C Auston Matthews - ZSC Lions, NLA (2016 Draft) II

[Woll Smoth]

can you say that with 100 percent metaphysical certitude?

Yes.

10A
1OA

 

[VictorLustig]

Matthews will be the #1 pick, period.

Laine and Puljujarvi are great prospects but this guy will be a top 6 forward in the NHL as soon as he's drafted. He's just more of a complete player as of now and his potential is obviously through the roof so there's literally no reason not to pick him.

I said this watching the last U-18 tournament where we went head to head against USA in the finals. Laine and Pulju made stuff happen in the occasional shift but this Matthews guy was scary every time he stepped on the ice.

To start the season PPG in the best league after NHL and KHL makes me not doubt myself.

The thing is NA players are always in a better physical shape than Finnish players at this age which already gives them the edge. It took a freak of nature Barkov who is naturally build like a truck for us to produce an NHL-ready 18 yr old forward. It's going to take years before we will actually see which player is the best, Laine and Pulju look good now but we've all seen what the difference of FEL and NHL is.

Unless we have a superstar prospect going to the CHL before his draft year in the future im going to eat my hat if we'll see a Finnish player picked #1 overall as long as there's prospects like Matthews out there.

Agree with most of this, but the NLA is not the 3rd best league in the world. 6th or possibly 5th I would say.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Agree with most of this, but the NLA is not the 3rd best league in the world. 6th or possibly 5th I would say.

So you're saying the SHL and the AHL are better ? Can't say i agree. Debatable yes but the NLA have the most money to spend and now that hockey has grown in Switzerland i think the teams look very good.

That's a topic for another discussion though.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

So you're saying the SHL and the AHL are better ? Can't say i agree. Debatable yes but the NLA have the most money to spend and now that hockey has grown in Switzerland i think the teams look very good.

That's a topic for another discussion though.

Let's not revive this topic again...

It's not debatable.... SHL is better than NLA there's no point even attempting to dispute this. Last year SHL and Liiga dominated Champions Hockey League

 

[bezdomnyj durak]

So you're saying the SHL and the AHL are better ? Can't say i agree. Debatable yes but the NLA have the most money to spend and now that hockey has grown in Switzerland i think the teams look very good.

That's a topic for another discussion though.

Stop it, that's just too obvious on trying only to provoke Finnish posters on purpose, because that's bull**** and you know it as well.

 

[APVJ]

1.NHL
2.KHL
3.AHL
4.SEL
5.Liiga
6.NLA
7.Extraliga
8.Allsvenskan
9.DEL
10.GET

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Let's not revive this topic again...

It's not debatable.... SHL is better than NLA there's no point even attempting to dispute this. Last year SHL and Liiga dominated Champions Hockey League

There's literally no way Liiga is better.

I don't think the Swiss teams care that much about the CHL. I mean they have much bigger crowds back home in NLA games.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Stop it, that's just too obvious on trying only to provoke Finnish posters on purpose, because that's bull**** and you know it as well.

Actually no. All i care about is i look at the rosters, the games and think that the quality of those games are higher lol. Nothing else to it really.

How many people here actually watch the NLA games ?

 

[swissexpert]

NLA is probably the most attractive league to foreigners, but mostly because of the money, short distances and living standards.
SHL is better than the Swiss League, and I'm a regular watcher of the NLA.

NHL
KHL
SHL
AHL/NLA
Liiga

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

NLA is probably the most attractive league to foreigners, but mostly because of the money, short distances and living standards.
SHL is better than the Swiss League, and I'm a regular watcher of the NLA.

NHL
KHL
SHL
AHL/NLA
Liiga

I completely agree with this.

I was a bit off with the SHL but looking into it afterwards i guess people are right about that one. The last time i watched SHL was when it's level had noticeably dropped.

Anyway the point is Matthews plays in a league that is pretty much the most competitive league outside of NHL and KHL (SHL/AHL/NLA in a big picture the difference isn't much between any of these by any means, they're all just different style of leagues) and he's looking like a stud out there.

The kid is something special for sure.

 

[thomast]

No way NLA is better than liiga. I've been living in finland and switzerland. Have watched dozens of games. NLA top teams might have few shiny names that Liiga teams don't have and teams like Bern and zurich might be on the same level with top teams from liiga but overall depth is nowhere near Liiga. To me it's ridiculous to even think that. That's how far it is from liiga. Depth player in NLA teams(bottom 6 players) and most of the bottom 9 is nowhere near level of liiga player. Closer to Mestis level. Yeah NLA has more star players, it has more star players than SHL teams too but overall depth is poor compared to both of these leagues.

NHL

KHL

SHL
Liiga

AHL/NLA

 

[Plub]

No way NLA is better than liiga. I've been living in finland and switzerland. Have watched dozens of games. NLA top teams might have few shiny names that Liiga teams don't have and teams like Bern and zurich might be on the same level with top teams from liiga but overall depth is nowhere near Liiga. To me it's ridiculous to even think that. That's how far it is from liiga. Depth player in NLA teams(bottom 6 players) and most of the bottom 9 is nowhere near level of liiga player. Closer to Mestis level. Yeah NLA has more star players, it has more star players than SHL teams too but overall depth is poor compared to both of these leagues.

