Kyle Connor Vs William Nylander

[Boom Boom Apathy]

11 more goals and higher ppg this season in 6 less games.

Can people stop with the higher PPG? Their PPG's are basically identical. Connor's PPG is 0.006 better than Nylander's PPG. Yes, technically it's "higher" but it's statistically insignificant and using a 0.006 higher PPG in a player debate is absurd. A 0.006 PPG difference doesn't even amount to 1 more point across 82 games. On top of that, Nylander's Point / 60 are higher than Connor's P/60. They both pretty much scored at an equivalent rate.

Weighting goal scoring over assists, while subjective, is a decent argument.

I also agree that neither of these players, as of today, are "easily" better than the other. Goals favor Connor. Assists favor Nylander. PPG are equal. Possession stats favor Nylander. Qcomp is similar. Nylander's OISH% and PDO were higher (more luck?) than Connor's, but Connor's SH% was higher (sustainable?). Both played with good players, although Connor's were better overall. Connor is 7 months younger and a draft year behind Nylander so it's his first real NHL season, but Nylander has proven success over 2 seasons.

IMO, they are pretty equal players right now.

 

[Randy Randerson]

Can people stop with the higher PPG? Their PPG's are basically identical. Connor's PPG is 0.006 better than Nylander's PPG. Yes, technically it's "higher" but it's statistically insignificant and using a 0.006 higher PPG in a player debate is absurd. A 0.006 PPG difference doesn't even amount to 1 more point across 82 games. On top of that, Nylander's Point / 60 are higher than Connor's P/60. They both pretty much scored at an equivalent rate.

Weighting goal scoring over assists, while subjective, is a decent argument.

I also agree that neither of these players, as of today, are "easily" better than the other. Goals favor Connor. Assists favor Nylander. PPG are equal. Possession stats favor Nylander. Qcomp is similar. Nylander's OISH% and PDO were higher (more luck?) than Connor's, but Connor's SH% was higher (sustainable?). Both played with good players, although Connor's were better overall. Connor is 7 months younger and a draft year behind Nylander so it's his first real NHL season, but Nylander has proven success over 2 seasons.

IMO, they are pretty equal players right now.

just wondering how you see positional value with Nylander having the potential to move to center

I agree with your assessment, I guess the poll section is set up for people to get defensive and argue but there's a lot of pissing match here for the sake of "mine is better than yours", not like these guys are ever going to compete in 1 on 1 play

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Pretty equal. Nylander bailing out from the physical play in the playoffs does raise concerns though.
But I think he will learn from this and if the Leafs can get a better mix of forwards his lack of physical play will be less of an issue. Offensive skill is definitely there.

 

[The List Of Jericho]

11 more goals and higher ppg this season in 6 less games.

The PPG argument was already proven wrong and your dude hasn’t even scored yet in the playoffs.

 

[wabagee]

just wondering how you see positional value with Nylander having the potential to move to center

I agree with your assessment, I guess the poll section is set up for people to get defensive and argue but there's a lot of pissing match here for the sake of "mine is better than yours", not like these guys are ever going to compete in 1 on 1 play

The guy was drafted years ago and he still doesn't play center. Why keep bringing it up? Most teams have a great winger who could step up!

 

[Iapyi]

The guy was drafted years ago and he still doesn't play center. Why keep bringing it up? Most teams have a great winger who could step up!

Nylander sure doesn't look like an NHL centre to me, some TML fans seem adamant about it but I think it's probably just something they said once and now they don't want to admit they were wrong.

 

[The List Of Jericho]

Nylander sure doesn't look like an NHL centre to me, some TML fans seem adamant about it but I think it's probably just something they said once and now they don't want to admit they were wrong.

Babcock played him at centre quite a few times and things didn’t go too badly. His defensive game needs work which is why Babcock doesn’t leave him at centre for long stretches of the season, doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the future though.

 

[Iapyi]

Babcock played him at centre quite a few times and things didn’t go too badly. His defensive game needs work which is why Babcock doesn’t leave him at centre for long stretches of the season, doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the future though.

