Zibby vs. Silf

[dumbdick]

This whole debate to me is:

Silf's ability to adjust to the north american game (his SEL tricks don't work as well in the NHL).
vs.
Zib's ability to reach his potential.

 

[YNWA14]

I love how people point out that Silfverberg faded but ignore that Zibanejad was actually worse in the playoffs and MacLean even benched him at times. Silfverberg looked like he was just tired
Zibanejad just seems inconsistent shift to shift and invisible at times. Silfverberg always contributed at the very least defensively.

It's OK though. After next year the 'what have you done for me lately' thing will go out the window when Silfverberg looks elite and Zibby is just average.

 

[Sensinitis]

I love how people point out that Silfverberg faded but ignore that Zibanejad was actually worse in the playoffs and MacLean even benched him at times. Silfverberg looked like he was just tired
Zibanejad just seems inconsistent shift to shift and invisible at times. Silfverberg always contributed at the very least defensively.

It's OK though. After next year the 'what have you done for me lately' thing will go out the window when Silfverberg looks elite and Zibby is just average.

You have your opinion, but let's not make outlandish claims dude. No way you can tell that.

 

[YNWA14]

You have your opinion, but let's not make outlandish claims dude. No way you can tell that.

I'm very confident that Silfverberg will outclass Zibanejad by a fair margin next year. A bigger margin than he did this year, for sure.

 

[Magix]

At the beginning of the season it was the opposite on here, there was alot of praise for Silfv (alfredsson clone and what not) and not so much going Z's way.

Now silfv apparently is looking like a 40 point player so yeah...

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

At the beginning of the season it was the opposite on here, there was alot of praise for Silfv (alfredsson clone and what not) and not so much going Z's way.

Now silfv apparently is looking like a 40 point player so yeah...

Funny, he was on pace for basically this, this season, with no offensive help whatsoever.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

It's OK though. After next year the 'what have you done for me lately' thing will go out the window when Silfverberg looks elite and Zibby is just average.

I don't entirely agree. Silfv will continue to develop into the player we expected but so will Zibanejad, imo.

They both have phenomenal talent, it's not like one must succeed while the other can't.

 

[Punchbowl]

I abstained from voting because this is such a close call. Fenix Rises 2026 phrased it well. Zibanejad has, in my opinion, the higher potential while Silfverberg is a safe bet to be a good second line player, borderline first.

Zibanejad has so many physical intangibles along with his raw skills, while Silfverberg already has a fantastic shot and is above average in most other departments (apart from physicality). Also to consider is that Zibanejad is 3 years younger than Silf. The whole, "Alfredsson wasn't even in the NHL at this age" argument is consistently used in Silfverberg's favour but never for Zib.

It's a really tough decision (good poll OP)

I love how people point out that Silfverberg faded but ignore that Zibanejad was actually worse in the playoffs and MacLean even benched him at times. Silfverberg looked like he was just tired
Zibanejad just seems inconsistent shift to shift and invisible at times. Silfverberg always contributed at the very least defensively.

It's OK though. After next year the 'what have you done for me lately' thing will go out the window when Silfverberg looks elite and Zibby is just average.

You really get antsy when people don't agree with your assessment of prospects, eh? First Rundblad, now Silf.

Wait until Zibanejad is 23 before comparing his season to Silfverberg's upcoming year.

 

[SanderSen]

At the beginning of the season it was the opposite on here, there was alot of praise for Silfv (alfredsson clone and what not) and not so much going Z's way.

Now silfv apparently is looking like a 40 point player so yeah...

Yup, Swedish rookies adjusting to North American hockey, the roller coaster isn't over yet.

It was a tough year to adjust as well, first the AHL play and the glamour of the bus travel, then a compressed NHL schedule without a full training camp. Z played 65 games all together and Silfv 82. Big step up and change from the 49 SEL games Silfv the year before.

Long term I'm thinking Silfv, but it's a bit apples to oranges.

 

[CanadianHockey]

The two will have comparable careers, but I think Zibby will be considered a bit better due to position.

 

[YNWA14]

"Alfredsson wasn't even in the NHL at this age" argument is consistently used in Silfverberg's favour but never for Zib.