NHL

KHL

SHL
Liiga

AHL/NLA

Early on when Matthew's was still undecided about where he wanted to go, the NLA was being compared to the SHL. People from the area were very confident in say they were comparable with the SHL a bit ahead. However, since Matthews joined the NLA and showed he may bet the best player in the NLA, the NLA has suddenly become a joke league. Not comparable to the SHL. Now it isn't comparable to Liiga.

Is that a coincidence? I find it odd how well spoken of the league (NLA) was until Matthews shined playing in it.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

Early on when Matthew's was still undecided about where he wanted to go, the NLA was being compared to the SHL. People from the area were very confident in say they were comparable with the SHL a bit ahead. However, since Matthews joined the NLA and showed he may bet the best player in the NLA, the NLA has suddenly become a joke league. Not comparable to the SHL. Now it isn't comparable to Liiga.

Is that a coincidence? I find it odd how well spoken of the league (NLA) was until Matthews shined playing in it.

Idk who or where that's been said but as a european it's just obvious to me NLA isnt as good or as competitive as SHL or Liiga. I'm excited for Matthews if he turns out to be about as good as Eichel, but come on...

What's Matthews physical game like?

 

[teravaineSAROS]

There's literally no way Liiga is better.

I don't think the Swiss teams care that much about the CHL. I mean they have much bigger crowds back home in NLA games.

NLA teams dont do as well in Champions Hockey League because they don't care about winning? Well what kind of a competitive league is that then?

That's such a childish statement to be like "it's not like i wanted to win anyway!!"

It's not like SHL or Liiga care more about Champions Hockey League than NLA; it's more of a parenthesis tournament here.

But competitive teams compete

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

NLA teams dont do as well in Champions Hockey League because they don't care about winning? Well what kind of a competitive league is that then?

That's such a childish statement to be like "it's not like i wanted to win anyway!!"

It's not like SHL or Liiga care more about Champions Hockey League than NLA; it's more of a parenthesis tournament here.

But competitive teams compete

I knew you were going to response with something like this, you clearly didn't get the point.

I know for a fact Liiga teams care more. The prize money is very much needed for every single team and can make a big difference going into the next season. Not to mention competing against teams from other countries is a great measurement stick and a chance to improve your game. Finns also take pride in competing their hardest no matter where they play.

It's only natural for the NLA teams not to care as much when you have multiple times more fans watching the NLA (unlike Liiga for example) and money is not that big of a deal.

Im obviously not saying they wouldn't compete and try to win but hockey is a game of inches and if the other team wants it more they have the edge.

No way NLA is better than liiga. I've been living in finland and switzerland. Have watched dozens of games. NLA top teams might have few shiny names that Liiga teams don't have and teams like Bern and zurich might be on the same level with top teams from liiga but overall depth is nowhere near Liiga. To me it's ridiculous to even think that. That's how far it is from liiga. Depth player in NLA teams(bottom 6 players) and most of the bottom 9 is nowhere near level of liiga player. Closer to Mestis level. Yeah NLA has more star players, it has more star players than SHL teams too but overall depth is poor compared to both of these leagues.

NHL

KHL

SHL
Liiga

AHL/NLA

You have Liiga as a better league than AHL, so i can't really take your comment about the NLA seriously.

Sounds like you're just biased.

I don't care if people have different opinions on these 4 leagues but to say any league is far better than the other is just simply wrong.

 

[bezdomnyj durak]

You have Liiga as a better league than AHL, so i can't really take your comment about the NLA seriously.

Sounds like you're just biased.

I don't care if people have different opinions on these 4 leagues but to say any league is far better than the other is just simply wrong.

Yea, it's very obvious that you dont care about other people's opinions. The fact is that only your opinion matters and it's undeniable truth.

 

[TT1]

1. nhl
2. khl
3. ahl/shl
4.nla/liiga

personally i see 4 different tiers

 

[holyprime]

There's an entire thread dedicated in ranking all the leagues:
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1942969

Besides that, the quality of play between SHL/Liiga/NLA doesn't differ that much that Matthews or Laine or whoevers season can't be compared to each other. It isnt really about points for any of them tough.

All i can say after watching a game about Matthews is, that he'll be a very, very good one. He's got everything you want in a hockey player and hasn't looked out of place at all, looks like a standard foreigner signing, not like a kid thats just turned 18. Really impressive.

 

[FlutteringSaucer]

1. nhl
2. khl
3. ahl/shl
4.nla/liiga

personally i see 4 different tiers

The talent in AHL is close to SHL but the level of hockey played is far behind. AHL is a second-tier league that supports NHL and it can be seen in the games.