It might happen in the future but I doubt it, Nylander is not NHL centre material in my opinion, sure that might change but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

just wondering how you see positional value with Nylander having the potential to move to center

If he does, then it would add some to his value, but not as much as some posters like to think. I'm just not sure about that move though. Playing C in the NHL requires a player to be engaged down low defensively, responsible, cover the slot, and engage in more board battles, etc.. I'm not sure that's the best use of Nylander, really fits his game, and using him that way "may" take away some of what makes him good. Nylander is so good in open space, coming up the zone with the puck, entering the zone and finding open guys. He does that very, very well from the wing and can fly the zone a little from the wing, but would we see less of that if he is the center, who is typically down low when in their own zone? That's the trade-off. I guess we won't know until he plays it full time.

A lot of Canes fans are convinced that Aho will be moved to C full time because the prior coach/GM said he was going to be a center and he finished the last 10 or so games of the season at C and looked pretty good doing it. Even though Aho is more physical, gets more engaged and doesn't shy away from board battles as much, I'm still not convinced it's the best use of his talent.

 

[DrJustice]

If he does, then it would add some to his value, but not as much as some posters like to think. I'm just not sure about that move though. Playing C in the NHL requires a player to be engaged down low defensively, responsible, cover the slot, and engage in more board battles, etc.. I'm not sure that's the best use of Nylander, really fits his game, and using him that way "may" take away some of what makes him good. Nylander is so good in open space, coming up the zone with the puck, entering the zone and finding open guys. He does that very, very well from the wing and can fly the zone a little from the wing, but would we see less of that if he is the center, who is typically down low when in their own zone? That's the trade-off. I guess we won't know until he plays it full time.

A lot of Canes fans are convinced that Aho will be moved to C full time because the prior coach/GM said he was going to be a center and he finished the last 10 or so games of the season at C and looked pretty good doing it. Even though Aho is more physical, gets more engaged and doesn't shy away from board battles as much, I'm still not convinced it's the best use of his talent.

It probably depends on the system of each team just as much as the player.

A guy like Drouin is not suited for the two-way type of top-6 center Claude Julien is going to want and has had success with in the NHL (Bergeron/Krejci)

If he was was in a system that's a little more run-and-gun like the Islanders that doesn't place as much defensive responsibility he'd probably have had much better results.

Now I don't know what system the Canes are going to run or what their overall team will look like, but I do agree that they should prioritize putting Aho where he will be the most successful than trying to fill a certain hole in their lineup.

 

[Randy Randerson]

The guy was drafted years ago and he still doesn't play center. Why keep bringing it up? Most teams have a great winger who could step up!

He does play center, and did at every level on his way up. It keeps getting brought up because it's still a very relevant topic, being that the team is probably losing 2 guys from a deep center position so there might be a chance for him to make a move to center full time

If he does, then it would add some to his value, but not as much as some posters like to think. I'm just not sure about that move though. Playing C in the NHL requires a player to be engaged down low defensively, responsible, cover the slot, and engage in more board battles, etc.. I'm not sure that's the best use of Nylander, really fits his game, and using him that way "may" take away some of what makes him good. Nylander is so good in open space, coming up the zone with the puck, entering the zone and finding open guys. He does that very, very well from the wing and can fly the zone a little from the wing, but would we see less of that if he is the center, who is typically down low when in their own zone? That's the trade-off. I guess we won't know until he plays it full time.

A lot of Canes fans are convinced that Aho will be moved to C full time because the prior coach/GM said he was going to be a center and he finished the last 10 or so games of the season at C and looked pretty good doing it. Even though Aho is more physical, gets more engaged and doesn't shy away from board battles as much, I'm still not convinced it's the best use of his talent.

I think a guy being a definite center adds quite a bit of value, there's just so many teams that need high end centers

I do agree on the assessment of Nylander in particular, that clean zone entry down the right wing with enough speed to back defenders off then circling back on a quick cut to open up space for a pass is something we don't want to lose. He and Matthews are already fairly position fluid during play though, Nylander will take the center assignment if he's in better position to do so, so I'd like to see them give him a try there at some point. I think there's guys who pull off playing center in the NHL without a ton of physical engagement too, like Michael Backlund, so as long as the speed and positioning is there I think there's hope for guys like Aho and Nylander without having to reinvent their game physically. I'm sure the Canes fans are clamoring for Aho to stick there, a home grown #1C seems like it would be a godsend

