Since Malkin came on midway through his draft year(back when it looked like the Pens were going to be landing Ovechkin and long before Crosby was a Penguin) I've been saying I think Malkin will be better than Crosby...and I still firmly believe that. It may not be a popular opinion, and their styles are definitely different(truly...the player Crosby most resembles is Gretzky and Malkin closest to Lemieux...), but I see Malkin being the better player in the NHL down the road. That is to say...in my mind they're both generational players. Generational players are supposed to be just that...the league has never had more than 2 at one time...but Crosby, Malkin, and Ovechkin are all, in my eyes, generational talents. I don't care for the fact Malkin wasn't dominating from birth that he doesn't have what it takes to be at Crosby's level. Watching him as he has vastly improved as a 17 year old(where he was hardly something to scoff at) to a 19 year old who was just absolutely dominating every facet of that league. The fact he can get that much better in so short of a time says just as much to me as somebody who dominates from the second they discover their love of the sport.
People have dominated from birth to draft for as long as the system has been in place...and it has proved to not mean ****. Look at the Daigles, the Bonsignores, the Falloons... Saying Crosby has his right to be a generational player because of his history is absurd. He has his right to be a generational player because he plays like a generational player, not because he was amazing as a 12 year-old.
I can't say that about Kessel...nor come even close to it. I don't think anyone here has called Kessel a 10, nor should anyone without being laughed at. Kessel has the potential to top out at a 9.