And I've been disappointed with the NLA's top teams when they've played against SHL and Liiga teams because that's where I thought they could compete. But when the top teams in NLA lose to top teams in Liiga there's no way NLA is better than Liiga. Your average Finnish player is still few steps ahead of average Swiss player so Liiga wins in depth.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

The talent in AHL is close to SHL but the level of hockey played is far behind. AHL is a second-tier league that supports NHL and it can be seen in the games.

And I've been disappointed with the NLA's top teams when they've played against SHL and Liiga teams because that's where I thought they could compete. But when the top teams in NLA lose to top teams in Liiga there's no way NLA is better than Liiga. Your average Finnish player is still few steps ahead of average Swiss player so Liiga wins in depth.

Exactly. NLA being worse doesn't make Matthews bad. But it's silly and insulting to say that NLA only lost to Liiga and SHL teams because "NLA teams didn't want to win anyway". And to the person who said Finnish teams do better in Champions Hockey League because finns are generally more competitive: well that just proves Liiga is the more competitive league, duhh.

 

[IamherefortheFinn]

Some Finns here are badmouthing Matthews because they hope that a Finn will finally be drafted first. I share that wish, but that does not chance the fact that Matthews has had a very impressive start to the season. 2+2 in first 3 games in the larger rink in one of the top leagues playing against professional men.

Personally i rank Liiga over NLA because of the performances in last seasons CHL. There might be some motivational issues but its not like the Finnish teams took the CHL more seriously than the Liiga games either. And the swedes fans could not care less about the CHL and their teams still had clearly the best performance

Another thing is that it is a bit easier to score in the NLA than in Liiga. But you should not exaggerate these differences. In my opinion Liiga and NLA are in the same ballpark. You might discount Matthews points a little but by and large his points will be roughly comparable to the players in Liiga. I'm sure that he would had been an important player to any Liiga team if he had chosen to play here.

One more thing that you need to take into account is Matthews age. For example when you compare him to Laine, you should remember that Laine is 7 months younger. So basically you should compare Laine now to Auston in February 2015. Taken that into account the race gets a lot closer even though i would still pick Matthews if the draft was today. Luckily there is still time for Laine to surpas him.

 

[scipio]

And I've been disappointed with the NLA's top teams when they've played against SHL and Liiga teams because that's where I thought they could compete. But when the top teams in NLA lose to top teams in Liiga there's no way NLA is better than Liiga. Your average Finnish player is still few steps ahead of average Swiss player so Liiga wins in depth.

Offtopic: Which NLA top teams are you talking about? Davos played against Färjestad (4/6 points) and ZSC the other top team played against Berlin and Gap. I agree, overall the performance of NLA teams was disappointing. But I would not take these pre-season games as a reliable measure to rate the league strength in europe.

Topic: Matthews played a good but "unremarkable" game. He made one secondary assist and one primary assist, both in the power play. Unfortunately, at the moment the team performance of ZSC is not very good, so he still was one of the best players of our team.

Highlights can be found here, here and here.

 

[IamherefortheFinn]

2+2 in first 3 games in the larger rink in one of the top leagues playing against professional men.

Forgot about his one CHL game were he had an assist. So 2+3 in 4 games combined.

Laine has 5+4 in 11 CHL and Liiga games combined so far.

Still pretty early but pointwise the race might get close considering the differences in the leagues. There are obviously other aspects to consider besides the points too.

 

[The Sweetness]

Forgot about his one CHL game were he had an assist. So 2+3 in 4 games combined.

Laine has 5+4 in 11 CHL and Liiga games combined so far.

Still pretty early but pointwise the race might get close considering the differences in the leagues. There are obviously other aspects to consider besides the points too.

Thanks for the update. However, there is no reason to count expedition games.

Also, this is the Matthews thread. Not Matthews vs Chychrun or Laine or Puljujärvi.

 

[thomast]

You have Liiga as a better league than AHL, so i can't really take your comment about the NLA seriously.

Sounds like you're just biased.

I don't care if people have different opinions on these 4 leagues but to say any league is far better than the other is just simply wrong.

Ridiculous post. You didn't have any arguments to response with? Ran out of them? AHL isn't better league than Liiga not even close. It isn't as professional, the quality of game is horrible even when the talent level there is way higher no doubt. I watched alot of AHL games at lockout season and wasn't impressed.

Again depth of NLA are not good enough to match with liiga. Yes you have few stars but after that it's getting alot worse compared to liiga. It's like if we would compare pens to blackhawks/LA. Pens have best players in the world but LA and blackhawks have depth that Pens can't match but the thing is that there is bigger difference between depth of NLA teams and Liiga teams.

To post i had no reason to mock the league where Matthews play. When i see something that i disagree strongly i'll argue. That is the reason why we have this forum. To create conversation. To me there is reason why Matthews is ranked clear #1 in the draft by NHL scouts. If he plays in a worse league than other european top prospects doesen't change that fact. NLA is still professional league and very tough league to play as 18 year old.