Barzal vs. Pettersson going forward
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Addison Rae
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Big Cactus
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Pettersson has played 5? Games in the nhl and he’s beating a guy who put up 85 pts in his rookie year. Okay...
Lights911
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Barzal is the obvi answer for now and Im a PBP (Pettersson) homer
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Captain Bowie
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Doesn't really mean anything, does it? He hasn't been "manhandled" within the rules. The only reason why he isn't still tearing it up is because someone went outside of the rules to go after him.
haak84
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OK a lot of players in this league play on the edge of the rules. Pettersson was manhandled. If he was stronger, he wouldn't have allowed another player to slam him into the ice like that. I'm not saying it's right or it belongs in the game but it's there. It's clear that he was overmatched in the physicality aspect of the sport at this level.
Captain Bowie
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But it wasn't the physicality of the sport, it was physicality outside the rules of the sport. That's the part that's important.
If Johnny Gaudreau was 6'5 MacAvoy likely doesn't elbow him in the head. Do you consider him too short to play in the league?
haak84
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Barzal is 2 inches shorter and weighs almost 15 more pounds than Pettersson. He played in 82 games last season and put up 85 points as a 20 year old. Maybe Pettersson needs another year or two until his frame gets close enough to his skillset that he won't have to be worried about being concussed by a 195 pound skater with a mean streak.
As a Canucks fan, it's incredibly close taking into account everything (homerism included), but I'll take Barzal.
CP4
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Doesn't make that play right, and there's a lot of exciting and skilled underweight players in the league, would you rather them all be out of the league just so we can have bigger and heavy hitting players play instead?
haak84
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I'm not so sure that height has to do with being elbowed in the head. But what happened to Pettersson was a stronger specimen exerting their force on a weaker being.
As I said earlier, players play on the edge of the rules in this league and a lot of them will cross that line because millions of dollars are at stake.
Captain Bowie
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If Gaudreau's head was a foot high, it would have been well above MacAvoy's elbow, thus no elbow to the head. It's the same what-if.
That play wasn't just on the edge of the rules, it was well beyond them. No one had come close to "mandhandling" him in the 4 regular season and multiple pre-season games prior.
haak84
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That play was not an elbow so they are two completely different circumstances. That play was not well beyond the rules as it didn't even warrant a 2 minute minor. If there was no injury and Pettersson bounced right back, no one would talk about it. If Elias had 10 more pounds of muscle, it probably doesn't happen, no one would talk about it.
edit: in fact the Panthers encourage that sort of play and I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the teams in the league do as well. Straight from the coaches mouth: "Mike was trying to play a skilled player hard; that’s what we ask every night.”
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haak84
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Yes, exactly that. He wouldn’t have. Barzal is 6 pounds lighter but 2 inches shorter. So probably about the same strength as Matheson. Pettersson is the same height and 17 pounds lighter. That is a huge difference and it showed.
Kelly
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I can't believe Pettersson has so many votes, but I suppose this is Hockeys Future.
You take the guy who just out up PPG+ in his rookie season ten times outta ten.
You take the guy who just out up PPG+ in his rookie season ten times outta ten.
Yeah i'm not big on making picks based on recency bias - but if people had high expectations for Petterson they could still pick him. Tbh if you had asked me to pick between both players before last season, I would have picked Petterson pretty damn easily. Barzal wasn't even on my radar.
85 points is fantastic - but before he truly raises his stock significantly in my book i'd like to see his year 2 and ensure it can become the norm for him, and not just a lucky first season. And - mostly - i expect Peterson to be at that level too.
I voted too close to call
*edit* - I suppose if the question is specifically worded as "who you take going forward" i'd lean Barzal as it's less risky. If the question was reworded as "who you expect to be better" - i'd maintain my vote of too close to call. Bc i can see it go either way
VoluntaryDom
Formerly DominicBoltsFan / Ⓐ / ✞
I’ll vote Barzal until Pettersson proves otherwise. He has the potential to do so.
If you pick pettersson you probably play the lottery weekly
Critical13
Fear is the mind-killer.
LordNeverLose
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8 points in 5 games is so much better than 7 points in 6 games that 33% of people are willing to take the rookie over the guy who had 85 points last season?
