Nikolaj Ehlers vs William Nylander

[WetcoastOrca]

Not saying I disagree with you, but Point missed 3 regular season games, Nylander started playing at the beginning of December.

Fair point. ( no pun intended)
But Point was also coming off an injury where he couldn’t even train while Nylander could and did practice.

 

[7even]

Are they?

Nylander at .68 PPG, Ehlers .67. Again, pretty identical, but the slightest edge to Nylander in terms of production.

They've been pretty much the same player their entire careers, I don't get the obsession with rehashing who's better every 4 months

 

[typicalsavage]

Fair point. ( no pun intended)
But Point was also coming off an injury where he couldn’t even train while Nylander could and did practice.

I agree that Leafs fans using the late start is a bs excuse for his atrocious year, but practice is a whole lot different from games. The whole league has been warmed up for 3 months while he starts fresh. Hes at a big disadvantage, but again I don't think thats the reason for Nylander's awful year. More likely Nylander just did a terrible job preparing for the year.

 

[Ryan Michaels]

It's funny how both Matthews and Nylander had horrible linemates last season so they were not able to produce. Yet according to Leafs fans they have 2nd best forward group in the league?

Both of Nylanders mentioned linemates are gone now and Nylander himself, a player we hope for 60-70 from played like crap. Matthews played with 2nd/3rd line tweeners at best and was not "unable to produce," the only time we pointed out his poor linemates was before Marner signed and every non-Leaf wanted to shove him down our throats as the best player....while he played with JT and Matthews played with the guy currently sandbagging Marner. It just gets tiresome when y'all are the resident Leaf experts, I don't know if they have the league's second best forward core, and frankly I don't care but we just prefer our franchise center gets at least the 4th best forward on our team as a linemate, as he does now.

Doubt you're even trying to make much a point but the forward core can still be elite even though last year we had two third liners playing over their heads, you know this teams claim is mostly on top end talent. And yeah, Matthews absolutely had some of the worst linemates for a player of his level last season. Full stop. Looking good with Willy so far, so we'll see how it goes.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Are they?

Nylander at .68 PPG, Ehlers .67. Again, pretty identical, but the slightest edge to Nylander in terms of production.

Ehlers played an entire season in his D+2. I’m pretty sure if you just did raw points per game at age 20, age 21, etc. that Ehlers would come just slightly ahead at every age. And a slightly larger portion of Ehlers’ points come as goals.

 

[Menzinger]

Not really. Many Leaf fans gave Nylander a complete pass for last season because he missed training camp and part of the season. We’ve just seen Braydon Point miss training camp and come in with three points in his first game. The myth that Nylander’s last season’s poor play should be ignored does not stand up to scrutiny.

Nylander had a poor forst 10ish games, last season, and his underlying analytics remained strong from that point. He just got killed by an absurdly low sh%, and that he got linemates with stone hands for most of.the remaining games. Every player is different-especially young ones. it's hardly unprecdented that a younger player having an uneven season, especially after missing almost half of it.

The simple truth is those that understood Nylanders abilities are going to be proven right as he looks poised to have an absolutely monster of a season. Those taking pot shots at the guy with superficial criticisms are going to look more embarrassing with each passing game

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Nylander had a poor forst 10ish games, last season, and his underlying analytics remained strong from that point. He just got killed by an absurdly low sh%, and that he got linemates with stone hands for most of.the remaining games. Every player is different-especially young ones. it's hardly unprecdented that a younger player having an uneven season, especially after missing almost half of it.

The simple truth is those that understood Nylanders abilities are going to be proven right as he looks poised to have an absolutely monster of a season. Those taking pot shots at the guy with superficial criticisms are going to look more embarrassing with each passing game

That’s a whole lot of excuses for a poor season. He may or may not rebound this year. But the fact is he played poorly most of last year and he’d probably be the first to admit it.
His defenders will attempt to excuse last year and his detractors will say it’s who he is.
The truth is as usual probably in the middle.

