Nico Hischier vs. Aleksander Barkov

[haak84]

Who do you take going forward? Their 5v5 advanced stats are almost identical since Nico entered the league. Both are top line centers with great scoring and defensive skills. Both draw a tone of penalties while committing very few. Nico is 3.5 years younger and seems to be ahead of where Barkov was at in his development but Barkov does not have the same support that Nico does.

I think Hischier will be a more offensive threat but Barkov might be the more complete player. Nico needs to improve his faceoff ability, become a threat on the PK, and start to drive his line more. I think thats how he'll develop so this should be closer than people might think. Right now it's Barkov but I'm very high on Hischier so I think he will be the better player by his age 23 season.

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[Filthy Dangles]

This isn't even close right now. Hischier has to show more before being compared to Barkov.

 

[haak84]

This isn't even close right now. Hischier has to show more before being compared to Barkov.

Well yeah, thats a big part of it but their advanced stats are very comparable. Hopefully Hischier develops to be a more complete player than he was in his rookie season. He is at a PPG pace right now thanks to his increase in Powerplay time. If Hischier finishes with 70-80 points this season and plays selke level defense than this is a much more interesting discussion. I think that is very possible this season considering how good the Devils top line is and how Nico has developed.

So I think its somewhat close right now when you factor in age and development curve. and should be much closer by year’s end.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Well yeah, thats a big part of it but their advanced stats are very comparable. Hopefully Hischier develops to be a more complete player than he was in his rookie season. He is at a PPG pace right now thanks to his increase in Powerplay time. If Hischier finishes with 70-80 points this season and plays selke level defense than this is a much more interesting discussion. I think that is very possible this season considering how good the Devils top line is and how Nico has developed.

So I think its somewhat close right now when you factor in age and development curve. and should be much closer by year’s end.

Those are two MASSIVE ifs....that Hischer may or may not reach.

Hischier is a really good young player but there is no comparison to be had at this point. The premise here is basically Barkov or someone who could potentially be as good as Barkov....

 

[haak84]

Those are two MASSIVE ifs....that Hischer may or may not reach.

Hischier is a really good young player but there is no comparison to be had at this point. The premise here is basically Barkov or someone who could potentially be as good as Barkov....

Not sure they are so massive considering his development. Nico had a better primary points per 60 last year. He’s on the first powerplay unit this season and already has scored twice as many goals and half as many points as he did on the power play last season. So 70 points is within reach. He should start to gain more shorthanded time over the next few years and he should improve at faceoffs. Barkov was not doing either faceoffs well or on the PK by the time he was Nico’s age either.

I see it as a younger player who is projected to develop at the same pace as Barkov. With potential to exceed that pace. So in 4 years... who would you rather have? I know theyre big ifs but thats why I said moving forward.

 

[The Great Weal]

Are you serious?

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Who do you take going forward? Their 5v5 advanced stats are almost identical since Nico entered the league. Both are top line centers with great scoring and defensive skills. Both draw a tone of penalties while committing very few. Nico is 3.5 years younger and seems to be ahead of where Barkov was at in his development but Barkov does not have the same support that Nico does.

I think Hischier will be a more offensive threat but Barkov might be the more complete player. Nico needs to improve his faceoff ability, become a threat on the PK, and start to drive his line more. I think thats how he'll develop so this should be closer than people might think. Right now it's Barkov but I'm very high on Hischier so I think he will be the better player by his age 23 season.

Barkov started off his NHL career very slow production wise, and timid. And he's still timid, really. Plus he doesn't have a North American hockey player mentality, he doesn't play net focused, he plays like he's on the big ice, thus he doesn't maximize his production or offensive talent nearly as much. And yet, was a top selke contender and near a PPG. Just a couple of reasons why Barkov is not nearly as close to his potential or as developed as people might think, even at his age. He might never develop further, but he hasn't developed as much as people might think.

 

[haak84]

Are you serious?

Yeah, I'm serious. Moreso to bring to light how similar Nico and Barkov were last season + this season at 5v5 play.

	GP	G	A	P	P1	P/60	P1/60	GS/60	iP+/-
Hischier	90	19	27	46	38	2.41	1.99	2.66	27
Barkov	88	15	34	49	34	2.19	1.52	2.65	20

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Thats just a few of the similar stats but checkout corsica.hockey to see more similarities.

 

[haak84]

Barkov started off his NHL career very slow production wise, and timid. And he's still timid, really. Plus he doesn't have a North American hockey player mentality, he doesn't play net focused, he plays like he's on the big ice, thus he doesn't maximize his production or offensive talent nearly as much. And yet, was a top selke contender and near a PPG. Just a couple of reasons why Barkov is not nearly as close to his potential or as developed as people might think, even at his age. He might never develop further, but he hasn't developed as much as people might think.

And the inverse I would say is true for Hischier. He plays a much more NA style than I think people anticipated. He plays net focused and is much stronger on the boards than people had originally thought. He only added about 5-7 pounds of muscle this past offseason but is now noticeably stronger with the puck. This post isn't really a knock on Barkov as much as it is bringing to light what Nico is doing so early in his career.

 

[mouz135]

wOOF. This poll lmao

 

[haak84]

wOOF. This poll lmao

LOL maybe bc Nico didn't put up 8 points in 5 games this poll is laughed at...

 

[DieTomi]

What a stupid poll