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Laine v Matthews

zeke

zeke

Well-known member
All you prospect pros give it your best analysis.

Having only seen snippets my opinion is limited.

Matthews - safer pick, two way center, older prospect, no major weaknesses, no huge tools, hoping for an yzerman or tavares or something like that.

Laine - huge tools, potential weaknesses in skating and two way play, younger prospect, not a center, hoping for a jagr or kovalchuk type upside.


now you go.
 
They are both unreal talents.

Matthews put up the best 17 year old season for an American ever in their development program last year. Better than Kessel, better than Eichel, better than Kane, better than everyone. He followed that by leading the Swiss league in goals per game, and finishing 2nd in points per game as an 18 year old. His 1.28 ppg were the best season by a teenager in the NLA by a shit tonne (2nd place belonging to Luca Rossetti with 0.94 ppg in 1974). He is big, he is strong, he has elite eveything you could thing of. Hockey IQ, skating, shot, passing, vision, compete level. He does it all. His favourite player is Jonathan Toews, and he models his game after him. Centers were always important in hockey, but centers that are elite without the puck have becoming one of the major driving forces for all good teams. IMO you have to take him first. Even if you think Laine is more gifted with the puck on his stick (which I don't think you can accurately say anyway) Matthews overall impact on the game is more important.

Laine is the best 17 year old goal scoring prospect I can remember seeing. At least since Tavares/Stamkos, which was a long time ago now. His shot is unreal. He is a 6'4 monster. He handles the puck at an elite level. He has those natural goal scoring instincts, that are apparent when you watch him play. His production in the first half of the season was a little disappointing but he finsihed the year with 35 points in his last 41 games including the playoffs and by the end of the season was the most dominant player in the Finish Elite League. His skating could be better, but I also think its the same issue scouts have with every big player. The stride is awkward but he gets around the ice. Speed and agility aren't much of a concern. He is a guy that has 400-500 goals written all over him.

And we really shouldn't look over Puljujarvi either. Like Laine he started off slow but finished with 25 points in 29 games. He put up one of the best U20 tournaments ever. Not just for a 17 year old. All of his production prior to this year was tops all time for his age group. He is big, he is an elite skater, he can make plays at top speed, he can score goals. He's not as flashy as Laine, and he is probably a step or two behind the top 2, but the guy is a great prospect too.
 
This thread is a throwback.

One of the ways I think the board has become a bit shit is every topic gets lumped into these massive catch-all threads now. The Season Thread, Draft Thread, Prospect Thread, Off season Thread, Playoff Thread. I realize it's a product of the team being so shit for so long, but I miss the days where if a topic popped in to someone's head or there was news big enough, it got it's own thread.

I think it creates more focused discussion, and has the added benefit of if you're away from the board for a few days you don't have to sift through 15 pages of posts in The Offseason Thread to find discussions you're interested in.

Alright now that I've contributed nothing to this topic, carry on...
 
WellPlayed said:
This thread is a throwback.

One of the ways I think the board has become a bit shit is every topic gets lumped into these massive catch-all threads now. The Season Thread, Draft Thread, Prospect Thread, Off season Thread, Playoff Thread. I realize it's a product of the team being so shit for so long, but I miss the days where if a topic popped in to someone's head or there was news big enough, it got it's own thread.

I think it creates more focused discussion, and has the added benefit of if you're away from the board for a few days you don't have to sift through 15 pages of posts in The Offseason Thread to find discussions you're interested in.

Alright now that I've contributed nothing to this topic, carry on...
Click to expand...

I like the catch-all threads since there's only one place to go for info, but yeah, there's no arguments. Once the teams start getting better, hopefully we can get back to the nice debates of the past. Oh, Markov vs Kaberle, or Higgins vs Wellwood, how I miss thee.
 
UWHabs said:
I like the catch-all threads since there's only one place to go for info, but yeah, there's no arguments. Once the teams start getting better, hopefully we can get back to the nice debates of the past. Oh, Markov vs Kaberle, or Higgins vs Wellwood, how I miss thee.
Click to expand...

Vaguely remember this... i believe we were both saying the other teams prospect was more shit than our own shit prospect lol

In this Draft I don't think their is much discussion on #1, 2 or 3... but 4-9 is where it gets interesting.
 
