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

[Cotton]

Hype
McDavid
Eichel (Mostly because of McDavid)
Tavares
Matthews

Expectations
McDavid
Tavares
Matthews (Scouts said he would of went 2nd last year)
Eichel

 

[WADEugottaBELAKthat]

In terms of hype / expectations, how would you think Matthews compares to former forwards who went 1st overall since Crosby (as of their draft year)?

McDavid
Eichel
Tavares
Matthews
Stamkos
MacKinnon
Hall
RNH
Kane
Yakupov

As of now, I'd probably slot him right near Tavares, with the potential to reach Eichel if he ends up above a point per game.

Save for Eichel, we haven't seen a big, skilled forward prospect like Matthews in a long time.

Just gonna nitpick here. Patrick Kane was not even ranked 1st ROUND in CSB prelims. Yakupov was the anointed 1st overall 2 years before his draft. Obviously we know who is and ended up the better player. But it is my opinion Yakupov was much more hyped. Good list though.

 

[blindpass]

Hype
McDavid
Eichel (Mostly because of McDavid)
Tavares
Matthews

Expectations
McDavid
Tavares
Matthews (Scouts said he would of went 2nd last year)
Eichel

Maybe some scouts had Matthews ahead of Eichel, but the consensus was clearly Eichel over Matthews.

 

[Aceboogie]

Eichels hype was actually reduced by McDavid. If he was in his own draft, hed be way more hyped as his closest competition is farther away from him

And I think we cant accept the possibly of 2 generational prospects in one draft. So because McDavid is one, Eichel cant be (when really he is)

If Eichel was alone up top from 2010-14 drafts hed be insanely hyped

 

[Cotton]

Maybe some scouts had Matthews ahead of Eichel, but the consensus was clearly Eichel over Matthews.

What consensus?

Matthews missed being draft eligible by 2 days, that's what was reported; Had Matthews been eligible for the McDavid draft scouts felt he would of been ranked 2nd, over Eichel.

 

[Cotton]

Eichels hype was actually reduced by McDavid. If he was in his own draft, hed be way more hyped as his closest competition is farther away from him

And I think we cant accept the possibly of 2 generational prospects in one draft. So because McDavid is one, Eichel cant be (when really he is)

If Eichel was alone up top from 2010-14 drafts hed be insanely hyped

At the beginning of the year he was seen as generational, no doubt. And he received mad hype because he was being mentioned with McDavid at all times.

I figure had it been Eichel all alone as you suggest he'd receive about as much hype as Matthews will. I don't think Eichel is any better than Matthews, so I think they'd both get the same level of hype.

 

[SwissGrog]

You have right to defend NLA but why are you fabricating such things? Even the big bosses of CHL have said numerious times that they hope other leagues would find a way to challenge SHL and Liiga teams. Honestly there's no way to come to that conclusion if you watch even a couple chl games. Shl and Liiga are flat out dominating that league and they are the ones who even "care" the least.

Yeah, and the only time there was a champions league where people cared (with KHL teams and such), Zurich flat-out dominated. So continental tournament really don't mean that much in evaluating a league. BTW, CHL has zero coverage here, 80% of the fans don't really know it exists. I once met guys that thought they were watching a preparation game and didn't know there was a CHL.
NLA is a good league, with good coaches but since we can only have 4 import players and all our top young players go to north-american junior league (because visibility of the NLA is not the same of Liiga or SHL) we just don't have the same depth that swedish or finnish team. All of this to say that I'm happy for once that a young star player has chosen NLA and is doing great for the moment, showing no problems in adapting to the big ice or the different style of hockey. And in reflects I hopw more and more of our top-tier young players choose to stay here because NLA will have more visibility, and our league will gain in depth.

 

[Dogewow]

What consensus?

Matthews missed being draft eligible by 2 days, that's what was reported; Had Matthews been eligible for the McDavid draft scouts felt he would of been ranked 2nd, over Eichel.

Can you provide evidence of this? Like substantial, multiple source evidence? This very question had been something I've thought about a lot when comparing the new wave of stars (McDavid, Eichel, Matthews) and pondering who the Sabres would've drafted had Matthews been in the 2015 class. Based on what I've seen and heard, the overwhelming opinion is that Matthews is not better than Eichel.

 

[Alexandrov]

Can you provide evidence of this? Like substantial, multiple source evidence?

I'm guessing he can't. In my opinion Eichel is closer to McDavid than Matthews is to Eichel.

 

[Cotton]

Can you provide evidence of this? Like substantial, multiple source evidence? This very question had been something I've thought about a lot when comparing the new wave of stars (McDavid, Eichel, Matthews) and pondering who the Sabres would've drafted had Matthews been in the 2015 class. Based on what I've seen and heard, the overwhelming opinion is that Matthews is not better than Eichel.

I can try, it was stated on TSN during the WJC so I don't know if that would be replicated in print. I believe it was Bob MacKenzie. (I'll update if I can locate it)

That's funny, because everything I've heard indicates he's at the very least just as good as Eichel. I'm not sure why anyone would take issue with the idea he could be even better.

