Fair enough. I always respect and enjoy your break down of prospects.
Their's just something about Monahan that screams future star to me. I was/am a huge Couture fan but I think Monahan might have more pazzaz as he continues to develop.
But hey, whats the point about making predictions when a kid is this young if their's no risk you could look like an idiot in a few years
I like Monahan as well, and am really excited to see how he develops the next two years, but I think part of it is the element of surprise. Monahan didn't arrive last year with anywhere near the hype of a 16-year old Couture, or even Toffoli or Cuma for that matter. I mean Monahan wasn't even in the conversation as an OHL first rounder for most of his draft year, so expectations were fairly low when he arrived in Ottawa. The way he came on over the year I think got people pretty excited, and rightly so, about his development trajectory, which looked straight up.
Anyways, it's not really an important conversation, Couture, Toffoli vs. Monahan, the key is that Monahan is obviously a far better prospect than was thought 18 months ago, which makes him really intriguing player. The book was always out on Couture - high end hockey sense and vision, and needs work on his skating and consistency.
Monahan's a bit of a different player. I was blown away with how strong he was down low and how heads-up he was below the circles for a player that age. He was better in the zone than off the rush, so I'm interested to see how his game evolves in terms of carrying the puck and being a central playmaker. The package is intriguing, because he's bigger than Couture or Toffoli and has a more well-rounded package than Toffoli at least, but I'm not convinced he's got first line center potential at the NHL level (at least not any moreso than anybody was with Couture). I'm not sure Monahan's game is dynamic enough, or that his vision and hockey sense will make him that kind of playmaker.
In any event, hopefully he lights it up at this tournament. It was a real boost to Toffoli's confidence a few years ago when he played on a line with Seguin at the U17s (although some of the momentum was lost when Byrne tried him at center).
