Peter James Bond said:
who is better and why?
who is the better skater?
I'd say Staal. He's smooth and pretty graceful once he gets going. But Bourdon is no slouch either. They were both in the top-10 in the rink lap and they were #1-2 in the puck control event in the top prospects skill testing. Both are great, both are probably underrated in that area because they are defensemen.
who plays a more physical game?
Bourdon, much more handily. It's not that Staal backs down or is unable to handle himself, but he doesn't go out of his way to make a hit or seek out contact. Bourdon sometimes does go out of his way. Some would say that's actually a disadvantage to his game.
who is better offensively?
I like Staal better for carrying the puck and starting the rush, but I like Bourdon better for shooting from the point on the PP. They might have similar overall impact. Although I get the feeling that Staal might have a bit more upside to develop his offensive game as he's given more freedom, whereas Bourdon might go the other way and be asked to concentrate more on tightening up his coverage and discipline in his own zone.
do either of these guys drop the gloves?
No idea if they did or not. I didn't see it. Just going by the PIMs I would guess Bourdon might have a few times.