 

[dangomon]

The fact is Connor is younger than Nylander and was better as a rookie than Nylander was as a second year NHL player. Fact

Consistency is the hardest thing in the NHL. Lots of people have career years (not saying Connor will never beat this), but few the best continue year after year. I take production over projection every time, 135 beats 62 no matter how old they are.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

He does play center, and did at every level on his way up. It keeps getting brought up because it's still a very relevant topic, being that the team is probably losing 2 guys from a deep center position so there might be a chance for him to make a move to center full time


I think a guy being a definite center adds quite a bit of value, there's just so many teams that need high end centers

Yeah, what I meant though, was that if playing C, takes away some production, then the value isn't as great for him being a C. All depends on how a player is as a C vs. a W. The rest I agree with though.

 

[Randy Randerson]

Yeah, what I meant though, was that if playing C, takes away some production, then the value isn't as great for him being a C. All depends on how a player is as a C vs. a W. The rest I agree with though.

ya for sure, if either guy can play center but it drops their production significantly I'd rather have the more productive winger version. Still worth a try on both fronts

 

[Namikaze Minato]

Yeah, what I meant though, was that if playing C, takes away some production, then the value isn't as great for him being a C. All depends on how a player is as a C vs. a W. The rest I agree with though.

ya for sure, if either guy can play center but it drops their production significantly I'd rather have the more productive winger version. Still worth a try on both fronts

you also have to consider the difference in QOC that would come with a move from W to C. Linemates are likely less talented points wise, more defensive responsibilities but also the QOC comes down vastly vs playing on the top line. It would be an interesting exchange .

 

[teravaineSAROS]

Jets fan taking Nylander

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

you also have to consider the difference in QOC that would come with a move from W to C. Linemates are likely less talented points wise, more defensive responsibilities but also the QOC comes down vastly vs playing on the top line. It would be an interesting exchange .

Very True. If Nylander is a C on the Leafs, Matthews remains the top line, thus the focus of other team's "shut down" players and Kadri's line would take the toughest assignments trying to shut down the other team's top players. It may mean more favorable match-ups, at least short term.

 

[Randy Randerson]

you also have to consider the difference in QOC that would come with a move from W to C. Linemates are likely less talented points wise, more defensive responsibilities but also the QOC comes down vastly vs playing on the top line. It would be an interesting exchange .

ya, lots of moving parts in QoC, QoT and how the change in positioning would affect him doing the things he does well. Even if he proves that he can be a center we might decide he fits better on RW with that zone entry ability, but it's worth trying to see what happens. Looks like the organizational wing depth will be good enough for all the centers to have at least decent linemates so I don't think we'd be spreading ourselves too thin

 

[The List Of Jericho]

See what happens when you talk trash about another player....the goal scoring machine shoots blanks lol. Learn your lessons

 

[The List Of Jericho]

Tonight was certainly a good showing of the type of player Nylander is. A couple second assists, a couple of bad defensive plays that lead to goals against, soft throughout and doesn’t show up when needed. Enjoy the draft friend

3 points(no goals) in 9 games and one point against Nashville in 4. Been a ghost....let’s hear and see ya spin this.

 

[olli]

3 points(no goals) in 9 games and one point against Nashville in 4. Been a ghost....let’s hear and see ya spin this.

BREAKING NEWS! A YOUNG PLAYER IS IN A BIT OF SLUMP!

 

[The List Of Jericho]

BREAKING NEWS! A YOUNG PLAYER IS IN A BIT OF SLUMP!

And Nylander is 30 years old all of a sudden? Hypocritical. The hilarious part is Nylander produced more in 7 games than Connor has in 9 and the games being massively high scoring for the most part. Connor is doing his best JVR impression, ghost city.

 

[The List Of Jericho]

You'll earn a respect for Connor and see it's not even close in comparison.

Haha....oh boy.

 

[kylbaz]

Haha....oh boy.

I can admit he hasn't done much at all. Pretty disappointing.

 

[The List Of Jericho]

I can admit he hasn't done much at all. Pretty disappointing.

Well at least you can admit it, young guys aren’t use to the grind of the NHL playoffs and it takes a few years for them to really know what it takes.