Different situations. Zibanejad has come over young and isn't the same kind of player. He has never shown dominance at any level of play. He has tools and potential though.

You really get antsy when people don't agree with your assessment of prospects, eh? First Rundblad, now Silf.

Wait until Zibanejad is 23 before comparing his season to Silfverberg's upcoming year.

This isn't the same situation at all...we were talking purely about potential with Rundblad and it never bothers me when someone has a differing opinion. What bothers me is when the arguments are illogical or flat out false (like saying Zibanejad had a better year than Silfverberg or calling what Silfverberg has done so far unimpressive).

I don't have to wait until someone is the same age to compare them, either. Everyone has a different developmental curve, and they are two very different kinds of players. Silfverberg's adjustment was always going to be harder due to this.

Anyway...I don't like this kind of thing either because a lot of comments make it become confrontational. I think they're both going to be good players. I just think that Silfverberg will be on a different level to Zibanejad.

 

[SilverSeven]

My opinion is that Zibanejad had a much better year than Silf. You claim you dont mind differing opinions...unless they are flat out false (like saying Zib was better...aka disagreeing with you)

 

[YNWA14]

My opinion is that Zibanejad had a much better year than Silf. You claim you dont mind differing opinions...unless they are flat out false (like saying Zib was better...aka disagreeing with you)

Contrary to what a lot of people believe opinions can be wrong. I guess bothers was the wrong word anyway. Zibanejad clearly did not play as well as Silfverberg this year. Like MacLean said...the best players play and Zibanejad spent a lot of time not playing.

 

[ACLEVERNAME]

They play on the same line on the same team. Why are people doing this "ainec" ********? They're both going to be awesome.

 

[dumbdick]

It is not necessary to **** on one player to say you think the other will be slightly better.

 

[benjiv1]

I'm very confident that Silfverberg will outclass Zibanejad by a fair margin next year. A bigger margin than he did this year, for sure.

I will take that bet.

You realize Silfverberg was benched at times as well during the playoffs right?

He only played 10 minutes in game 2 against Pittsburgh.

Zibanejad will be the more dynamic player, but Silfverberg will put up more points.

 

[Micklebot]

It's a funny debate, because those 2 played about 200 mins together, and about 80-90 of those with Conacher as well (he only had 132 ES mins with ottawa).

When that line was together, they were getting a ridiculous 80%ish of the goals scored to the opponents 20%, while maintaining possession in the offensive zone (about 60% corsi percentage for those who enjoy the fancy stats).

When the three were not together, Zibanejad and Silfverberg were pretty much in line with the team average, getting around 50% of the on ice goals and a corsi percentage of 53ish%.

All that to say they looked there best together; they may have had moments where one looked great for a game or 2 appart, but all three together was where they had their most consistant effectiveness.

 

[derriko]

If Silf was better at all this year, if true at all, would only be marginal, then you factor in the fact that Zib is 3 hockey years younger so Zib > Silf.

Theres a chance Mika stalls out development wise like Patrick Eaves for example, but I dont think thats likely at all. Mika has a much better set of tools to work with.

 

[YNWA14]

All that to say they looked there best together; they may have had moments where one looked great for a game or 2 appart, but all three together was where they had their most consistant effectiveness.

I agree with this and mentioned it before they actually played together from the first time they got out on the PP this year. They seem to have really good chemistry together and they just know where to find eachother, as well as feed off eachother on the ice. I would like to see them playing together for a long time.

Also for the record I haven't been putting Zibanejad down nor do I think he's a bad player. I just think that Silfverberg is better, and will continue to be.

If Silf was better at all this year, if true at all, would only be marginal, then you factor in the fact that Zib is 3 hockey years younger so Zib > Silf.

Theres a chance Mika stalls out development wise like Patrick Eaves for example, but I dont think thats likely at all. Mika has a much better set of tools to work with.

This is where people make a big mistake. Just because Zibanejad is younger doesn't have any bearing on who is the better player now (also he's only 2 years behind Silfverberg not 3). I'm sure there were a ton of 20 year old players in the league when Alfredsson broke in at 23 that had put together pretty nice years...does that mean they had better careers? No...development is not linear. Silfverberg has shown that he has the capability to get better every year he plays and be a completely dominant player. At times this year you could see that. Obviously Zibanejad has shown great potential as well, but not as consistently and he's never been as dominant.

