this age.

They should just combine into one and call themself Oleszaros.

 

[Roy G Biv*]

I just cant believe how much hes improved even from the half way point of the season. He just gets better and better. I couldnt be more impressed by the kid.

Which worries me that he might hit his ceiling early and level out.

If not, watch out.


Side Question: What current NHL defenceman would you project Mez to possibly become?

Redden is often mentionned. I actually think that Mez may end up being better defensively. His 1 on 1 coverage is already excellent.

 

[Don Draper]

Which worries me that he might hit his ceiling early and level out.

If not, watch out.


Side Question: What current NHL defenceman would you project Mez to possibly become?

Redden is often mentionned. I actually think that Mez may end up being better defensively. His 1 on 1 coverage is already excellent.

I may at one point have gotten into the "top ten in the league" debate, but to be honest, if Mez didnt improve at all from here on out, and ended up turning into a top 4 guy for the next 15 years, I dont see how thats a bad thing. Every team in the league could use a guy with Mez skills right now, so even if he has hit his ceiling already, its not a bad ceiling to be at.


As far as who he may turn out to be, I think it will depend on how his skating comes along. He already sees the ice extremely well and his defensive zone coverage is great. If he can improve on his somewhat choppy stride, the sky is the limit. I just dont mind what he is already. Mattias Ohlund if i have to put a name on it.

 

[Roy G Biv*]

If he can improve on his somewhat choppy stride, the sky is the limit. I just dont mind what he is already. Mattias Ohlund if i have to put a name on it.

The scouting reports out of Europe were just plain wrong. They described his skating as smooth, and his main asset. His stride is definitely choppy, and he needs to improve his acceleration. They also called him soft.

I wonder if they were even watching the right guy....

He is far from smooth. Everything he does looks laboured and jerky imo, but he gets the job done, and that's all that matters. His determination is incredible.

 

[Hadoop]

Meszaros EASILY, nothing against Olesz though, he'll be very good as well.

 

[Pangu]

Phaneuf does it all, he racks up points (more than Meszaros), he hits, and he fights.

Who wants their top Defenceman fighting? Certainly not Ottawa! In addition, Meszaros is a pretty good hitter and he has more ES goals and they have the same number of ES points, even though Meszaros has had quite a bit less ice time. I think that at this point they have shown similar scoring ability. In terms of hits
Hits per min-
Phaneuf: 0.119
Meszaros: 0.0908

So Meszaros makes about 3/4 the number of hits as Phaneuf. The differance is not that big. So they are similar in terms of offensive skill and physical play... They are at this point very similar in almost all aspects of play.

 

[IceKatsRHot]

Why are these two being compared in the first place?

 

[Transported Upstater]

Why are these two being compared in the first place?

Good question.

 

[Buffalo87]

Who wants their top Defenceman fighting? Certainly not Ottawa! In addition, Meszaros is a pretty good hitter and he has more ES goals and they have the same number of ES points, even though Meszaros has had quite a bit less ice time. I think that at this point they have shown similar scoring ability. In terms of hits
Hits per min-
Phaneuf: 0.119
Meszaros: 0.0908

So Meszaros makes about 3/4 the number of hits as Phaneuf. The differance is not that big. So they are similar in terms of offensive skill and physical play... They are at this point very similar in almost all aspects of play.

It shows leadership when a guy stands up for his teammates, I was just saying that Phaneuf does that. Don't get my wrong man, Meszaros is a very special player and I would easily take him over most young dmen, just not Phaneuf.

 

[hockeyfan125]

I said based on team needs. I also think Meszaros will be better, but Weber will catch up later on.

whose to say Meszaros will slow down to let Weber "catch up"?

Meszaros is younger, and by all accounts will continue to improve just as much, if not moreso, than Weber.

 

[Epsilon]

It shows leadership when a guy stands up for his teammates, I was just saying that Phaneuf does that. Don't get my wrong man, Meszaros is a very special player and I would easily take him over most young dmen, just not Phaneuf.

Whether or not a player fights means pretty much nothing. Is Phaneuf more of a "franchise d-man" than Nicklas Lidstrom just because he gets into a fight ever now and then?

 

[PanthersRule96]

You know, before you just say "he'll be top 5/10/15 in the league for sure" think about this. There's 30 teams in the NHL and most of them have at least one very good defensman or very good stud prospect. Regardless of how bad the rest of the defense is around one guy, you're talking top 15 individual defensmen. That means that he's better than half of the top defensmen on NHL teams. I have no doubt Meszaros becomes a top pairing defensmen which is an extremly lofty accomplishment in itself but saying top 5/10 etc.... in the league is an elite company to be in. Plus, it's not just Bouwmeester, Phaneuf, Pitkanen, Johnsons, etc....., there's still very good 27-30 year old defensmen out there who will still be good in several years. Meszaros will be a great defensman but don't just say that he's top 10 in the NHL in a couple years. Even though he is a stud rookie and all, with as good as a season he's had, he's still behind Redden and Chara right now and thats just one NHL team.

 

[Clash*]

Your an idiot sometimes, do you have to argue everything. Im not north american either, but then if you say i am, i must be.

Sorry son, but you might want to watch who you call an idiot. I know you're from the British Isles, but with a good 30-40 lotteries across the states, plus whatever Canada may have, with the way you're projecting these certain players to factual turn into this or that, I figured you'd have the guarenteed numbers as well since you're foretelling the future. Without factoring injuries (see Mezei alone from a Florida perspective. Something I called two years ago) or developing a glitche to their games due to bad coaching, plus the addidition of younger talent continuously bein fed in from more and more countries every year, to project a certain five players as goin to be the top five, or even ten, as a factual statement is ludicrous. Its called common sense. Something you may want to research. Something that has made me take facts from the past and correctly speculate on things in regards to the Panthers.


