Cousins sees two-way play as best way to the NHL

[HF Article]

 

Last year, Nick Cousins entered training camp under a cloud of suspicion and with a tremendous weight on his shoulders. A year later, that cloud and the weight have been lifted and the Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect has his focus squarely — and exclusively — on the ice.



“Obviously, with all the other off-ice distractions, now that it’s over I just concentrate on hockey and just concentrate on my future,” Cousins said. “It’s exciting and I’m happy that it’s all behind me now.”

Cousins and two other players from the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds were arrested in August 2012 and charged with sexual assault.… read more



More...

Click to read more...

 

[tymed]

Lol @ his plummet from 2nd to 6th on our fan-voted prospect poll following a stellar 103 pt junior season.

That being said, It's good to see him acknowledge that his skating is his glaring hole. Other than that theres nothing to knock on, he seems to be blazing the path fine on his own and really is the highest-upside forward we have in our system by a long-shot. If he can learn to clean up his stride by dropping the Bendan Ranford impression, he's got a good shot at taking the next step.

 

[tuckrr]

Cousins >>> Laughton

its just going to take time for this board to actually watch them play.

 

[sa cyred]

Cousins >>> Laughton

its just going to take time for this board to actually watch them play.

In what way? Please elaborate. Other than scoring more points and being a year older Laughton is better in everything else.

 

[tuckrr]

In what way? Please elaborate. Other than scoring more points and being a year older Laughton is better in everything else.

Laughton is a poor man's Mike Richards. A great asset to have, 2nd/3rd liner for sure. But the only area he really beats cousins is hitting. Skating is pretty close, and cousins is catching up in 2-way play WAY faster than anyone anticipated.

Cousins reads plays better, makes crisper passes, shoots well for someone his age. His balance is much improved, and he goes into the boards with ENERGY! He's also a chatter box, but in a way like Giroux more than carcillo ( he will piss you off THEN score)

Both nice prospects, but one is a 7.5B and the other is a 8-8.5B

 

[Harold Bingo]

Laughton is a poor man's Mike Richards. A great asset to have, 2nd/3rd liner for sure. But the only area he really beats cousins is hitting. Skating is pretty close, and cousins is catching up in 2-way play WAY faster than anyone anticipated.

Cousins reads plays better, makes crisper passes, shoots well for someone his age. His balance is much improved, and he goes into the boards with ENERGY! He's also a chatter box, but in a way like Giroux more than carcillo ( he will piss you off THEN score)

Both nice prospects, but one is a 7.5B and the other is a 8-8.5B

Sounds good, but I won't get my hopes up. It seems like there's been lots of guys who put up great numbers in juniors but their game didn't translate to the NHL level. I guess we'll see; I hope you're right. See, I lied, now I'm getting my hopes up.

 

[sa cyred]

Laughton is a poor man's Mike Richards. A great asset to have, 2nd/3rd liner for sure. But the only area he really beats cousins is hitting. Skating is pretty close, and cousins is catching up in 2-way play WAY faster than anyone anticipated.

Cousins reads plays better, makes crisper passes, shoots well for someone his age. His balance is much improved, and he goes into the boards with ENERGY! He's also a chatter box, but in a way like Giroux more than carcillo ( he will piss you off THEN score)

Both nice prospects, but one is a 7.5B and the other is a 8-8.5B

100% disagreed. Laughton skating is head over heals better than Cousins, and Cousin's defensive play will HOPEFULLY be half of what Laughton's currently is. Laughton was touted as one of the best defensive forwards in the CHL. You are forgetting that Laughton also provides everything, hits like crazy and talks it up. His main problem is his offensive play which will prohibit him from being a top line forward.

Your super overrating Cousins if you think he will be a top line forward in this league. You know that 8-8.5 is top prospect in the league rankings right? Guys like Tarasenko and Galchenyuk are 8.5's. Cousins' main comparision is Marchand and thats if EVERYTHING goes right.

Trust me, I wish you were right but the percentage of Cousins being THAT good is probably around 10%

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Laughton is a poor man's Mike Richards. A great asset to have, 2nd/3rd liner for sure. But the only area he really beats cousins is hitting. Skating is pretty close, and cousins is catching up in 2-way play WAY faster than anyone anticipated.

Cousins reads plays better, makes crisper passes, shoots well for someone his age. His balance is much improved, and he goes into the boards with ENERGY! He's also a chatter box, but in a way like Giroux more than carcillo ( he will piss you off THEN score)

Both nice prospects, but one is a 7.5B and the other is a 8-8.5B

Maybe Cousins will be a more "impactful" player, in that he'll be more noticeable on the ice because of his antics and his ability to do the dirty work, but it seems to me that Laughton is clearly the better player.

 

[Totally Radivojevic]

I've been really impressed by Cousins' puck possession ability. He's got that knack of buying himself an extra second or two when defenders are nearby and then delivers accurate passes. I have zero doubt he's going to be an NHL player, and definitely could see him being a call-up this year.

 

[JDinkalage Morgoone]

Two way hockey

 

[Harold Bingo]

Two way hockey

Nick Cousins = Charlie Conway?

 

[Appleyard]

Nick Cousins = Charlie Conway?

His skating is not THAT bad!

 

[Harold Bingo]

His skating is not THAT bad!

How's his triple deke, though?

 

[Appleyard]

How's his triple deke, though?

Tbh I don't consider any player worth their salt until I have seen them command a Flying V.