I'm not saying that Silfverberg was miles better this year or anything like that, because he wasn't. He looked tired, and he obviously was having some issues adjusting to the North American game (especially the NHL) but he was noticeably better than Zibanejad when taking his entire year into account. If you add in the AHL it becomes a much wider margin.

I like them both. I think they're both important pieces for us moving forward. I fully believe that Silfverberg will be the better player with the better career.

 

[Micklebot]

I agree with this and mentioned it before they actually played together from the first time they got out on the PP this year. They seem to have really good chemistry together and they just know where to find eachother, as well as feed off eachother on the ice. I would like to see them playing together for a long time.

Also for the record I haven't been putting Zibanejad down nor do I think he's a bad player. I just think that Silfverberg is better, and will continue to be.



This is where people make a big mistake. Just because Zibanejad is younger doesn't have any bearing on who is the better player now (also he's only 2 years behind Silfverberg not 3). I'm sure there were a ton of 20 year old players in the league when Alfredsson broke in at 23 that had put together pretty nice years...does that mean they had better careers? No...development is not linear. Silfverberg has shown that he has the capability to get better every year he plays and be a completely dominant player. At times this year you could see that. Obviously Zibanejad has shown great potential as well, but not as consistently and he's never been as dominant.

I'm not saying that Silfverberg was miles better this year or anything like that, because he wasn't. He looked tired, and he obviously was having some issues adjusting to the North American game (especially the NHL) but he was noticeably better than Zibanejad when taking his entire year into account. If you add in the AHL it becomes a much wider margin.

I like them both. I think they're both important pieces for us moving forward. I fully believe that Silfverberg will be the better player with the better career.

I think adding AHL time could give you some false impressions; Zibanejad was out long term with injuries and I thought it clearly affected his play early on after his return. Silfverberg did put up significant time on the top line with Turris and one of Greening or Alfie; other with other teams looking to shut that line down they likely saw more of the shutdown d pairings. Ottawa also used that line along with Smith's to shut down other teams top offensive threats; I personally found Silfverberg's game more well rounded.

Personally, I think Zibanejad has a bit better potential unless Silfverberg can work on his first step/quickness. He's played a lot of games in the last 2 years (134 I think) and is not used to that; with an offseason working with the teams training staff we could see some significant improvement in that area.

 

[Sensinitis]

This is where people make a big mistake. Just because Zibanejad is younger doesn't have any bearing on who is the better player now (also he's only 2 years behind Silfverberg not 3). I'm sure there were a ton of 20 year old players in the league when Alfredsson broke in at 23 that had put together pretty nice years...does that mean they had better careers? No...development is not linear. Silfverberg has shown that he has the capability to get better every year he plays and be a completely dominant player. At times this year you could see that. Obviously Zibanejad has shown great potential as well, but not as consistently and he's never been as dominant.

I'm not saying that Silfverberg was miles better this year or anything like that, because he wasn't. He looked tired, and he obviously was having some issues adjusting to the North American game (especially the NHL) but he was noticeably better than Zibanejad when taking his entire year into account. If you add in the AHL it becomes a much wider margin.

I like them both. I think they're both important pieces for us moving forward. I fully believe that Silfverberg will be the better player with the better career.

Silfverberg seems a bit underrated in this thread, and I understand the point you're trying to make. I think the difference between the two is that Silf is really a safe bet to pot 20 goals and 40-50 points down the road whereas with Zibby it's a bit harder to predict what player he'll be. He can be a grinder, 3rd center that provides excellent tertiary scoring, a solid 2nd center ala Mike Fisher or better, maybe even a 1st line center.

With Silf you know what you're getting as far as his low end potential. We just have to wait and see if he can reach 30 goal 60 point territory.

