This thread has been a primer on that which is always misconstrued at HF. In addition to my prediction being a top-end, everything-goes-right situation, it was entirely objective. If you care to do some research, you'll find that I was pimping Mueller long before the Coyotes drafted him, and that I had him in the top 5 of my draft rankings.
In comparison to Hamill, not only did Mueller score at a better rate (78 points in 51 games, a 1.52 PPG clip compared to 93 points in 69 games, a 1.34 PPG clip), he was a noticeably better defensive player, inasmuch as he was a defensive player. Hamill is an offensive player on an otherwise defensive team, whereas Mueller is legitimate two-way threat.
I don't think you're blind, and I do think you're a good poster, but I have a pet-peeve with the
if-everything-goes-right discussion. I see no point in discussing
if everything goes right, so-and-so's potential exceeds Crosby's!, or something along those lines. There's just not much point in them. Nothing
ever goes absolutely right.
When discussing potential, why not try to be realistic? It's understood that we'll make assumptions on the optimistic side (i.e. the player, first of all,
makes the NHL; secondly, we assume no hindering injuries, few problems adjusting their game to the pros, etcetera.). Beyond this, I see no point in making optimistic assumptions. They are too far removed from reality to be worthwhile.
Mueller's a good, dynamic offensive talent. But he's not a
rare talent. I would wager most NHL clubs feel confident they have a talent in their prospect pool roughly equivalent to Mueller. So to claim Mueller, in his prime, can achieve a 110-120 point-level--which is something even Crosby (yes, I know he's 19) has trouble achieving; a level which the Thorntons, Jagrs of the league attain only rarely, and elite offensive talents such as Spezza, Heatley, Lecavalier, et al. have yet to
ever achieve is, well, a little beyond optimistic and realistic. These elite talents were better players in their pre-NHL career than Mueller has been, and yet they have trouble surpassing the 100-point mark.
For my own prediction: I would say Mueller more realistically will fall in the 65-80 point range in his prime, which--contrary to predictions on potential around here--is still very, very good, and worthy of being a good, but not spectacular first-line impact player.