Pepper said:
So you're saying that Kesler has more leadership and grit than Richards? I think we can stop right here...
Richards may have an edge in leadership and grit, but if he's a 10 on those fronts, Kesler is an 8 or 9. Kesler's edge in size and skating is a lot bigger than Richards' edge in grit.
Kesler will be a perennial Selke contender IMO. His combination of size, skating, and ability to pressure the puck is very, very rare. He has the same sort of ability that guys like Lehtinen and Madden do to skate miles and pressure the puck consistently all over the ice, block passing lanes, and frustrate the hell out of the opposition, but while most players who have this ability are smallish waterbugs, Kesler is 6'3". Tack on the offensive ability he showed this year, and you have a guy who'll be a hell of a player in a year or two.
Richards will be a very good player, but I just don't think he has the same upside. When you're not big and you're not a great skater, the transition to pro is not an easy one (ask Maxime Talbot, who was being drooled over on this site a year ago after a similar playoff and WJC, and showing similar character). Richards is better than Talbot, but he'll have the same sort of challenges. I think right now that his character, and how much people admire it, is blinding people a bit to his actual abilities.
It's close, but I'd take Kesler. But I might be a homer.