Now with Zibby it's a different story. Like I said he's more of a mystery, and maybe it's the mystery of not necessarily knowing what he may become that makes people think he'll end up a better player. Another thing with him, and this is the most important part, is the big time tools he has. He's a strong skater, isn't scared to skate and carry the puck in the middle of the ice, is willing to lay the body around, and then there's his shot. Zibby's shot isn't the same as Silfv's but it can be argued that it's better(not saying it is, just playing devil's advocate a bit here). He has a heavier shot that's more likely to bounce off the goalie and create rebounds and he seems to be able to release it with a bit more ease than Silf because he does those classic wrist shots where you pull it back and have more space as opposed to Silf who has more of a snapper that's harder to release in traffic. Also, Zibby has a hell of a one-timer. I saw it at the WJC, in the pre-season game vs. Boston when he scored the OT winner, and a few times this season where he scored at least once off a wicked one-timer. That's something that can really help him down the line to score some goals. I don't think I've ever seen Silf release a one timer. Usually he stops the puck and uses his lightning quick release instead.

All in all I'd say the difference between them is that with Zibby, he has so many tools, is younger and is just more of a mystery that you don't know what he'll become and there's so many possibilites. Power forward, sniper, playmaker... He has to find out his game unless he becomes some kind of super hybrid. Whereas with Silf, like I said, he's a safe bet to become a two way 20 goal 40-50 point forward. So you know what you can get from him for sure, but that's his low end potential IMO and we'd have to wait and see if he can further develop his game(learn to get his shot off better, stick handle through traffic a bit more to use his shot and create space, etc.) and become more of a prolific goal scorer.

 

[John Holmes*]

You guys are crazy (the ones that voted for Silf)

Zibanejad has much more to his game than Silfverberg, and he is doing more at a younger age as well.

Chances are that Silfverberg isn't going to improve a whole lot. Sure he'll adjust to the league a little bit more, and hopefully he has more success, but players don't normally start making gigantic strides in their game when they are 23 years old.

He's probably pretty darn close to his max potential.

The guy was absolutely invisible for the stretch run and the majority of the playoffs.

 

[18Hossa]

The guy was absolutely invisible for the stretch run and the majority of the playoffs.

So was Zibanejad...

 

[dumbdick]

You guys are crazy (the ones that voted for Silf)

Zibanejad has much more to his game than Silfverberg, and he is doing more at a younger age as well.

Chances are that Silfverberg isn't going to improve a whole lot. Sure he'll adjust to the league a little bit more, and hopefully he has more success, but players don't normally start making gigantic strides in their game when they are 23 years old.

He's probably pretty darn close to his max potential.

The guy was absolutely invisible for the stretch run and the majority of the playoffs.

This is a bit harsh.

 

[Sensinitis]

You guys are crazy (the ones that voted for Silf)

Zibanejad has much more to his game than Silfverberg, and he is doing more at a younger age as well.

Chances are that Silfverberg isn't going to improve a whole lot. Sure he'll adjust to the league a little bit more, and hopefully he has more success, but players don't normally start making gigantic strides in their game when they are 23 years old.

He's probably pretty darn close to his max potential.

The guy was absolutely invisible for the stretch run and the majority of the playoffs.

You make no sense.

For his whole life up until this season, Silfverberg has played 50 game seasons. This year, he played 92 games AHL/NHL/NHL playoffs combined. That's almost double! Obviously he would fade out for the stretch run and in the playoffs. The strain on his body is way more than he's used to. That's a pretty bad argument.

Saying he's pretty darn close to his max potential is also not the brightest thing. Why would he be closer to his max potential than Zibanejad? Because he's two years younger? Makes no sense at all.

They both reached the NHL THIS Season. That means they will both be adapting to the small ice at the same time. Saying that Silfverberg will adjust a bit more compared to Zibanejad has no merit at this point. It's pure speculation.

Not only that but Silfverberg dominated the SEL. He's shown the ability to adapt and become a threat. Zibanejad hasn't shown that yet. I'm not saying he won't, but he hasn't shown it. Based on that, Silfverberg has more chances of improving than Zibanejad.

So Alfie didn't make big strides since he reached the SEL at 23? LOL. Same nationality, played in the same league before, entered the NHL at the same time, both led broke a record for most playoff goals in the SEL... Many similarities between them.

Basically all of what you just said to prove your point holds no ground.