Who’ll be the best? Take your chance!

[O.T.]

How do you take Nash over Kovalchuk?

Kovalchuk has a better shot, he's faster, more exciting, a better passer...both are very bad defensively, both have good size...the only thing Nash does better than Kovalchuk is score garbage goals and take penalties...well he does use his size more effectively, but still.

Really, I don't see how, if Kovalchuk's playmaking and defense is holding him down, how is it not holding Nash down?

When I was typing that about the playmaking and defence holding Kovalchuk down, I knew it could also apply to Nash. I know Kovalchuk is a hell of a player, but Nash is also no slouch! The thing with all of these players on the list, is that they are all so close that on one list one of them could be first while on the next, that same player could easily be last. These are the next wave of NHL superstars, and I like them all, I just like Nash' style better than Kovalchuk so it is personal opinion.

 

[Epsilon]

I don't see how one could say anything nagtive about Kovalchuk's playmaking. His passes are among the hardest and most accurate in the NHL. Really the only thing holding him back from being an elite playmaker is that he's more valuable as a goalscorer. He's ahead of most players in his age group in terms of passing, the only guys who are noticably ahead are primary playmaking types like Spezza.

 

[O.T.]

I don't see how one could say anything nagtive about Kovalchuk's playmaking. His passes are among the hardest and most accurate in the NHL. Really the only thing holding him back from being an elite playmaker is that he's more valuable as a goalscorer. He's ahead of most players in his age group in terms of passing, the only guys who are noticably ahead are primary playmaking types like Spezza.

I was'nt saying Kovalchuk is a bad passer, I was saying he is a bad playmaker. How can you be a good playmaker when you hold on the the puck all the time, and shoot in the offensive zone way more than you pass.

 

[Vladiator]

#6. Malkin - Do to not seeing him too much he is in last, I hated his hot dog move at the WJC.

And still you put Nash as number three...

 

[Porn*]

Nash *I think his true PF nature will start to shine as he matures*
Ovechkin *only ahead of kovalchuk, because he's more of a complete player*
Kovalchuk
Malkin
Lehtonen
Crosby *so low because he's too young to rate, he hasn't even been drafted.*

 

[X0ssbar]

1. Nash
2. Crosby
3. Ovechkin
4. Lehtonen
5. Kovalchuk
6. Malkin

One thing is for sure, I'm exciting as hell to see this current crop of younguns. They are all dynamic and explosive in their own rights. The NHL looks to be in a great shape for the next 15 years.

This without even considering the talent arriving in the '06 draft.

Now if only the NHL can find a way to market these young talents

 

[freakazoid]

I don't see how one could say anything nagtive about Kovalchuk's playmaking. His passes are among the hardest and most accurate in the NHL. Really the only thing holding him back from being an elite playmaker is that he's more valuable as a goalscorer. He's ahead of most players in his age group in terms of passing, the only guys who are noticably ahead are primary playmaking types like Spezza.

Agree, Ilya's passing is really underrated. He is seen by most as a selfish player who cares about scoring, but lets not forget he has no center to pass him the puck, and I can't blame him for not trusting his linemates. And even with all that, he wound up with more assists than goals, unlike a guy like Nash or Iggy

 

[stocktrader]

Crosby


Nash, Kovalchuk
Lehtonen

Kessel
Ovechkin
Malkin

After Ovechkin and Malkins display of poor sportsmanship at the WJC, no doubt their stock dropped big time. Infact I would even take Kessel before either one.

 

[freakazoid]

Crosby


Nash, Kovalchuk
Lehtonen

Kessel
Ovechkin
Malkin

After Ovechkin and Malkins display of poor sportsmanship at the WJC, no doubt their stock dropped big time. Infact I would even take Kessel before either one.

And Nash is a saint?

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

Crosby
Kovalchuk
Ovechkin
Lehtonen
Nash
Malkin

 

[Amen evil king]

Crosby


Nash, Kovalchuk
Lehtonen

Kessel
Ovechkin
Malkin

After Ovechkin and Malkins display of poor sportsmanship at the WJC, no doubt their stock dropped big time. Infact I would even take Kessel before either one.

stockwizard pt. II?

 

[hockeyfan125]

Very good topic.

#1 Sidney Crosby. The kid dominated the CHL at 16-17 like no one else ever did. He's a better prospect than Mario Lemieux in my books - I know I'm going to get flamed for this. Fact is, as 16-17 yrs old, Crosby had more impact to his team and to the league than Lemieux, by a fairly significant margin.

#2 Kari Lehtonen. Best goaltender since Patrick Roy. 'Nuff said. This guy is gonna win a lot of Vezinas.

#3 Alexander Ovechkin. This kid got it all - skill and determination. He loves to play hockey and wants to play hockey and he is a winner... and extremely skilled.

#4 Ilya Kovalchuk. The fact that he had more than 100 goals in his first 3 seasons speaks for itself. He is an offensive dynamo, but he doesn't have the package Ovechkin possess, that's why he is rated higher.

#5 Rick Nash. The NHL needs more players like that. One of the best goalscorer we've seen in a long time. But don't expect him to get more than 25-30 assists per season.

#6 Evgeny Malkin. Skilled and physically gifted. This kid could be a great one but I wouldn't rank him before any of the 5.

bingo.

 

[hfboardsuser]

Ovechkin- May not produce as much as the others (I'm thinking 85 point range) but he'll be a force physically and on the scoreboard.

Crosby- Behind Ovechkin just because he doesn't bring that physical element. He'll rack up more points, though.

Nash- I put him ahead of Malkin because he should be in contention for league awards more often. 50 goals should be no problem for him.

