Greatest rookie class of all time?

[Varan]

Which rookie class do you guys believe has been the strongest of all time and why? I've seen a lot answers saying its between the 2003 class or 2005-06 (made as one due to the lockout). I personally believe its the '05/06 class. Dealing with overall rookie season and careers of the players, legacy etc.

Click to read more...

 

[Stuzchuk]

I'm just gonna talk about the NHL since expansion ... but look back at the 80's... you have some great ones in there as well, better than 05/06

 

[R3DDRAG0N]

03 draft class IMO

 

[CanuckGame39]

2005/06 easily.

 

[Hobocop]

Are you asking about draft class, or the season the players debuted?

 

[Sens Rule]

79/80 or 80/81

 

[BayStreetBully]

1990-91 was pretty good. Ed Belfour, Jaromir Jagr, Sergei Fedorov, Mats Sundin and Rob Blake not only all ended up hall of famers, but they actually all had great rookie seasons.

 

[WarriorOfGandhi]

Are you asking about draft class, or the season the players debuted?

either way, the answer is Matthews/Marner/Nylander

 

[ESH]

Is this in terms of how the rookies played in their rookie seasons or how their careers turned out?

 

[Sojourn]

Can you be more specific? Your thread title asks about the rookie class, but your opening post asks about the draft class. Those are two very different things. The rookie class encompasses all the rookies playing that particular season, who will come from different draft years. The draft class is limited to players from a particular draft.

My feeling is you mean the rookie class, and I'd put 2005/2006 ahead. If you mean draft class, 2003 is better.

Edit: I don't think either of them are the best of all-time. Just the more recent history.

 

[Varan]

Is this in terms of how the rookies played in their rookie seasons or how their careers turned out?

both

 

[Ivo]

92-93 was a strong rookie class too.

Selanne great season, Juneau also topped 100 points and Eric Lindros had 75 points in 61 games.

The rookie class also included: Scott Niedermayer, Tkachuk, Zhamnov, Zubov, Kovalev, Malakhov, Kovalenko, Rucinsky, Guerin, Nylander, Straka, Slava Kozlov, Felix Potvin, Irbe and others.

 

[weaponomega]

92-93 had Selanne, Juneau and Lindros as the top rookies.

That season also had these guys go on to great careers
Potvin
Zhamnov
Tkachuk
Scott Niedermayer
Kovalev
Guerin
Zubov

 

[RageQuit77]

As the season is still going for this year's rookies it's hard to compare historical draft-classes, but if things go like this far for Rookies '16 rest of the season it's going to be very hard not to say they were best.

What happens years after players' rookie seasons is of course out of scope of our present knowledge.

Is this thread's purpose compare historical rookie classes against their then made careers, or just compare rookie classes vs. rookie classes in their rookie seasons?

If latter is the case, it's hard to ignore this year's rookie crop after max 34 games played vs. max 34 games played ever for rookies:

http://www.hockey-reference.com/pla...1comp=lt&c1val=34&threshhold=5&order_by=goals

Our top guys can be found from the first 2 pages. Eras and ages unadjusted.

 

[Ivo]

Also the seasons 1979-80 and 1980-81 had 7 rookies each that ended up the the HHoF.

 

[Hobocop]

As the season is still going for this year's rookies it's hard to compare historical draft-classes, but if things go like this far for Rookies '16 rest of the season it's going to be very hard not to say they were best.

What happens years after players' rookie seasons is of course out of scope of our present knowledge.

Is this thread's purpose compare historical rookie classes against their then made careers, or just compare rookie classes vs. rookie classes in their rookie seasons?

If latter is the case, it's hard to ignore this year's rookie crop after max 34 games played vs. max 34 games played ever for rookies:

http://www.hockey-reference.com/pla...1comp=lt&c1val=34&threshhold=5&order_by=goals

Our top guys can be found from the first 2 pages. Eras and ages unadjusted.

Ok, hold on. That's not what that table means. That only lists players who played 34 games and no more in their rookie season.

Selanne, for example, scored 25 through his first 34 games and he's not listed cause he played more.

If you actually are just trying to compare the current group of rookies to guys who only played that many, I'm not sure what that's proving.

 

[Sojourn]

As the season is still going for this year's rookies it's hard to compare historical draft-classes, but if things go like this far for Rookies '16 rest of the season it's going to be very hard not to say they were best.

What happens years after players' rookie seasons is of course out of scope of our present knowledge.

Is this thread's purpose compare historical rookie classes against their then made careers, or just compare rookie classes vs. rookie classes in their rookie seasons?

If latter is the case, it's hard to ignore this year's rookie crop after max 34 games played vs. max 34 games played ever for rookies:

http://www.hockey-reference.com/pla...1comp=lt&c1val=34&threshhold=5&order_by=goals

Our top guys can be found from the first 2 pages. Eras and ages unadjusted.

So they top a list of players who played 34 or less games in their rookie season?

That's... not particularly meaningful. It's either a list of rookies who weren't good enough to stick that season, or who were injured. That's hardly the creme de la creme.

 

[jw2]

79-80

Gretzky
Messier
Bourque
Darryl Sutter
MacTavish
Lowe
Gartner

 

[hamzarocks]

either way, the answer is Matthews/Marner/Nylander

If I was a professor I'd give this answer a 100. /s