Quinton Hughes vs. Adam Boqvist vs. Evan Bouchard vs. Noah Dobson vs. Ty Smith

[Hisch13r]

I'll take that trade any day, and I like Ty Smith but Hughes plays top-line minutes against other teams top lines, Smith does not. Smith will never approach Hughes dynamic offensive play, Hughes is a top 5 NHL offensive producer from the blue line, as a 22 year old. Even if Smith plays well defensively when they stop sheltering his minutes, he will never be the overall player that Hughes is, not even close

I'd trade Smith for Hughes but the idea that he'll never even be close to as good as Hughes is just dumb. Ty also isn't playing sheltered minutes anymore either. In the 6 games since the break he's 2nd on the team in ice time right behind Severson. He has a team leading 58% CF, 2nd in xGF (only behind Maltsev who has played 1/4th the minutes) at 60%, 2nd in SCF (behind Maltsev again) at 65%, 4th in HDCF (behind Maltsev and Carrick/Tennyson who've played 1 game) at 64%. More defensive zone starts than offensive zone starts too. Playing with Severson helps but he's been even better since they've taken the leash off.

 

[Oneiro]

Disagree. I want to see the young skilled guys try things here and there and see what they can get away with. If they make a mistake then so be it. They need to learn what works and what doesn't. The best way to do that is by trying things

I agree and experimentation is a part of the process of learning how to diagnose things. Experience is just being able to recognize and act on something faster. Hence, the fine line.

For me, it's less about safety and more about efficiency. Sometimes that comes with making a play but usually it means not complicating something very simple. There's making a play to create space in the neutral zone and then there's stutter stepping a guy in the corner of your own zone instead of just making the pass you were gonna make without the move. But this is nearly every good young defenseman these days.

 

[Szechwan]

I agree and experimentation is a part of the process of learning how to diagnose things. Experience is just being able to recognize and act on something faster. Hence, the fine line.

For me, it's less about safety and more about efficiency. Sometimes that comes with making a play but usually it means not complicating something very simple. There's making a play to create space in the neutral zone and then there's stutter stepping a guy in the corner of your own zone instead of just making the pass you were gonna make without the move. But this is nearly every good young defenseman these days.

I thought it would take a year to convince me but I would take Ty Smith over Quinn Hughes moving forward. I love Quinn more offensively but Smith is miles better defensively. He has an elite stick defending. Maybe it helps having Severson but that isn't going to change for a long time.

What are you two doing out in the wild? Get back to the stock thread!

 

[Nocashstyle]

Yeah, I mean I love Smith. But Q Hughes is just so dynamic offensively it clearly outweighs any defensive deficiencies. Here’s to hoping Quinn pulls a reverse Niedermayer one day

 

[Hisch13r]

Yeah, I mean I love Smith. But Q Hughes is just so dynamic offensively it clearly outweighs any defensive deficiencies. Here’s to hoping Quinn pulls a reverse Niedermayer one day

The way things are trending we might be on the shitty end again after the Canucks get Luke too

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

BTW we're still 3-4 seasons away from seeing who the best of this class is. It's still early.

 

[voxel]

BTW we're still 3-4 seasons away from seeing who the best of this class is. It's still early.

Yup. It could be Sandin (who was excellent in the AHL games I saw) or K.Miller or Romanov or Lundkvist.

I remember the 2008 D class. Everybody early on was fawning over Luke Schenn, Sbsia, Bogosian, and Tyler Myers (and Doughty of course). Who knew that Carlson, Josi, Pietro, EK65, Spurgeon, Schultz, Gardiner would all surpass them. I remember folks calling Aaron Ness a steal at the time.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I don't get to see the other players much, but I really like what I see from Bouchard. His offensive upside is massive. I get to see Hughes the most out of the rest and he's a very good young D but I wonder how good he'll be on the defensive side of the puck. His skating is there to be a great defensive player, but most young D take time to improve their defensive games (Bouch is no exception to this rule).

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Yup. It could be Sandin (who was excellent in the AHL games I saw) or K.Miller or Romanov or Lundkvist.

I remember the 2008 D class. Everybody early on was fawning over Luke Schenn, Sbsia, Bogosian, and Tyler Myers (and Doughty of course). Who knew that Carlson, Josi, Pietro, EK65, Spurgeon, Schultz, Gardiner would all surpass them. I remember folks calling Aaron Ness a steal at the time.

I know one thing, this was a great draft for quality defensemen. Lots of teams are thrilled with their young defenseman from this draft. We have another quality RHD prospect from this draft named Michael Kesselring. Hopefully he ends up like one of the 2nd grouping that you listed above from this draft.

 

[Nucklehead Supreme]

I have not once compared Dobson to Hughes in this thread or any other thread really. That's all on you.

Plus comparing 2 players playing in vastly different divisions makes no sense to me either.

"Thankfully Dobson will never be a defensive liability like some of the other d-men mentioned in this thread"

I'm sorry but what the hell is that quote if not a comparison, given the context of this entire discussion how are not comparing him to Hughes?

Also how are you not comparing Dobson to players outside his division with the quote too?

Clearly it's you making the comparison and statement here, back yourself up or don't make the comparison.