 

[Menzinger]

That’s a whole lot of excuses for a poor season. He may or may not rebound this year. But the fact is he played poorly most of last year and he’d probably be the first to admit it.
His defenders will attempt to excuse last year and his detractors will say it’s who he is.
The truth is as usual probably in the middle.

Or, two seasons of excellent play for a rookie and sophomore vs 1 season of uneven play after missing half the year. Wouldn't call that an equal balance - not by a long shot.

Particularly given how hes played so far this year but feel free to keep undervaluing him. We'll see whose right by seasons end

 

[MoreMogilny]

Ok now run the numbers after their rookie seasons. All this shows is that Ehlers was a slower starter than Nylander. That has no bearing on where the players are now. Ehlers has had better numbers since their rookie years.
As I said I think both are close but one guy plays with Auston Matthews and the other guy puts up slightly more points or even if you include their rookie years they are basically equal.

I only followed what you qualified when you said “throughout their careers”. I didn’t realize that meant you had to exclude a portion of one players’ career in order to make the numbers say what you want. Besides, both guys had down years last year, preceded by two 60 point seasons the years prior. They are very comparable players, still.

Also Nylander has spent a considerable amount of time away from Matthews as he’s a Babcock favourite to shuffle around when things get tough.

Anyways, my original point was only responding saying that “AINEC” made no sense and that we are in agreement on anyways.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Or, two seasons of excellent play for a rookie and sophomore vs 1 season of uneven play after missing half the year. Wouldn't call that an equal balance - not by a long shot.

Particularly given how hes played so far this year but feel free to keep undervaluing him. We'll see whose right by seasons end

I don’t under value him.
He was dreadful last year and that’s simply a fact. No excuses can deny that. Lots of players miss time because of injuries where they can’t even train and are still productive when they return. You just saw Brayden Point the other night.
As I said he’s close to Ehlers but Ehlers has the edge since their rookie year imo.

 

[MoreMogilny]

Ehlers played an entire season in his D+2. I’m pretty sure if you just did raw points per game at age 20, age 21, etc. that Ehlers would come just slightly ahead at every age. And a slightly larger portion of Ehlers’ points come as goals.

If Ehlers comes slightly ahead at every single age, how does Nylander still have a higher career PPG? That doesn’t add up.

Either way, the post I quoted stated that Ehlers numbers are better “throughout their careers” which isn’t accurate, and was my whole point. The difference is minuscule and they are just about as equal as possible in career production.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I don't get why Nylander doesn't score more goals. Dude's got a nice shot. I get that he seems to have a playmaker's mindset, but at the same time he should be consistently a threat to score around 30 goals with that shot.

 

[Incognito]

Ehlers AINEC.

Shame nylander didn’t pan out at centre.

There's nothing wrong with choosing Ehlers here, but saying AINEC makes you look foolish. It is, in fact, very close.

 

[Gurilla]

Both are basically the same players, one seems to get hot when the other gets cold. Been this way since they entered the league. That being said for me isit Ehlers because he has been more consistent.

 

[heretik27]

If Ehlers comes slightly ahead at every single age, how does Nylander still have a higher career PPG? That doesn’t add up.

Either way, the post I quoted stated that Ehlers numbers are better “throughout their careers” which isn’t accurate, and was my whole point. The difference is minuscule and they are just about as equal as possible in career production.

Ehlers came into the league at a younger age whereas Nylander played in the AHL and tore it up there. Thus, a month and a half of playing with the likes of Chris Thorburn and Alex Burmistrov (if memory serves me right) did a number on Ehlers offensive totals. I think that was in Ehlers rookie season, but I could be wrong and it might have been year two. Regardless, he jumped right up into the NHL whereas Nylander did more developing down in the AHL. That's why two similarly talented players can have differing PPG totals.

 

[Menzinger]

I don’t under value him.
He was dreadful last year and that’s simply a fact. No excuses can deny that. Lots of players miss time because of injuries where they can’t even train and are still productive when they return. You just saw Brayden Point the other night.
As I said he’s close to Ehlers but Ehlers has the edge since their rookie year imo.

Again, I'd expect somebody who just superficially glanced at boxscores to make such a claim.

