Are there any upcoming prospects that will burn the league like Lemieux or Gretzky

[Daniels45]

Yeah so Ive been trying to categorize the type of offensive players that we have in the league atm and I realized that we have no Lemieuxs or Gretzkys.

They have often been labeled as the generational type so where do players like Ovechkin and Crosby or Kane, Taveres and Toews fall in?

So lets categorize generational players in type 1 through 3 to help us differentiate.

Type 1: Players who from the get go have obliterated every offensive record from peewee to the NHL or have been close to this. These players are often regarded as phenomenons, players of exceptional talent, over and beyond everyone else. Lemieux and Gretzky come to mind.

Type 2: Players who fall a few notches under type 1 who dont dominate but are regarded as Elite players +. Ovechkin and Crosby fall into this category I think....

Type 3: Players that generally fall below type 2 and are regarded as elite players like Toews, Stamkos, Kain and Tavares.

This is just some ramblings of my own that Ive done so you all are welcome to improve on it.

As for the post title...is there any upcoming talent that you have seen that you feel might come close to greats like Lemieux or Gretzky ?

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[The Bored Man]

Dustin Rose

 

[jetsforever]

Only Tier 2 right now I would say are Crosby, Ovechkin, and maybe McDavid in the future

I'm pretty sure there are no Lemieux/Gretzkys in the near future

 

[MMC]

Toews is not elite.

 

[Club]

No imo

But McDavid is close, like people say.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

McDavid is the closest.

Matthews too.

 

[Laveuglette]

Dustin Rose

Came here to say that. I guess he must be close to his draft year after all those years

 

[sxvnert]

Possible depending on McDavids wingers and his ability to stay healthy.

 

[Ducks in a row]

Extremely unlikely will see such a player anytime soon.

 

[bobholly39]

the thing too about Gretzky - he scored like 500 points as an 11 year old or some such thing right?

and Lemieux broke records in the Quebec Junior League.


So you knew from a very young age they'd be "extra" special.


Odds are if such a player surfaces again we'd know so long before they reached the NHL too. McDavid/Crosby never seemed quite that good as prospects, in contrast.

 

[daver]

McDavid/Crosby never seemed quite that good as prospects, in contrast.

Crosby was as close to Mario and Wayne as a prospect could ever be. He was arguably better than Mario after their 19 year old seasons. McDavid wasn't on the same level coming out of the CHL.

 

[Rexor]

I don't think it's possible any more. Average players have become much better over the last two or three decades, and it's considerably harder for stars to clearly disginguish themselves from the pack. The over-structured and over-methodical way the young players are being raised now doesn't let them develop their natural creativity in the same manner as it was possible in the 1970's or 1980's, where kids used to play shinny hockey a lot more compared to today, and there wasn't as much pressure on winning and proper tactics in youth categories. Moreover, there has been way too many tactical "innovations" aimed at sucking the offense out of the NHL since mid-1990's, and we simply aren't going to get rid of them barring some major rule changes.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I don't think it's possible any more. Average players have become much better over the last two or three decades, and it's considerably harder for stars to clearly disginguish themselves from the pack. The over-structured and over-methodical way the young players are being raised now doesn't let them develop their natural creativity in the same manner as it was possible in the 1970's or 1980's, where kids used to play shinny hockey a lot more compared to today, and there wasn't as much pressure on winning and proper tactics in youth categories. Moreover, there has been way too many tactical "innovations" aimed at sucking the offense out of the NHL since mid-1990's, and we simply aren't going to get rid of them barring some major rule changes.

You could say guys like Gretzky and Lemieux made the NHL more defensive. Since guys like that don't fall off of every tree, you have to find a way to beat them. Taking away time and space is about the only way.

Same with someone like Orr. He revolutionized the position of defense, and now more defensemen can skate, because over the decades coaches have put more guys that can skate back on defense, instead of making them forwards. Offense starts on defense today more than ever. The better defensemen are at skating, the more time and space they can take away.

It's adaptation. It's more talent available, and not just Canadian farm boys 30 years ago. It's Gretzky and Lemieux simply being extremely rare talents, regardless of where, when, and how they play.

 

[BruinLVGA]

McDavid in category 2.

And please, it's Kane, not Kain...

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Crosby is arguably the best CHL player of all time. Remains the only back to back mvp

 

[AD1066]

Improvements in training, equipment, and systems stand to benefit the average player more than a natural phenom. A guy without a ton of natural talent can now become an elite skater and learn his role and system to a tee, allowing him to neutralize more talented players for most or all of a game.

And a growing global talent pool means more competition at the top.

I don't know if we'll ever see a player dominate the competition to the same extent again, even if his abilities were equal to or greater than Gretzky's / Lemieux's.

 

[WesMcCauley]

Im not saying mcdavid or crosby etc are/will be as good but people need to understand that 1000 points in todays nhl is alot more impressive than 1000 points 15-30 years ago.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Mcdavid, Matthews, Eichel and Laine are the only ones I see having that kind of potential. I don't think Nolan Patrick is on that level

 

[PensBandwagonerNo272*]

I think guys like Crosby and McDavid are about as elite as you are going to see for the most part from now on.

 

[Jarey Curry]

I don't know, I mean we could probably see something we have never seen before if let's say guys like Gaudreau and McDavid for example played for the same team. Just imagine their offensive potential when McDavid turns 24 and Gaudreau 28... Well Edm has a kid named Puljujärvi and one can always hope!

 

[BraveCanadian]

It is doubtful.

But I hope so.

 

[Hot Water Bottle]

Um, I'm pretty sure this thread was supposed to be about Claude Lemieux and Brent Gretzky.

 

[Kamiccolo]

No one will ever compare to Gretzky unless the game is changed in a way that allows scoring to be as high as it was in the 80's. I'm sure if Gretzky played today a 150 point season would be his peak, which is still incredible.

As it stands now, there is no one. With changes to games, even if someone as good as Gretzky played unless the team played to fit them ala Leafs with Kessel or Caps with Ovi, system play would kill their point totals.

Tomorrows stars are going to be those who put up a PPG with clutch goals rather than outscoring most others by 30-40 points.

 

[Eisen]

If there were someone around like that, we'd all know it.

 

[haseoke39]

Nobody's touching Gretzky. In '87, guy would put up 183 points, second closest guy in the league would be his linemate with 108. Patrick Kane just put up 106. Scoring was higher then, but not by anything close to the absurd margins that Gretzky held over his competition. He was an outlier we will not see matched.

Look at other sports and try to find anyone who statistically separates himself from all of his peers, intra- or intergenerational, like Gretzky does, and you can't. He was just not playing the same game as anyone else, at least during his prime.