Do you agree with THN that Ovechkin is a better prospect than Lehtonen?

[Taxman]

Lehtonen was THN's best prospect for two years in a row but this year was dethroned by Ovechkin for that status.

Do you guys agree with that ranking? Who do you think will be the more dominating player for their position in the NHL?

Ovechkin is having a nice year in the Russian league and is having a good World Juniors so far. Lehtonen is dominating the AHL, being 2nd in the league in save percentage (.937) among goaltenders who have played 13 games or more. He is currently on a 7 game winning streak, 2 of them shutouts, with a .957 save percentage (224 of 234 shots stopped). He has been on absolute fire and quickly turning into a dominant goalie IMO.

I think both will be great players. Ovechkin seems to be the complete package. Personally though, I think Lehtonen will be one of the all time great goalies in NHL history and deserves to be ranked ahead of Ovechkin. Is that just my Thrashers homerism coming out? What do you guys think?

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[Levitate]

i think it's a stretch to predict lehtonen to be one of the greatest in history...but it looks like he'll be very very good

goalies don't get as much respect i don't think when it comes to rankings of best player, etc. but he could end up being more valuable to his team than ovechkin is to his

 

[CSKA]

Is that just my Thrashers homerism coming out? What do you guys think?

YES

 

[ALF AmericanLionsFan]

I love both players, but I would take Lehtonen first.

 

[Shane]

The only prospect I'd take over Lehtonen is Crosby.

 

[bruins4777*]

Lehtonen is more valuable than ovechkin for a few key reasons.
1. He's a goalie, no player is more important than a goalie. Considering he is the best goalie prospect around, and maybe ever, It makes him all the more important
2. He's done more. He's proven himself in the WJC, the elite league, the AHL, and to an extent the NHL. Ovechkin is doing great in the RSL, but to me the AHL is harder than the RSL.

Lehtonen is an obvious pick over ovechkin. Ovechkin is simply getting the nod becuase of the media coverage.

 

[nally]

The only prospect I'd take over Lehtonen is Crosby.

I'm going to have to agree with that!

I wouldn't mind seeing Crosby playing with Kovalchuck and Heatly...can you imagine that line?


But Lehtonen all the way...best goalie prospect in a while...better then Dipeitro.

 

[It Kills Me]

Lehtonen. He's more proven.

 

[Zine]

Ovechkin is doing great in the RSL, but to me the AHL is harder than the RSL.

Not really. There's not many NHL regulars playing in the AHL - mainly prospects and career scrubs.
The RSL has attracted a boat load of NHLers, and many of them are all-stars.

 

[HOCKEY_GURU]

I would Take Ovechkin..... while Lehtonen is clearly ahead of the pack right now.. many goalies will catch up...some may take as long as 5 years but odds are some will catch up .. ... Goalies are the biggest puzzle to making a winning team but theers mnay good ones out theer and easier to pry one off another team ( look at Calgary getting kiprussoff last year)... menawhile lets say Ovechkin has an impact somewhat similar to Kovalchucks.... would be pretty damn hard to pry him away form another team.

 

[A Good Flying Bird*]

Lehtonen was THN's best prospect for two years in a row but this year was dethroned by Ovechkin for that status.

Do you guys agree with that ranking? Who do you think will be the more dominating player for their position in the NHL?

Ovechkin is having a nice year in the Russian league and is having a good World Juniors so far. Lehtonen is dominating the AHL, being 2nd in the league in save percentage (.937) among goaltenders who have played 13 games or more. He is currently on a 7 game winning streak, 2 of them shutouts, with a .957 save percentage (224 of 234 shots stopped). He has been on absolute fire and quickly turning into a dominant goalie IMO.

I think both will be great players. Ovechkin seems to be the complete package. Personally though, I think Lehtonen will be one of the all time great goalies in NHL history and deserves to be ranked ahead of Ovechkin. Is that just my Thrashers homerism coming out? What do you guys think?

I am leary of all goaltending prospects.
So much of goaltending is about focus, discipline, emotional stability, and technique.
So much of that can be learned. Seems like great goalies come out of nowhere every year.
Things that Ovechkin posses are unteachable.

So I'm going with Ovechkin.

 

[Russian_fanatic]

Lehtonen. He's more proven.

4 games?

 

[Evilo]

Lehtonen is more valuable than ovechkin for a few key reasons.
1. He's a goalie, no player is more important than a goalie. Considering he is the best goalie prospect around, and maybe ever, It makes him all the more important

Gretzky, Lemieux or Hasek, Roy? Who was more important?
Best goalie prospect ever? That's highly debatable.

2. He's done more. He's proven himself in the WJC, the elite league, the AHL, and to an extent the NHL. Ovechkin is doing great in the RSL, but to me the AHL is harder than the RSL.

The RSL is five times harder than the AHL. Not a single doubt. Ovechkin is actually the more proven of the two and that is even more impressive when you consider he's younger.

Lehtonen is an obvious pick over ovechkin. Ovechkin is simply getting the nod becuase of the media coverage.

Obvious pick? Rrrrrright.

 

[stanley]

Lehtonen was THN's best prospect for two years in a row but this year was dethroned by Ovechkin for that status.

Do you guys agree with that ranking?

I disagree that it's a ranking. It's an opinion.

Subjectively, I think Newsguy pretty much summed up my gut feelings on the subject.

 

[Diaboli]

The RSL is five times harder than the AHL. Not a single doubt. Ovechkin is actually the more proven of the two and that is even more impressive when you consider he's younger.

I know that your taking it overboard on purpose, but I just have to say it. RSL is NOT five times better than AHL.

Why is Ovechkin more proven? Please, enlighten me.

