The latter. But the fact is that the Ducks used two high picks last year to take Perreault and Colangelo - both RW's so I don't see them being redundant this year with another RW. And getting a physical top 6 center is always going to be preferable to a top 6 winger. I really think getting a ROR type player is just going to be too tempting for the Ducks to pass on. They are much rarer than scoring wingers.
On a stage where there's a collection of top-end talent (WJC-18), Guenther didn't stand out despite playing on the a top line with Othmann and 2022 Wright. McTavish played 2C (and 1C for a game or two b/c Wright wasn't available).
| 2019-20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| . | League | Games | G | A | Pts | . | PPG | PPA | PP Pts | . | ES G | ES A | ES Pts |
| Guenther | WHL | 58 | 26 | 33 | 59 | | 8 | 9 | 17 | | 18 | 24 | 42 |
| McTavish | OHL | 57 | 29 | 13 | 42 | | 5 | 4 | 9 | | 24 | 9 | 33 |
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McTavish scored more goals than Guenther and scored more ES goals as well in their D-1 season.
| 2021 | | | | | | |
| . | League | Season | Games | G | A | Pts |
| Guenther | WHL | Regular | 12 | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| . | | | | | | |
| McTavish | NL-B | Regular | 13 | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| | NL-B | Playoffs | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
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So many scouts are enamored with Guenther's WHL production and it's amazing... in a vacuum. Lost in this is that McTavish played in a men's league. In a podcast, McTavish said playing in the NL-B first and then the WJC-18 made playing in the WJC-18 easier because there weren't that many fast players or bigger players.
| 2021 | | | | | | |
| | League | Team | Games | G | A | Pts |
| Guenther | WJC-18 | Canada | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| McTavish | WJC-18 | Canada | 7 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
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How is it that a 2C outscored a 1RW on the same team? They're playing in the same league on the same team, but one of these prospects was far more productive. One of Guenther's goals came off of a McTavish takeaway in the neutral zone, raced down the wing attracting two defenders as well as the goalie, and delivered a cross-ice pass to Guenther for a half-open net.
Most of the MSM is focused on Guenther's 2021 WHL performance, but not realizing he was on a stacked team. Guenther's team played three teams with only one of them having a winning record. But if a person checks out Guenther's AJHL and WJC-18 performance, then one would wonder why didn't he excel at those other leagues?
At the WJC-18, McTavish had to fill in as 1C and didn't disappoint. This little tidbit is huge because it shows McTavish can fill in a 1C role if needed and can carry the team too. We do have a sniper in RW Perrault and a scorer in LW Tracey to add to LW Comtois, but we don't have another top-end center talent in our system today outside of Zegras. What's odd is the usual TSN guys often say that centers get their stock risen higher over wingers, but they select Guenther over McTavish. If there's a forward to select over McTavish, then it should be Beniers or Eklund, but not Guenther, who didn't shine at the WJC-18.
I've seen it all.