Malkin- Better all-around than Nash, but like Ovechkin, he contributes in every zone so his points will take a hit. I'm thinking a center with 35-50-85 potential.

Kovalchuk- I put him lower than the others because while he'll put up huge numbers, he probably doesn't remember the color of the blue line.

Lehtonen- Should be a dominant #1. Vezinas? I don't know, but he'll be solid.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Well i thought there was some kind of consensus about these guys being the top 6…you at least agree on the top 5 though!

I was interested in your list and I am a bit surprised. Not only by the rankings as in these lists guys on top can be very close to the ones at the bottom in the mind of the author.. but you even defined small drops of level.
The rankings don’t look direct consequence of how proven they are since Ovechkin is 2nd and Crosby 4th, so I am in particular interested in the reasons why you rate malkin two drops behind the top guys. How many times have you seen him? (more than mine 3 probably) and what you don’t like, or at least, what doesn’t impress you?

Seen him every time he has graced TSN with his presence. Which is why I hate doing lists like that but since you insisted it was mostly for fun, I jumped. My list should be taken with the obligatory grain of salt

As far as Malkin is concerned, I have liked what I have seen of him pretty much every time I have seen him but I guess it wasn't as much as some of the comments I read here. The whole club 13 looks pretty good right now, although over time the distance between players will grow (and the rankings will be thrown out of whack).

The three groups I did indicate that among that group, I wouldn't cry at all if I picked a name out of a hat to choose from. I've listed them in order of preference. So really, give me Malkin or Staal if I need a center and I'll be just happy.

In the second group, I put three players whom I felt had enormous talent but this is a very risky group. Goalies are always difficult to assess, Bouwmeester is still raw, Spezza has developed very slowly. I think the three could be absolute monsters or could really disappoint.

Anyway, there's still not much that separates Malkin from the top group. And perhaps Erocaps is right, perhaps I should have put Lehtonen in the top group. Maybe I should have put Nash in his whole category on top because he's the player I am really most sure of.

I'm sure most will agree being in the low club 13 is pretty good anyway. Those are rocking players as far as I'm concerned

I gotta tell you, I can't wait to see more Malkin and I hope he is as good as people make it sound here but I haven't seen it. By "it" I mean I haven't seen the special dominance people refer to sometimes, and some comments and names like "Mario" pop up that I have to disagree with.

The funny thing is, I am a whore for hockey sense and stuff like that. I always favor those players with great mind and great vision, I usually have that bias for them. It is a bit strange that I don't favor Malkin all that much because that is predominantly what people seem to like most about him.

 

[stocktrader]

Crosby may not choose to give big open ice hits like Ovechkin, but to say he doesn't bring a physical element is misleading.
I can't remember the last time Crosby lost a battle for the puck in the corners, and he will use his body to bump people off the puck.

We all remember who came out ahead when Crosby and Ovechkin collided in the WJC. Ovechkin came out with the shoulder injury. No doubt Crosby has a strength advantage over Ovechkin.

 

[rt]

stockwizard pt. II?

bingo.

 

[Barnaby]

We all remember who came out ahead when Crosby and Ovechkin collided in the WJC. Ovechkin came out with the shoulder injury. No doubt Crosby has a strength advantage over Ovechkin.

One situation doesn't mean much. Didn't Kasparitis give Lindros a concussion before he came to the Rangers? I don't think too many people would support me in saying Kaspar is stronger then Lindros.

AO and Crosby are different players, and I'm sure both will be very succesful. If your looking for a guy to lay people out tho, then you take AO. Crosby is really strong on his skates - just diff players...

 

[mytor4*]

after getting my first look at cory perry i would put him up there with the rest.he controls the game very well.

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

Corey Perry among guys like Ovechkin, Kovalchuk and Nash? Crosby?

 

[stocktrader]

I don't think Perry deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Crosby. Not even close. Especially considering a two and a half year age difference.
He's got some good hands and a strong supporting cast.

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

Ovechkin- May not produce as much as the others (I'm thinking 85 point range) but he'll be a force physically and on the scoreboard.

Crosby- Behind Ovechkin just because he doesn't bring that physical element. He'll rack up more points, though.

Nash- I put him ahead of Malkin because he should be in contention for league awards more often. 50 goals should be no problem for him.

Malkin- Better all-around than Nash, but like Ovechkin, he contributes in every zone so his points will take a hit. I'm thinking a center with 35-50-85 potential.

Kovalchuk- I put him lower than the others because while he'll put up huge numbers, he probably doesn't remember the color of the blue line.

Lehtonen- Should be a dominant #1. Vezinas? I don't know, but he'll be solid.

Don't ever say Malkin is better than a proven players, you'll be crucified.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

after getting my first look at cory perry i would put him up there with the rest.

Holy crap...

 

[rt]

Here are the supposed best/most promising youngsters in the world:
Crosby, Kovalchuk, Malkin, Nash, Lehtonen, Ovechkin.

Now you have to rank them..which is the order you would follow to draft out of this group? (ties are not allowed!)

For my favorite team to draft? For Phoenix:

1. Kovalchuk
2. Nash
3. Crosby
4. Lehtonen
5. Ovechkin
6. Malkin

Crosby and Lehtonen was a tough one, because Phoenix could use some goaltending, but Crosby is supposed to be so good...

 

[BobMarleyNYR]

I think everyone is really underrating Crosby... it's not like he's gonna be a Nash or Kovalchuk, Wayne Gretzky himself compared the kid to Lemieux... the Daigle-Cleary-Briere factor is always there, but we knew the risks with each those players. Crosby has no evident risk.

 

[Habsfan 32]

after getting my first look at cory perry i would put him up there with the rest.he controls the game very well.

Perry is a very good prospect but I think the best he can become will be a 2nd line scorer.