Any reason to think McDavid can beat Crosby this year?

[KrisLetAngry]

I hate this he could have had 10 points if other players has finished off chances. You can say that about a lot of players. No one has a 100% success rate when shooting or playmaking. As great as mcdavid is, he isn't going to get a point for every opportunity he creates.

Yep if players did we would have multiple players getting 100 points

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

I didn't think we'd see another Gretzky/Lemieux level player again in our lifetimes but I'm starting to think Mcdavid has the potential. I'm not sure he'll ever be as refined an all around player as Crosby and he still has some work to do to, particular his board play and cycling, but the creativity is off the charts. I do wonder how much he relies on his speed though, because neither Gretzky or Lemieux were burners. Their games were much more dependent on iq than speed, and that's what allowed them to remain 100+ point players even in their 30s. Players skating start to decline around 27ish, but the same time they gain experience. It'll be interesting to see how his game evolves. Before anything though, I want to see a full, dominant 100+ point season from him.

 

[authentic]

I didn't think we'd see another Gretzky/Lemieux level player again in our lifetimes but I'm starting to think Mcdavid has the potential. I'm not sure he'll ever be as refined an all around player as Crosby and he still has some work to do to, particular his board play and cycling, but the creativity is off the charts. I do wonder how much he relies on his speed though, because neither Gretzky or Lemieux were burners. Their games were much more dependent on iq than speed, and that's what allowed them to remain 100+ point players even in their 30s. Players skating start to decline around 27ish, but the same time they gain experience. It'll be interesting to see how his game evolves. Before anything though, I want to see a full, dominant 100+ point season from him.

The thing is while his IQ is top notch, if he didn't have that speed I don't think he would be a very dominant player in this league. There is no such thing as a dominant player post-lockout who isn't atleast a very fast and/or very good all around skater. Not that Gretzky and Lemieux were bad skaters at all, but all of the dominant players of the past ten years have been much faster than Gretzky or Lemieux were.

 

[kingsholygrail]

McDavid fever going around is pretty funny.

 

[authentic]

Any reason to think McDavid will get a point tonight?

 

[XO]

He's not and will never be as good as Crosby is (in his prime)

 

[rgb63]

The thing is while his IQ is top notch, if he didn't have that speed I don't think he would be a very dominant player in this league. There is no such thing as a dominant player post-lockout who isn't atleast a very fast and/or very good all around skater. Not that Gretzky and Lemieux were bad skaters at all, but all of the dominant players of the past ten years have been much faster than Gretzky or Lemieux were.

Thornton immediately after the lockout was close to dominant and has never been fast..

 

[glovesave_35]

The thing is while his IQ is top notch, if he didn't have that speed I don't think he would be a very dominant player in this league. There is no such thing as a dominant player post-lockout who isn't atleast a very fast and/or very good all around skater. Not that Gretzky and Lemieux were bad skaters at all, but all of the dominant players of the past ten years have been much faster than Gretzky or Lemieux were.

Has Benn's skating improved that much or is he not in the group of dominant players post-lockout?

 

[Alwalys]

The thing is while his IQ is top notch, if he didn't have that speed I don't think he would be a very dominant player in this league. There is no such thing as a dominant player post-lockout who isn't atleast a very fast and/or very good all around skater. Not that Gretzky and Lemieux were bad skaters at all, but all of the dominant players of the past ten years have been much faster than Gretzky or Lemieux were.

Thornton immediately after the lockout was close to dominant and has never been fast..

yup thornton is the exception to that rule. he's been continuously dominant since the lockout btw.

 

[authentic]

Thornton immediately after the lockout was close to dominant and has never been fast..

I wouldn't even consider Thornton remotely slow right now. He certainly was pretty fast back in his prime. He wasn't an absolute speedster but being that fast at his size will his skill and IQ is enough to be a dominant player. And to whoever mentioned Benn, he's not close to the level of prime Crosby and Ovechkin, even Thornton is a clear step ahead of Benn and Thornton is a step down from them.

 

[sjsharks92]

I wouldn't even consider Thornton remotely slow right now. He certainly was pretty fast back in his prime. He wasn't an absolute speedster but being that fast at his size will his skill and IQ is enough to be a dominant player. And to whoever mentioned Benn, he's not close to the level of prime Crosby and Ovechkin, even Thornton is a clear step ahead of Benn and Thornton is a step down from them.

Thornton is not a fast skater.

 

[authentic]

Thornton is not a fast skater.

I said he's not remotely slow, and yes he was pretty fast back in his prime. I'm talking about the ice he covers with his strides, just because he doesn't move his legs really fast does not mean he is not moving fast. Anyone who thinks prime Thornton wasn't fast is out to lunch. Pavelski is what you would consider slow in the NHL for a top line player, Thornton is easily a faster skater than him right now at 37 years old.

 

[Apotheosis]

I didn't think we'd see another Gretzky/Lemieux level player again in our lifetimes but I'm starting to think Mcdavid has the potential. I'm not sure he'll ever be as refined an all around player as Crosby and he still has some work to do to, particular his board play and cycling, but the creativity is off the charts. I do wonder how much he relies on his speed though, because neither Gretzky or Lemieux were burners. Their games were much more dependent on iq than speed, and that's what allowed them to remain 100+ point players even in their 30s. Players skating start to decline around 27ish, but the same time they gain experience. It'll be interesting to see how his game evolves. Before anything though, I want to see a full, dominant 100+ point season from him.

