Samsquanch
Raging Bull Squatch
Both are burly, talented American born wingers that are former 2nd overall picks.
Both have a very similar 0.65ppg career average, and were considered to be star caliber players at times. But both have also suffered from inconsistency issues, are guilty of not using their bodies/size enough, and have had their effort levels called into question on occasion. And while neither of them were "bad" picks - both have been leapfrogged by other players from their draft in any redos.
Bobby had a far better and more impressive start to his career and burst onto the scene at a relatively young age. He had 4 straight 30 goal seasons at one point (with a 71pt/63pt career highs versus 61pts for JVR), and was one of the leagues most valuable young stars. He has the superior playoff numbers over JVR, and was the Sens best forward in their 2017 ECF run.
Simply put, he was the more offensively dangerous player in his prime due to his vision and soft hands, and was less reliant on elite linemates to feed him than JVR always has been imo.
And while JVR had a bad start to his career by comparison, and he was even traded before he really figured it out. Clearly hes playing the back 9 holes of his career at a far better pace than Bobby is right now. And of the two of them, hes been a better top 6 player for the last many number of years.
But if were asking the question of who was the more impressive 2nd OV pick as of today, not who do you think will have the better career eventually (because injuries, a deeply troubled family life/childhood, and eventual substance abuse have all taken their toll on Ryan both physically and mentally) - then who do you go with?
Both have a very similar 0.65ppg career average, and were considered to be star caliber players at times. But both have also suffered from inconsistency issues, are guilty of not using their bodies/size enough, and have had their effort levels called into question on occasion. And while neither of them were "bad" picks - both have been leapfrogged by other players from their draft in any redos.
Bobby had a far better and more impressive start to his career and burst onto the scene at a relatively young age. He had 4 straight 30 goal seasons at one point (with a 71pt/63pt career highs versus 61pts for JVR), and was one of the leagues most valuable young stars. He has the superior playoff numbers over JVR, and was the Sens best forward in their 2017 ECF run.
Simply put, he was the more offensively dangerous player in his prime due to his vision and soft hands, and was less reliant on elite linemates to feed him than JVR always has been imo.
And while JVR had a bad start to his career by comparison, and he was even traded before he really figured it out. Clearly hes playing the back 9 holes of his career at a far better pace than Bobby is right now. And of the two of them, hes been a better top 6 player for the last many number of years.
But if were asking the question of who was the more impressive 2nd OV pick as of today, not who do you think will have the better career eventually (because injuries, a deeply troubled family life/childhood, and eventual substance abuse have all taken their toll on Ryan both physically and mentally) - then who do you go with?
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