Can someone sum up his offensive game for me? Is he a James Neal type player who doesn't do too much with the puck, but finds soft spots in the offensive zone to rip shots off?
Or is he a dynamic offensive player who is comfortable with the puck on the stick?
Better prospect than Barkov?
He is a shoot-first guy and has a huge shot, both wrister and slapshot. Especially wrister is hard and accurate, and what's important he doesnt't just shoot eyes shut but watches the goalie until the release and shoots accordingly high/low/5-hole/etc. He's a good stickhandler in traffic this and combined with his huge reach this allows him to go for awesome coast-to-coast goals. He has displayed this multiple times this season in FEL although is yet to score this way.
However he's not just a skillful goalscorer blessed with a deadly shot. He's is quite creative and good passer too. Watch for example the shift that led to his first FEL goal (
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaT7H_u21Io). Before the goal he showcase how he detects teammates and open spaces.
Offence-wise he is as a prospect probably on par with Barkov or a bit ahead although they differ a lot as players. His shot is obviously much stronger, stickhandling is on same lever and on-ice-vision doesn't lose much to Barkov. On the other hand he is not as good in decion making and doing small things right, his overall hockey IQ isn't as high. He still goes for a flashy trick even if it's not the best choice for his team. He gives some unnecessary turnovers, which Barkov did never since shift one he skated in FEL as a 16 year old.
Barkov scored a ton of points as a teenager and almost none of them were exceptional. Laine had more highlight reel stuff already in October. However I suspect he won't outscore Barkov. Barkov scored because he was in the right place at the right time ALL THE TIME and pucks just fell to his stick. I would describe him as a player whose skills on the scale of 1 to 10 are 8 or 9 every single one except for positioning and anticipation. They are 11. This is such a gift and leads to good things all the time, both in defence and offence. He is (and already was as a prospect) a center who makes right decions not just for him but for all players around him. I think this makes him better/safer prospect than basicly any winger – even if we don't take defence into consideration. That's a totally different story, Barkov's a future Selke winner.
