McDavid vs. Eichel watch

[rataylor22]

John Shannon ‏@JSportsnet 6 hours ago

One scout told me last night that the gap between McDavid and Eichel has widened considerably. On Eichel: "He's a good 2nd pick"

Can we end this silliness now?

[Axeman33]

Can we end this silliness now?

Why, because one scout said this? One scout????

[rataylor22]

Why, because one scout said this? One scout????

It was silly to begin with. But of course the gap is wider now.

[Axeman33]

It was silly to begin with. But of course the gap is wider now.

Again, because one scout said the gap is wider, you assume this to be gospel? I am sure you will find other scouts who will say the opposite.

Until the draft happens, I don't think any of us will truly know how close or how big of a gap there really is and even then, we probably will never really know.

McDavid is who we think he is. If you want to crown his ass then crown his ass but he is who we think he is. LOL!

[mister_mcgoo]

I don't see why you would dismiss out of hand the idea that McDavid is on Crosby's level for their draft eligible year.

His OHL pt/gp is tracking well if he can keep it up (2.83 to Sid's 2.71, needs to maintain), and obviously he put up a similar point total at the WJC (caveats: Crosby is a later birthday and that was a strong WJC team).

You could argue that McDavid only really looked "dominant" in one of those games, and I'd agree with you, but then Crosby was not the go-to guy on the 2005 team either.

I base it purely on what I've seen on the ice. Crosby was the best player I'd seen since Lemieux, McDavid looks really good but he looks really good in the same way that MacKinnon or Tavares or Stamkos all looked really good at that age.

[Big Ev]

lmao rataylor22 says we shouldn't listen to the stupid scouts who picked Eichel over McDavid in october, but we should now listen to this one scout who said the gap is huge. HYPOCRITICAL MUCH EH RA

[Bomm Bastic]

We're all talking about some ambiguous difference. If McDavid is so clearly ahead of Eichel then why? Hockey IQ? Size? Skating ability? Which tangible factor or factors is it that puts McDavid so clearly ahead of Eichel??

I've heard the argument could be made Eichel is much closer to McDavid than we give him credit cuz he's putting his stats up versus men. Not saying that's true...I'm no scout. But I want to hear from the ardent McDavid supporters.

...what w/being a prospective owner and all.

[doulos]

We're all talking about some ambiguous difference. If McDavid is so clearly ahead of Eichel then why? Hockey IQ? Size? Skating ability? Which tangible factor or factors is it that puts McDavid so clearly ahead of Eichel??

I've heard the argument could be made Eichel is much closer to McDavid than we give him credit cuz he's putting his stats up versus men. Not saying that's true...I'm no scout. But I want to hear from the ardent McDavid supporters.

...what w/being a prospective owner and all.

It sounds like the answer to that is 'everything'. What makes these players so great is the fact that they are elite goalscorers as well as passers. That they have exceptional maturity on the ice. The whole package.

"Central Scouting has a philosophy for ranking players which is very subjective and it's not always easy to reach a consensus especially when discussing such elite caliber [players], but our consensus vote at midterm is that Connor McDavid is ranked ahead of Jack Eichel," he said. "McDavid possesses a natural quickness, an ultra-quickness if you will, in all areas of his game that sets him apart from the pack. Whether it's skating quickness, speed and agility or his hands, passing and shooting, or his anticipation, awareness and reaction time; all these components of his game are performed with a quickness that at times is truly amazing, and that ability places him in the company of [Wayne] Gretzky and [Sidney] Crosby.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=749011

This is the stuff that Central Scouting is saying. Are they infallible? Certainly not. It's looking like they may have whiffed on Yakupov a little bit (based on the hype ... though it was nowhere close to this level), but this kind of stuff sums him up. He does it all.

I'm no scout. I know nothing about these guys except what I read, and minimal viewings (and since I've never played hockey at a high level, I realize my viewings are probably not worth much), but with only a few exceptions, McDavid is consistently touted as being THE guy, with Eichel being the type of guy that probably goes #1 in almost any other draft year (I've heard things like Modano being thrown around ... that's probably more due to the American thing, but still...).

The top end of this draft is just so stupid good. You have a guy like Dylan Strome who's numbers at one point not too long ago, WITHOUT McDavid, were close to Taylor Halls, and he is ranked 7th by ISS. It's going to be so fun to watch over the next few years. I can't wait.

[Bomm Bastic]

Thanks for that, doulos. I'm excited too, both as a Sabres fan and as a dynasty GM in first year rebuild currently sitting in last place.

Little shout out to the Oilers; great win last night boys!! Get er done, baby!!

Arizona? Your six game losing streak impresses no one so just cut that crap out.

[havanablast21]

......
The top end of this draft is just so stupid good. You have a guy like Dylan Strome who's numbers at one point not too long ago, WITHOUT McDavid, were close to Taylor Halls, and he is ranked 7th by ISS. It's going to be so fun to watch over the next few years. I can't wait.

Agreed. it does appear to be stupid good. And it will be interesting, immediately following the McEichel #1/#2 picks, how the hype continues/decreases for players that would be far more hyped in a different draft. Furthermore, will be interesting to see how the top 10 draftees perform (compared to one another) once each hits their parent club and how accurate the prognosticators were in their ranking.

I'm definitely engaged.

[JagrBomb]

I feel like this draft is so good that it has to be rigged, just like the Crosby draft.

I can't wait to replace my awful phaneuf jersey with a new mcdavid one

[Big Ev]

Good top end for sure but big gap after the big two. It's kind of like 2011.

[mister_mcgoo]

That brings up a good question, where do you guys see the gaps in the 1st round where it falls off to the next level?

McDavid
Eichel
...
Hanifin
Strome
Kylington
Zacha
Crouse
...
?



Strome

[doulos]

I think you'll get a lot of different responses there.

McDavid

Eichel

Hanifin/Crouse/Strome

Rantanen/Kylington/Marner

After that it's a hodge podge. But who knows.

[Feadur]

I'd tier them as follows. If you're picking 3rd, and can trade down to 5th and upgrade somewhere else, I'd do it. no much difference between players in the same tier.

McDavid (God tier)

Eichel (Best consolation prize since Malkin or Seguin)

Hanifin (Aaron Ekblad at 3rd overall. excellent skater.)
Strome (6'3" AND a beast in production)
Marner (small, but the OHL's leading scorer. that ain't nuthin, especially at his age.)

Crouse (big and plays like it. all-rounder but not much production at this level yet)
Zacha (killer speed and underutilized shot to go with excellent playmaking)
Kylington (elite smooth-skating D. high upside)
Konecny (VERY impressive at the CHL top prospects game)
Barzal (hearing very good things overall)
Werenski (very impressive at the WJC)


P.S. for those wondering, those 3 scouts that had Eichel ahead of McDavid in September or whatevever have changed their mind. 10/10 scouts have rated McDavid #1.