 

[Sundinisagod]

I don’t under value him.
He was dreadful last year and that’s simply a fact. No excuses can deny that. Lots of players miss time because of injuries where they can’t even train and are still productive when they return. You just saw Brayden Point the other night.
As I said he’s close to Ehlers but Ehlers has the edge since their rookie year imo.

You look pretty desperate to de value Nylander. Why not just quit while your behind?

 

[Mad Dog Tannen]

You look pretty desperate to de value Nylander. Why not just quit while your behind?

He kind of devalued himself by showing he couldn’t play centre. As far as cost goes 7 mil for 5 more years, isn’t terrible, but I wouldn’t say he’s been playing into that contract.

Eh.ers can drive a line, it was apparent nylander couldn’t. Now he’s benefitting by getting secondaries on Matthews goals. He’s the new zack Hyman.

 

[Sundinisagod]

He kind of devalued himself by showing he couldn’t play centre. As far as cost goes 7 mil for 5 more years, isn’t terrible, but I wouldn’t say he’s been playing into that contract.

Eh.ers can drive a line, it was apparent nylander couldn’t. Now he’s benefitting by getting secondaries on Matthews goals. He’s the new zack Hyman.

I'm not sure where to begin...

 

[The Winter Soldier]

This is one of the most revisited polls going. Both players are fast and skilled, but in the grit department that is necessary to win in the playoffs. Ehlers beats Nylander hands down. Add onto that that Ehlers makes 6M per and Nylander 7M per, it's an easy choice. Give me the skilled player who plays a grittier game over the player that plays a soft game.

Ehlers.

 

[MoreMogilny]

This is one of the most revisited polls going. Both players are fast and skilled, but in the grit department that is necessary to win in the playoffs. Ehlers beats Nylander hands down. Add onto that that Ehlers makes 6M per and Nylander 7M per, it's an easy choice. Give me the skilled player who plays a grittier game over the player that plays a soft game.

Ehlers.

Bringing up the playoffs isn’t a strong argument for Ehlers.

No goals, 7 assists in 21 games isn’t a good look. He may have grit, but he’s not playing that grinding role in the playoffs. A player like Ehlers should be producing in the playoffs, as is his strength.

.33 PPG for Ehlers
.55 PPG for Nylander

Also if you read the poll, it’s asking who the better player is, it doesn’t have anything to do with contracts so that point is irrelevant.

 

[Oilers Propagandist]

So basically this is a poll to see how many fans each of these teams has. I'm guessing Nylander will win, despite Ehlers being better.

Not even true and to be fair this post was in the summer. Let’s be honest here, the largest contingent of fans in this debate are anti leafs fans and while I get plenty of cheap laughs from them, seeing where nylander’s disastrous last season to his play right now is night and day. Nylander is better than Ehlers.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Bringing up the playoffs isn’t a strong argument for Ehlers.

No goals, 7 assists in 21 games isn’t a good look. He may have grit, but he’s not playing that grinding role in the playoffs. A player like Ehlers should be producing in the playoffs, as is his strength.

.33 PPG for Ehlers
.55 PPG for Nylander

Also if you read the poll, it’s asking who the better player is, it doesn’t have anything to do with contracts so that point is irrelevant.

It would be when you have video evidence that supports Nylander is one of the softest and at time least engaged players in the NHL. Look he is a talented player, no one doubts this. But as Hrudy eloquently points out, you have to more more engaged in the playoffs if you want to win in the playoffs.

Suffice to say both players are off to good starts this year after off years. Ehlers 7 pts in 6 games, Nylander 5 points in 6 games, 2 less than Ehlers.

But one area that he is not, is as gritty as Ehlers. Never has been and probably never will be. I prefer this to a player that is soft. And I would take Ehlers even if he was making the same as Nylander, but he isn't, he took a team discount a Million less than Nylander and this just tips it even more in his favour..

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

This will be a lopsided poll. Nylander is so much better than Ehlers now.

Unfortunately, the "delete" option seems to have disappeared...

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Bold you to assume people are going to "eat crow" on a Leafs player and not dream up some dumb new narrative.

Another typical "Alas, woe is us !" post.