Was Crosby the most hyped NHL prospect of all time?

[enviro61]

It's quite simple. Crosby was more dominant in juniors production-wise than Lindros. Crosby was much closer to Wayne and Mario as an offensive prospect than Lindros. There is no bias to hard statistical evidence.

Lindros' draft year - 57 games, 71 goals, 149 points, PPG - 2.61
The next top scorers in the OHL had 128, 125, 122 points. Avg. GF per team - 4.47

Crosby's draft year - 62 games, 66 goals, 168 points - PPG - 2.71
The next top scorers, who weren't Crosby's linemates, in the Q had 108, 97, 90 points. Avg. GF per team - 3.4

It's not really close at all is it.

You 'accidentally' forgot to mention

Lindros 6' 4" approx. 230 lbs with 189 PIM
Crosby 5' 11" approx 185, 84 PIM

Not really close at all is it. Not like those stats matter either, do they???!!!

You also 'accidentally' forgot to mention their playoff stats that year which is dann important in a draft year. Ill say Oops for you.

Lindros GP 16 Goals 18 Assists 20 Points 38 PIM 93
Crosby GP 13 Goals 14 Assists 17 Points 27 PIM 16

Again what year were you born so we can determine if you were around in the Lindros era and a sentient being.

 

[daver]

You 'accidentally' forgot to mention

Lindros 6' 4" approx. 230 lbs with 189 PIM
Crosby 5' 11" approx 185, 84 PIM

Not really close at all is it. Not like those stats matter either, do they???!!!

You also 'accidentally' forgot to mention their playoff stats that year which is dann important in a draft year. Ill say Oops for you.

Lindros GP 16 Goals 18 Assists 20 Points 38 PIM 93
Crosby GP 13 Goals 14 Assists 17 Points 27 PIM 16

Again what year were you born so we can determine if you were around in the Lindros era and a sentient being.

What does their size have to do their offensive production?

And Oops right back at you with those playoff numbers. 14 + 17 = 31 points. They had the same PPG (2.38) even though Crosby played in a much lower scoring league. I guess you 'accidentally' forgot how to add properly and mention the number of games.

Lindros was clearly not on Crosby's level offensively. Not sure what your issue is for someone who apparently is free of bias.

 

[hannes_ko]

There was a book about Eric Lindros published in Finland in 1992. In FINLAND. In 1992. Lindros wasn't in NHL at that point and Finns didn't really know anything about the NHL anyways. Teemu Selänne changed that in 1992-93. No one in Finland knew anything about CHL. So that Lindros hype was crazy. He was more like a member of the New Kids on the Block than a hockey player.

 

[enviro61]

What does their size have to do their offensive production?

And Oops right back at you with those playoff numbers. 14 + 17 = 31 points. They had the same PPG (2.38) even though Crosby played in a much lower scoring league. I guess you 'accidentally' forgot how to add properly and mention the number of games.

Lindros was clearly not on Crosby's level offensively. Not sure what your issue is for someone who apparently is free of bias.

I could be wrong but it was always my understanding that the Q was much more open and free flowing hockey than the OHL or WHL. Hence Mario's crazy stats.

The original post was about hype and much of the hype for Lindros was his size, physicality and his skill set. Look how much time he spent in the penalty box,e he was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. Size back in the day mattered. Lots of little guys who produced in juniors were passed by because of their size and due to the fact their lvl of production in juniors would not translate into a successful professional career against bigger and stronger men.

For the record, I like Crosby and think he is one of the greatest ever.and would argue he would have put up Gretzykyesque stats in the live puck era. Lindros was just a freak of nature who unfortunately had a soft mellon; a loss for all NHL fans.

 

[daver]

I could be wrong but it was always my understanding that the Q was much more open and free flowing hockey than the OHL or WHL. Hence Mario's crazy stats.