Lehtonen won the FEL championship with jokerit in 2001-2002 aged 18. He was the teams starting goalie that year for gods sake and his postseason stats are incredible (GAA 1.78 and SVS% 94.0)!!! Not that his regular season stats are bad GAA 1.79, don't know his SVS%

Next year, at age 19, he lead his team to the semifinals. Regular season he had GAA 1.98 and SVS% 92.8 and his postseason stats GAA 1.63 and SVS% 94.1. That year they won the Continental cup, with Lehtonen records in those three games being GAA 1.67 and SVS% 94.2

Last year was his rookie season in AHL he posted GAA 2.41 and SVS% 92.6 No those are pretty impressive numbers for a rookie that played behind a horrendous defence. Those stats mean that he faced about 30 shots a night. I don't think I even have to tell you his NHL stats.

This season after a slow start he has a 2.09 GAA and 93.7 SVS%. He's in a 7 win streak right now.

Don't even know all his HM:s, but he was awarded as the most valuable player in the playoffs aged 19.

Now, I'd REALLY like to know how Ovechkin is more proven.

 

[benji]

Personnaly I'd take Ovechkin.

 

[wilka91*]

Ovechkin > any draftee since Lindros, except maybe Kovalchuk.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Lehtonen was THN's best prospect for two years in a row but this year was dethroned by Ovechkin for that status.

Do you guys agree with that ranking?

I do not agree with ranking goalies along with skaters. That's just me, though.

There are times, like in the NHL draft, where you gotta make an exception. But otherwise, I don't really like to compare them as I feel it's apples and oranges.

 

[wilka91*]

Lehtonen > Crosby

and Ovechkin > Lehtonen

Conclusion : Crosby sucks ass (I'm a Cartman fan )

 

[Til the End of Time]

^

Was that necessary?

 

[Form and Substance]

Lehtonen > Crosby

and Ovechkin > Lehtonen

Conclusion : Crosby sucks ass (I'm a Cartman fan )

err.. more like Crosby>>>Ovechkin>Lehtonen

 

[kingpest19]

Not really. There's not many NHL regulars playing in the AHL - mainly prospects and career scrubs.
The RSL has attracted a boat load of NHLers, and many of them are all-stars.

Wouldnt this be due more to the fact that the AHL has age and veteran restrictions as well as the fact that theres 10x more money to be made playing in the RSL?

 

[Evilo]

I know that your taking it overboard on purpose, but I just have to say it. RSL is NOT five times better than AHL.

Why is Ovechkin more proven? Please, enlighten me.

Lehtonen won the FEL championship with jokerit in 2001-2002 aged 18. He was the teams starting goalie that year for gods sake and his postseason stats are incredible (GAA 1.78 and SVS% 94.0)!!! Not that his regular season stats are bad GAA 1.79, don't know his SVS%

Next year, at age 19, he lead his team to the semifinals. Regular season he had GAA 1.98 and SVS% 92.8 and his postseason stats GAA 1.63 and SVS% 94.1. That year they won the Continental cup, with Lehtonen records in those three games being GAA 1.67 and SVS% 94.2

Last year was his rookie season in AHL he posted GAA 2.41 and SVS% 92.6 No those are pretty impressive numbers for a rookie that played behind a horrendous defence. Those stats mean that he faced about 30 shots a night. I don't think I even have to tell you his NHL stats.

This season after a slow start he has a 2.09 GAA and 93.7 SVS%. He's in a 7 win streak right now.

Don't even know all his HM:s, but he was awarded as the most valuable player in the playoffs aged 19.

Now, I'd REALLY like to know how Ovechkin is more proven.

Of course, 5 times is stretching it. But the RSL is way better than the AHL.
As for Ovechkin more proven, well simply put, Ovechkin has been a star in the toughest league outside the NHL.
Lehtonen has been a star everywhere he's been of course, but he hasn't played at the RSL level yet (if you except his 4 NHL games).

So if you really want to compare both's "proven status", I'd say Ovechkin has proven more.
But it's a moot point anyway. I just wanted to point out that Lehtonen has not "proven" more than Ovechkin.

Anyway, I'm very high on Lehtonen as well, but I might be the only person on earth who ranked him higher than Fleury before last season (yes even after he was drafted by Pittsburgh), and ranks him lower than him this year.
Not so much because I was disapointed in him (Lehtonen was as good as I expected him to be), but mostly because I never thought an 18 year old goalie could dominate some NHL games behind one of the worst defenses in the history of the game. Fleury was an amazement for me last season.

 

[arnie]

The only prospect I'd take over Lehtonen is Crosby.

Crosby is way overhyped because he is Canadian. He's around everyday and it one of their own. The Canadian press has always showed a touch of Don Cherry about Europeans. Expecting Canadian to be unbiased about hockey players is ridiculous.

But there are good, objective reasons to go with Ovenchkin. Crosby has never played in a men's league like Ovechkin. He has never experienced the close checking, clutch grab, trap hockey that is played in the pros. His small size will limit what he can do in the NHL. He will likely be very good, but no Greztky. In fact, Gretzky wouldn't be Greztky if he played today's game with players todays size.

Conversely, Ovechkin as an 18 year old is #6 in scoring in a very tough, defensive men's league in the RSL. He has great size and speed to go with his skill and is far more likely to have the ability to break through the close checking in NHL. I'd go with him over Crosby. If nothing else, he has already succeeded at the next step the ladder. Crosby is still a question mark. History is full of small skilled players who excelled in junior but couldn't make it in the pros.

 

[THE NEXT ONE #87]

Lehtonen. He's more proven.

Huh??

Who has already played at the world championships with mens?
Who played at the world cup??

Who plays in the RSL?? the best league after the NHL??

Of course Lehtonen.... :lol