Barkov is a hell of a hockey player, but I would think fanbases of ANY team would have a little higher expectations on the impact a number one overall pick can have on a franchise.
Not the realists. The realists are hoping a 1OA can progress the way Barkov has so far. There are always those who gravitate to the new&shiny, but other than that why would you assume something like that just because it was a first overall pick? Granted, Edmonton fans did much the same thing when they were told Yakupov was a weak first overall and many took it personally and they were proven wrong.
No one here is saying Mathews is Yakupov, they are saying he’s a good first overall which as a prospect puts him in the same league guys like Mackinnon, Tavares, Stamkos, Kane and Hall were when they were drafted. At the draft he’d likely have gone ahead of Barkov, but Barkov has elevated his game since so again why are Leaf fans so insecure about the comparison, don’t they know who Barkov is?.
On being told this, Leaf fans are getting defensive, taking it as an insult and calling it hate or jealousy. If you look at that list, it’s anything but. Those are fantiastic hockey players. Eichel may not match them, but as a prospect only McDavid has been better in the last decade, it’s not an insult to suggest Mathews is “only†as good a prospect as Kane or Stamkos.