I'm not sure if you remember Mario that much (despite your name); but in his prime, he was VERY fast. He was actually deceptively fast. Nobody expected a guy that big to skate that fast. In his early years, his acceleration and top end speed were so good, that it was almost a forgone conclusion that he would just skate around someone and then bring it towards the net.

 

[duul]

First star of the week.

 

[a587b]

The thing is while his IQ is top notch, if he didn't have that speed I don't think he would be a very dominant player in this league. There is no such thing as a dominant player post-lockout who isn't atleast a very fast and/or very good all around skater. Not that Gretzky and Lemieux were bad skaters at all, but all of the dominant players of the past ten years have been much faster than Gretzky or Lemieux were.

Malkin isn't "much faster" than Lemieux.

 

[authentic]

I'm not sure if you remember Mario that much (despite your name); but in his prime, he was VERY fast. He was actually deceptively fast. Nobody expected a guy that big to skate that fast. In his early years, his acceleration and top end speed were so good, that it was almost a forgone conclusion that he would just skate around someone and then bring it towards the net.

This is true. In the early 90s Lemieux could skate like the wind.

Malkin isn't "much faster" than Lemieux.

Maybe not much faster, but faster still. I shouldn't have put Lemieux and Gretzky in the same category like that, Lemieux was clearly faster. Gretzky was no slow poke in the 80s though either. Thornton in his early days was similar to Lemieux in his, both guys could really move. Go back and watch highlights or old games if you can, for those who think they were slow.

 

[a587b]

Also, there aren't many players who have scored more points post-lockout than either of the Sedins, each of whom won a scoring title-- and they were/are the antithesis of fast.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

I'm not sure if you remember Mario that much (despite your name); but in his prime, he was VERY fast. He was actually deceptively fast. Nobody expected a guy that big to skate that fast. In his early years, his acceleration and top end speed were so good, that it was almost a forgone conclusion that he would just skate around someone and then bring it towards the net.

I agree he was a good skater, i'd compare his skating ability to someone like Malkin. And Lemieux actually became a better skater a few years into his career, as he added some explosiveness to his skating prior to the 88-89 season, which lead to the time period that was his absolute prime (88-93).

My point was just that their games were not dependent on top end speed, which explains how they aged so well. It's relative as well. While Lemieux and Gretzky were good skaters, Mcdavid is the fastest, most agile skater in the league. Hence my curiosity as to how his game will evolve as he loses speed.

 

[authentic]

Also, there aren't many players who have scored more points post-lockout than either of the Sedins, each of whom won a scoring title-- and they were/are the antithesis of fast.

Also twins with never before seen chemistry and vision and hockey sense in basically the highest tier besides Gretzky/Lemieux. My point was simply that we won't see a dominant player on the level of peak Crosby/Ovechkin or better in this era that isn't atleast a really fast skater. Lemieux would have been of course.

 

[Apotheosis]

I agree he was a good skater, i'd compare his skating ability to someone like Malkin. And Lemieux actually became a better skater a few years into his career, as he added some explosiveness to his skating prior to the 88-89 season, which lead to the time period that was his absolute prime (88-93).

My point was just that their games were not dependent on top end speed, which explains how they aged so well. It's relative as well. While Lemieux and Gretzky were good skaters, Mcdavid is the fastest, most agile skater in the league. Hence my curiosity as to how his game will evolve as he loses speed.

He's got years at a level where he can skate the way though. I've watched Connor since he was playing in Newmarket. He used to play against people in my high school. Not only could you not catch him, but the thing was, he thinks the game at such a high level. His ability to think the game at any speed he skates at is his main strength. It is what lets him generate so many high danger scoring chances. So even when he is older, I think he will be fine. He should be able to slow down the game and still generate chances, just not by blowing by guys all the time.

 

[MarcusKane*]

McDavid had a better PPG than Crosby last season. Crosby's rookie year .

who cares he played half a season, dont post useless stats just to backup your argument.

 

[oilers89]

who cares he played half a season, dont post useless stats just to backup your argument.

hahahaha....How dare he post evidence that backs up his thoughts.

 

[Never]

who cares he played half a season, dont post useless stats just to backup your argument.

As opposed to posting....what?

 

[dirk41]

who cares he played half a season, dont post useless stats just to backup your argument.

A 45-game sample in a season is "useless"? It's not as good as a 70 game sample, but it's far from useless.

He was at or above a PPG in each of the full months he played in (October, February, March). There's no reason to believe he couldn't maintain it over a full season, especially if you watched him play.

 

[6 Karlsson 5]

As opposed to posting....what?

The VsX method used by the HOH board is the best way to compare Sid and McD, in my opinion. it only takes into account the top scorers, usually using the #2 scorer in any year as the benchmark ( unless there are outliers )

Using this method ( assuming mcdavid keeps the exact pace through 82 games )
Him and Sid have identical scores ( or pretty much, if I remember correctly )