“I honestly believe that if he’d been born on the 15th instead of the 17th, we’d be talking about whether or not he’s going to make the Buffalo Sabres or the [Arizona] Coyotes, because I think most people said that he’d probably have gone second or third in this past draft. He’s that good.â€
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/crawford-auston-matthews-a-special-player/

"If he had been eligible, many believe he would have gone third overall, maybe second"
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...rthodox-audition-to-be-no-1-in-2016-nhl-draft

"Had he turned 18 on or before Sept. 15, he would have been mentioned alongside the likes of Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel"
http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...land--final-season-before-nhl-draft/32392579/

"Tabbed as the third “franchise centre†up for grabs in the last two years, Matthews has already turned heads around the globe"

“I think Auston Matthews, if he was in this year’s draft, they would’ve been talking about a three-man draft,†Coyotes GM Don Maloney said in June. “Connor McDavid obviously pushed himself to the front of the line because he’s so dynamic. To me, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel are very, very close. He’s a terrific young man.â€
http://www.tsn.ca/matthews-makes-seamless-transition-on-and-off-the-ice-in-switzerland-1.368155

"Were he available for next June's draft in Sunrise, Florida, he would – in my view - be considered in the same category as Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel."
-Craig Button
http://www.tsn.ca/talent/button-matthews-the-clear-favourite-to-go-no-1-in-2016-draft-1.107932

"Had he been born two days earlier, there would be no debate over where Matthews would be spending his draft year. Instead, the debate would be whether the Buffalo Sabres should take Matthews or Jack Eichel after Connor McDavid with the No. 2 pick in this summer’s draft."
http://news.nationalpost.com/sports...-being-no-1-pick-in-2016-nhl-draft-scouts-say

 

[FiLe]

And I think we cant accept the possibly of 2 generational prospects in one draft. So because McDavid is one, Eichel cant be (when really he is)

Maybe that's because "generational" means a prospect who is truly a standout among his peers over not just his own, but multiple classes.

Also, it's a relative term, not a fixed one. If McDavid, Eichel and Matthews are all considered as good as they come and you need to figure which one of them is "generational", the correct answer is that none of them are. If you have three guys who can vault over the high bar, what you have then is simply the new baseline for a star player.

 

[Alexandrov]

I can try, it was stated on TSN during the WJC so I don't know if that would be replicated in print. I believe it was Bob MacKenzie. (I'll update if I can locate it)
- -

I applaude you for the effort but that post didn't contain any evidence to backup your claim

What consensus?

Matthews missed being draft eligible by 2 days, that's what was reported; Had Matthews been eligible for the McDavid draft scouts felt he would of been ranked 2nd, over Eichel.

 

[Aceboogie]

Maybe that's because "generational" means a prospect who is truly a standout among his peers over not just his own, but multiple classes.

Also, it's a relative term, not a fixed one. If McDavid, Eichel and Matthews are all considered as good as they come and you need to figure which one of them is "generational", the correct answer is that none of them are. If you have three guys who can vault over the high bar, what you have then is simply the new baseline for a star player.

I can agree with this. I think the term should be once in a decade prospect.

I think McDavid, Eichel and Matthews are similar to Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin

 

[blindpass]

What consensus?

Matthews missed being draft eligible by 2 days, that's what was reported; Had Matthews been eligible for the McDavid draft scouts felt he would of been ranked 2nd, over Eichel.

I'm saying you are wrong. I don't have anything to back it up (neither do you) other than what I remember hearing and I recall a lot of scouts saying Eichel still would have been 2nd and Matthews would have been third.

It is possible that is different now, in hindsight, but at the draft the consensus was clear based on what I heard.

Certainly after the WJC each of them had it would have been difficult not to have Eichel ahead.

 

[Cotton]

I applaude you for the effort but that post didn't contain any evidence to backup your claim

That's because they are unrelated. If I can locate anything relating to the TSN thing I'll note it. The rest is clearly illustrating that they are viewed as being the same level of talent.

 

[Cotton]

I'm saying you are wrong. I don't have anything to back it up (neither do you) other than what I remember hearing and I recall a lot of scouts saying Eichel still would have been 2nd and Matthews would have been third.

It is possible that is different now, in hindsight, but at the draft the consensus was clear based on what I heard.

And I accept that, but you need to accept that I've heard different. Making both just as valid.

It's not the quote I've referenced but it's showing that I'm not the only one hearing this stuff.

"I remember reading that some scouts have said they would take Matthews ahead of Eichel - but it's close."
https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/348umt/is_auston_matthews_considered_better_than_eichel/

“There’s discussion on whether Matthews is better than Eichel or the other way around,†says the NHL scout. “Some would take Matthews and others would take Eichel. I don’t know myself.â€
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/j...ised-to-go-1st-overall-in-2016-192622635.html

 

[theIceWookie]

That's because they are unrelated. If I can locate anything relating to the TSN thing I'll note it. The rest is clearly illustrating that they are viewed as being the same level of talent.

No, the rest clearly illustrates that there would be some question IF Matthews or Eichel was better. Not that they were viewed the same. That's a big difference.

 

[scipio]

Live stream for the cup game: link. Game will start at 19:45 CET.

 

[Ducks Nation*]

What number is matthews?

 

[scipio]

What number is matthews?

He should be number 34...

The other team is actually a third division team, so basically amateurs...

 

[Minty Cowboy]

What number is matthews?

34!

 

[Minty Cowboy]

Matthews just scored

 

[Ducks Nation*]

Matthews scores

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I value Matthews and Eichel almost identically. It's a pick 'em to me.

 

[The Noot]

He should be number 34...

The other team is actually a third division team, so basically amateurs...

"basically"

they are amateurs. straight up.