The original post was about hype and much of the hype for Lindros was his size, physicality and his skill set. Look how much time he spent in the penalty box,e he was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. Size back in the day mattered. Lots of little guys who produced in juniors were passed by because of their size and due to the fact their lvl of production in juniors would not translate into a successful professional career against bigger and stronger men.

For the record, I like Crosby and think he is one of the greatest ever.and would argue he would have put up Gretzykyesque stats in the live puck era. Lindros was just a freak of nature who unfortunately had a soft mellon; a loss for all NHL fans.

I know the hype. I think his scoring prowess was way overhyped. He was an Art Ross threat to go along with being the biggest and meanest player on the ice but did not show the offensive upside that Crosby did. He literally was nipping at Mario's heals in the Q once scoring levels are factored in.

 

[Puck Dogg]

With Lindros, NHL changed their rules and awarded first pick of the draft to Nordiques when it should've gone to expansion Sharks. He then went on to play in Canada Cup team without any NHL games under his belt. He was traded for five players, draft pick and 15 million of cash. (Or six players, if you count in Simon who was part of future considerations).

Yeah, I'd say Lindros was way more hyped than Crosby was.

 

[justafan22]

Crosby > mcdavid for hype despite social media being huge for mcdavid. Mcdavid only became "mcdavid" 2 years out from his draft, and wasn't really until the 2013-14 season when people started to hype him up. Crosby was hyped up years before he was drafted. Lindros hype (though wasn't alive for it)

 

[The Panther]

There was a book about Eric Lindros published in Finland in 1992. In FINLAND. In 1992. Lindros wasn't in NHL at that point and Finns didn't really know anything about the NHL anyways. Teemu Selänne changed that in 1992-93. No one in Finland knew anything about CHL. So that Lindros hype was crazy. He was more like a member of the New Kids on the Block than a hockey player.

Correct. Here's his 1991 book, published before he was drafted:

And here's his 1992 book... (cynics would say the title aptly sums up his career path):

Once again, everybody in 1991-92 who was vaguely interested in North American sports heard Lindros's name continually. This was not the case for players like Crosby, who were unknown outside of hockey circles.

 

[Bouboumaster]

Imagine Beliveau. They bought the entire league to get him.

That

 

[sanfordn]

All score...all day. Trade in good players just to get Lindros.

My kid brother figured you could buy complete sets after I bought packs and packs and never got him.

That summer, Todd Van Popel Rooki card....was supposed to be great....bust.

 

[Sniper99]

I remember when Score had their Hockey cards released with a certain amount of Lindros OHL cards packed in. Every kid I knew was buying those.

I traded in $12 worth of doubles in one of my donruss baseball card collections at the time for one of those Lindros Generals cards.

I still think Gretzky would have been the most overhyped prospect. I had a tape (yes kids tape on VHS) Wayne Gretzky: Above and Beyond and they would talk about how Gretzky was pretty much rented out by different teams at a time as a kid. He would finish up one game and then was rushed from one game to another.

 

[Dustin]

I traded in $12 worth of doubles in one of my donruss baseball card collections at the time for one of those Lindros Generals cards.

I still think Gretzky would have been the most overhyped prospect. I had a tape (yes kids tape on VHS) Wayne Gretzky: Above and Beyond and they would talk about how Gretzky was pretty much rented out by different teams at a time as a kid. He would finish up one game and then was rushed from one game to another.

Bought the whole set twice....lol

The only reason I am reticent to use Gretzky as while he was basically considered a savant with the puck there was still chatter as to whether he was big enough to play in the NHL. The seventies were wrapping up and it was a very tough and physical league to play in at the time.

I know most of my friends and I just expected Lindros' to enter the league as the best player due to his size advantage and his ability to score. While I think Lindros had a great career that would have been even better without the injuries, I doubt even a healthy Lindros would ever have lived up to the expectations that were set before him. He was being called "The Next One" before he even played a game in the NHL.

 

[Kunta Kinte]

Crosby hands down.

The fact that his draft was after a lockout with nothing to talk for 1 year..he had an amazing coverage. He had a similar treatment in Canada that James in the US.