Though tbf Ryan Smyth is the only guy I have seen do it is the NHL, but then again he is the best player in the history of earth (well, if you listen to 20-25 year old Oilers fans.)

 

[JDinkalage Morgoone]

Eden Hall is a force in collegiate hockey, and will be for years to come.

 

[RJ8812*]

Eden Hall is a force in collegiate hockey, and will be for years to come.

Edan Hall was a high school, not a college

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

100% disagreed. Laughton skating is head over heals better than Cousins, and Cousin's defensive play will HOPEFULLY be half of what Laughton's currently is. Laughton was touted as one of the best defensive forwards in the CHL. You are forgetting that Laughton also provides everything, hits like crazy and talks it up. His main problem is his offensive play which will prohibit him from being a top line forward.

Your super overrating Cousins if you think he will be a top line forward in this league. You know that 8-8.5 is top prospect in the league rankings right? Guys like Tarasenko and Galchenyuk are 8.5's. Cousins' main comparision is Marchand and thats if EVERYTHING goes right.

Trust me, I wish you were right but the percentage of Cousins being THAT good is probably around 10%

I've watched a lot of Cousins and Laughton. People are trying to compare two completely different players. Laughton has Cousins in the skating/defensive awareness/physical play area. However, Cousins is a far more offensively polished player and is a superior stick handler and passer. Cousins is also a much better finisher than Laughton. Offensively, it's not close between the two of them - Cousins is the much better player.

The other thing about Cousins that people under rate is his two-way ability. Sheldon Keefe really does deserve a whole lot of credit for having Cousins buy into the idea of two-way play and Cousins improved dramatically in that aspect. Cousins still doesn't have the defensive acumen that Laughton has and a lot of Laughton's offensive game is generated from his defensive ability.

Ultimately, who the better play is depends on the eye of the beholder. If you're looking for someone who can be a legitimate shut down center who will be out on the ice protecting a lead in the last minute of the game, Laughton's your guy. If you're looking for a potential top six winger who can score and agitate the opposition, Cousins is your guy.

 

[Harold Bingo]

Edan Hall was a high school, not a college

I like how they re-casted Gunnar Stahl to play Scott the goalie in the third movie.

Okay, back to Nick Cousins.

 

[JDinkalage Morgoone]

Edan Hall was a high school, not a college

collegiate prep school my bad.

 

[tuckrr]

100% disagreed. Laughton skating is head over heals better than Cousins, and Cousin's defensive play will HOPEFULLY be half of what Laughton's currently is. Laughton was touted as one of the best defensive forwards in the CHL. You are forgetting that Laughton also provides everything, hits like crazy and talks it up. His main problem is his offensive play which will prohibit him from being a top line forward.

Your super overrating Cousins if you think he will be a top line forward in this league. You know that 8-8.5 is top prospect in the league rankings right? Guys like Tarasenko and Galchenyuk are 8.5's. Cousins' main comparision is Marchand and thats if EVERYTHING goes right.

Trust me, I wish you were right but the percentage of Cousins being THAT good is probably around 10%

I wasn't going off of HF ratings, sorry if that was confusing. The way those ratings are defined means pretty much every "blue-chip" prospect is a 7-7.5

but anyway, I disagree on skating. Cousins is pretty fast already (improved from last years camp), and he can make moves/pass/turn/shoot at his top flight speed.

Really hitting is the only thing that stands out to me about Laughton, regardless of what he is taughted to be. Marchand is a reasonable comparison to Cousins, I'm fairly convinced he will pan out around that level......Which is >>> Laughton

 

[Roo Mad Bro]

Laughton is clearly a better pro prospect than Cousins. Cousins has quite a bit of work to do for him to crack an NHL squad, and it should be interesting to see if his offense translates to the AHL this year. His skating is average, and his defense, while improved (and was necessary), still leaves a lot to be desired.

That being said, there's that old saying that the puck seems to find certain players, and he seems to fit that bill. He probably has better puck possession skills than Laughton and a higher offensive acumen, but Laughton is definitely the better, more well rounded forward who will almost certainly be a NHL regular.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

Nick Cousins = Charlie Conway?

It's Spazway...he'll blow it.

 

[Harold Bingo]

It's Spazway...he'll blow it.

This Mighty Ducks talk has got me thinking, the Flyers should see if they can get coach Reilly to replace Lavi. "Because it's not worth winning if you can't win big!"

Oh, and from what I've seen of Cousins he's got a good bit of offensive talent and he's stood out in every preseason game he's played. Someone will have to comment on his two way play because it's kind of hard to tell when mostly everyone has been playing like crap.

 

[BringBackHakstol]

I never thought that the gap between Cousins and Laughton was quite as big as a lot of people around here say.

I do think Laughton is a better prospect, especially becuase he is very likely to hit his ceiling. Cousins is less likely to get to his, but I think it's pretty obvious that Cousins has some special hockey instincts offensively that Laughton doesn't have.

Laughton is a far better skater and defensive player, but Cousins has that offensive knack. Both guys are good agitators that if harnessed right can be an asset.

Ultimately, I think both guys are near locks to be NHL players. And if they both pan out close to their ceilings, could be very valuable 2nd/3rd line assets for this squad in the next few years.

 

[Hiesenberg]

Is it me or is it weird that our top 4 prospects, 1 is a forward, 2 are d-men and 1 is a goalie.