There isn't really a debate here. Matthews is the better prospect. Laine will be great too but Matthews is the only legitimate sure-fire franchise changer in this draft.
 
less navelgazing, more info.

interesting mizzi - Laine is significantly younger, and just deservedly won playoff mvp after dominating and leading his team to the championship, and dominated the 2nd half after starting on the 3rd line in the 1st half - and his highlight reel makes it move. a lot.

is matthews that surefire a stud? is he a better prospect than tavares or stamkos were?
 
I wonder if this thread would exist if Matthews team wasn't a first round playoff exit.

I get it Laine's team went further and he was big in the playoffs. It's almost like when people get all crazy over young prospects having a good WJC and ranking said player higher than he maybe should of been.

Matthews is still better imo.
 
zeke said:
less navelgazing, more info.

interesting mizzi - Laine is significantly younger, and just deservedly won playoff mvp after dominating and leading his team to the championship, and dominated the 2nd half after starting on the 3rd line in the 1st half - and his highlight reel makes it move. a lot.

is matthews that surefire a stud? is he a better prospect than tavares or stamkos were?
Click to expand...

Better is tough to say, but Matthews is that level. He is as surefire of a stud as it gets.
 
if the habs get mathews then mathews is the best
if the habs get laine then laine is the best
 
USNDTP U18 All Time Scorers
1. Auston Matthews - 60 gp, 55 gls, 116 pts, 1.93 ppg
2. Phil Kessel - 41 gp, 41 gls, 73 pts, 1.78 ppg
3. Clayton Keller - 62 gp, 37 gls, 107 pts, 1.73 ppg
4. Jack Eichel - 53 gp, 38 gls, 87 pts, 1.64 ppg
5. Patrick Kane - 43 gp, 35 gls, 68 pts, 1.58 ppg
6. Sonny Milano - 58 gp, 29 gls, 86 pts, 1.48 ppg
7. Matthew Tkachuk - 65 gp, 38 gls, 96 pts, 1.48 ppg
8. Jeremy Bracco - 65 gp, 30 gls, 94 pts, 1.45 ppg
9. Kieffer Bellows - 62 gp, 50 gls, 81 pts, 1.31 ppg
10. James Van Reimsdyk - 30 gp, 20 gls, 38 pts, 1.27 ppg

Top U24 seasons in NLA since 1995
1. John Tavares - Age 22 - 28 gp, 17 gls, 42 pts, 1.50 ppg
2. Danny Heatley - Age 23 - 16 gp, 14 gls, 24 pts, 1.50 ppg
3. Tyler Seguin - Age 20 - 29 gp, 25 gls, 40 pts, 1.38 ppg
4. Auston Matthews - Age 18 - 36 gp, 24 gls, 46 pts, 1.28 ppg
5. Rick Nash - Age 20 - 44 gp, 27 gls, 47 pts, 1.07 ppg
6. Logan Couture - Age 23 - 22 gp, 7 gls, 23 pts, 1.05 ppg
 
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From what I hear, Matthews is basically the Tavares/Stamkos/Toews level talent, whereas Laine is probably more of a Kane/Nash level talent. Now, certainly Laine has been rocketing up and might develop into a Jagr level, but for all we know Matthews might drop down and "settle" for being an Eric Staal as well.

Especially coming off of the "McEichel" draft, I imagine we're going to keep hearing conversations and comparisons, similar to all the debates previously with Ovechkin vs Crosby (vs Malkin). I really hope the Habs can luck into one of the top-2 spots - if we end up with the 2nd pick, I won't be upset if the Leafs get #1.
 
title "NLA star " scares shit of me
still remember what happened to Simon Gamache, Damien Brunner and Linus Omark
 
EVERY SINGLE YEAR, the hockey media like to hype up the consensus 2nd or 3rd ranked prospect and that he may challenge for the #1 spot. Even in the last draft, when McDavid was clearly the 'can't miss' generational talent, people talked up Eichel as another generational talent, and that he may give McDavid a run for the $$.

1-2-3 will go Matthews, Laine and Puljujarrvi ... there is no question in my mind there won't be any surprises.
 
I'd say Matthews and Laine have similar upsides.

Only difference is:

1. If Matthews has a Tavares-like upside, his floor is pretty much.. Eric Staal or even Mats Sundin in their primes. Laine has a similar level caliber player upside, but his floor is probably a bit lower.. An allstar as opposed to franchise player.

2. Matthews is a center, Laine is a winger. I'll take the center in most cases with all else being equal (which it isn't).
 
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