As for who is better in the long run between Meszaros and Olesz, a lot will depend on the team and system they play in. Too often, top players are never considered to be among the elite these days because they'll play for a losing team or they are misused in their system (see Ray Whitney before goin to Florida). Personally I don't see either ever reachin "elite" status to be considered top five for their position with the influx of talent all the time. Meszaros may end up bein more valuable to his team in the end, as I don't see Olesz ever bein the Jagr-esque type player some Florida fans have projected him to be. Kid just has a lot of work to do still to even be top line worthy. Great thirdliner with the ability to look good on the second line, but he has a lot to grow before I believe him to be top line, go to player.

 

[Buffalo87]

Whether or not a player fights means pretty much nothing. Is Phaneuf more of a "franchise d-man" than Nicklas Lidstrom just because he gets into a fight ever now and then?

Let me put it this way, in order to be a leader on a team you need the respect of your teammates. If you're on the ice and someone cheap-shots you, would you respect someone who stood up for you and went after the guys more, or would you respect a guy more who just lets it slide and pretends like nothing happened. This is not at all taking anything away from guys like Nick Lidstrom, I'm just saying this is a very rare quality for a 20 year old to possess.

 

[Jakethesnake]

Do you have guarenteed winning lottery numbers for every lottery in North America as well as long as your predict the future based on nothing but speculation?

You really are a ****ing idiot

 

[Jakethesnake]

Sorry son, but you might want to watch who you call an idiot. I know you're from the British Isles, but with a good 30-40 lotteries across the states, plus whatever Canada may have, with the way you're projecting these certain players to factual turn into this or that, I figured you'd have the guarenteed numbers as well since you're foretelling the future. Without factoring injuries (see Mezei alone from a Florida perspective. Something I called two years ago) or developing a glitche to their games due to bad coaching, plus the addidition of younger talent continuously bein fed in from more and more countries every year, to project a certain five players as goin to be the top five, or even ten, as a factual statement is ludicrous. Its called common sense. Something you may want to research. Something that has made me take facts from the past and correctly speculate on things in regards to the Panthers.


As for who is better in the long run between Meszaros and Olesz, a lot will depend on the team and system they play in. Too often, top players are never considered to be among the elite these days because they'll play for a losing team or they are misused in their system (see Ray Whitney before goin to Florida). Personally I don't see either ever reachin "elite" status to be considered top five for their position with the influx of talent all the time. Meszaros may end up bein more valuable to his team in the end, as I don't see Olesz ever bein the Jagr-esque type player some Florida fans have projected him to be. Kid just has a lot of work to do still to even be top line worthy. Great thirdliner with the ability to look good on the second line, but he has a lot to grow before I believe him to be top line, go to player.

I forgot that were not allowed try and "see the future". I forgot this board was called "hockeys future". We will stick to observing and commenting and what is only happening on this present day.

And we dont think Olesz will be Jagr. I think most Panther fans see him more as a Lehtinen/Sturm type.

 

[Pangu]

Let me put it this way, in order to be a leader on a team you need the respect of your teammates. If you're on the ice and someone cheap-shots you, would you respect someone who stood up for you and went after the guys more, or would you respect a guy more who just lets it slide and pretends like nothing happened. This is not at all taking anything away from guys like Nick Lidstrom, I'm just saying this is a very rare quality for a 20 year old to possess.

Actually, you are saying that Lidstrom would be a worse leader, when he is already one of the best. How many great leaders have also been great fighters? Sakic, Neidermeyer, Gretsky, Lemieux, Yzerman? None of them were great fighters. I mean Meszaros is not the type of player to back down, so the fact that Phaneuf fights only makes him more likely to get injured than Meszaros and basically nothing else.

Also, I think it goes without saying that projections are only projections, but defencemen of Meszaros skill come at most once a year. That he isn't one of the top 2 Dmen on a team with arguably 2 of the top 5 Dmen in the league is not shocking. But I would say that its even money that he will be considered one of the top 5 Dmen in his prime and he has a shot at the Norris.

 

[The Fuhr*]

As far as young D-men go Pitkanen>Phaneuf=Meszaros.

Back on topic I think Meszaros has shown more then Olesz as far as transmitting talent to sucsess on the ice. Olesz is no slouch though and could be a first line forword with an excellent two-way game. Id take Meszaros over Olesz because top pairing D-men are harder to find then top 6 forwords.

 

[OrrNumber4]

I take Meszaros for many reasons, but one because quality defensemen > than quality forwards.

Olesz certainly has fallen of the map hype-wise.

 

[NOTENOUGHJTCGOALS]

Is it just me or is the "esz" in their names the only thing these 2 have in common?

 

[Buffalo87]

Actually, you are saying that Lidstrom would be a worse leader, when he is already one of the best. How many great leaders have also been great fighters? Sakic, Neidermeyer, Gretsky, Lemieux, Yzerman? None of them were great fighters. I mean Meszaros is not the type of player to back down, so the fact that Phaneuf fights only makes him more likely to get injured than Meszaros and basically nothing else.

Also, I think it goes without saying that projections are only projections, but defencemen of Meszaros skill come at most once a year. That he isn't one of the top 2 Dmen on a team with arguably 2 of the top 5 Dmen in the league is not shocking. But I would say that its even money that he will be considered one of the top 5 Dmen in his prime and he has a shot at the Norris.

You're completely twisting around what I said. I NEVER said Lidstrom would be a worse leader and I NEVER said you can't be a leader without fighting. I just don't understand how you can say that Meszaros has more of an impact in Ottawa than Phaneuf does in Calgary.