Pete Rock
Registered User
dannoabram said:what i meant by that was that he developed in the chl in canada where its a more pro like grind (72 games vs like 30 in ncaa) far more physical league. the whl churns out more stud d men than ncaa. it wasnt a canada vs us sorry if you percieved it that way. please lets not have a big can vs us thread.
The OHL turns out more quality wingers than the NCAA but would you rather have Dany Heatley or Raffi Torres? Not that I'm comparing Johnson to Heater and Weber to Torres, but just that the "CHL is tougher than the NCAA" argument is as flawed as a +/- argument.
And Danno, it might interest you that of the last 14 defencemen to win the Norris after the stretch of Orr, 4 NCAA players in Rod Langway (New Hampshire), Chris Chelios (Wisconsin), Brian Leetch (Boston College), and Rob Blake (Bowling Green) have won it whereas only one Dubster in Scott Niedermayer has.
As for my choice, I think it really depends on what you look for in a defenceman. Weber's offensive part of his game might not translate to the NHL, and Johnson's physicality might not be as pronounced as it is in the NCAA. Myself, I'll take my chances with Johnson as I'd rather have someone that tops out as a stand-alone no. 1 rather than a 1a or 1b, even one who is as safe as Weber.
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