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

[XX]

As a habs fan that lived in the hockey Mecca (Montreal) for most of my life, also living and breathing hockey for 20 years, I 100% agree with you. OEL is great, but Matthews has more marketability in Arizona...He's from there, he is a sure-fire superstar center which is something any team needs (regardless of whether or not its a need).

AZ would pull the trigger on that trade in a heartbeat.

Sorry buddy but I'm a Leafs fan who grew up in Canada, living and breathing hockey for 30+ years, and I'm telling you no NHL GM would turn down Matthews for OEL, it's an absolute no-brainer. Arizona would have to add. You can trade for other 24 year old star d-men, you can't trade for an 18 year old generational talent.

You're both incorrect. AZ is heading for another top 5 pick themselves, they don't need Matthews. It'd be nice, but OEL is far more important to crafting an actual roster. Look at the lack of high end talent on the backend. Subtract OEL. Now look at how thin the UFA market is. There's nothing coming in the system. Trading OEL, after having traded Yandle, would be nuts.

Sometimes you guys forget that there's more to making a team good than just accruing HF kudos and high draft picks. The only scenario where the Coyotes consider OEL for Matthews is if they end up with a chance to pick Chychrun aka the second pick. The Coyotes already have Strome as well as several other centers in the system that look promising, like Christian Dvorak.

The paper value may be there for such a swap but the actual consequences of such a trade make it a no-go.

 

[Risingwind]

The only scenario where the Coyotes consider OEL for Matthews is if they end up with a chance to pick Chychrun aka the second pick. The Coyotes already have Strome as well as several other centers in the system that look promising, like Christian Dvorak.

IMO, if they get Chychrun they'll be very happy, and there still won't be any OEL trades happening, not for Matthews or for anyone. The incentive just isn't there. As you pointed out they have their own C's coming up, and having a D core like that is key to being a winning team.

 

[Beukeboom]

So I just compared Matthews statistics with Eichel and it turns out that Matthews is better in 8 out of 9 times where a comparison is possible. That is everything from season stats in same development teams to various tournaments.

Now this was a bit of a shock for me. I actually thought Eichel was a better prospect given his World junior performance last season but also realized Eichel is one year older. I thought they were the same age and as we all know one year does a lot in that age. So now I am really excited for Matthews entry to the league. I have seen all of Eichel's games and been really impressed so far.

So do you guys think the statistics are true? Is Matthews better then Eichel? Their last season will be trickier to compare since Eichel was at Boston and Matthews chose the Swiss league.

The Swiss league might have been a brilliant idea. He gets to play with many former NHLers and some really good European players and all grown up men. He also might benefit from playing big ice hockey since it seems many european prospects adapt very well and perform straight away in NHL nowdays.

 

[Semantics]

Yes, he's better than Eichel. If he was born a couple days later the draft would have gone 1. McJesus, 2. Matthews, 3. Eichel.

 

[Semantics]

Yes, he's better than Eichel. If he was born a couple days later the draft would have gone 1. McJesus, 2. Matthews, 3. Eichel.

I mean born a couple days earlier, of course.

 

[lawrence]

Yes, he's better than Eichel. If he was born a couple days later the draft would have gone 1. McJesus, 2. Matthews, 3. Eichel.

If were talking last year, it would have been Eichel at number 2. Eichel's numbers in college is flat out, unreal. scouts were saying if he was born 3 days earlier, Mathews would have end up number 3.

So do you guys think the statistics are true? Is Matthews better then Eichel? Their last season will be trickier to compare since Eichel was at Boston and Matthews chose the Swiss league.

Bob Mckenzie said that, during the course of the year and talking to some scouts, he said that, scouts were saying, it would have been a 2 player race for the number 2 spot, as Mathews himself was playing very good, but towards the end , it was clear Eichel was playing better due to his unreal season in Boston. but lets wait and see. Mathews is going to be the clear number 1. It's going to be like 2008 , 2009 draft. 1 centerman 2 defenceman.

 

[Beukeboom]

If were talking last year, it would have been Eichel at number 2. Eichel's numbers in college is flat out, unreal. scouts were saying if he was born 3 days earlier, Mathews would have end up number 3.



Bob Mckenzie said that, during the course of the year and talking to some scouts, he said that, scouts were saying, it would have been a 2 player race for the number 2 spot, as Mathews himself was playing very good, but towards the end , it was clear Eichel was playing better due to his unreal season in Boston. but lets wait and see. Mathews is going to be the clear number 1. It's going to be like 2008 , 2009 draft. 1 centerman 2 defenceman.

But what I find interesting is that Eichel after all is one year older. I will compare Matthews year in Switzerland with Eichel's season in Boston not his first season in NHL. I am aware that Mcdavid is born 97 as well so this is just a comparison with Eichel.

So had someone taken Eichel over Matthews based on their previous season they might have made a mistake due to age?

 

[AD1066]

One thing worth noting about Eichel vs. Matthews is that Matthews seems to have noticeably improved his skating during the offseason. So someone favoring Eichel a few months ago, may have changed their opinion since.

I don't catch enough of Matthews to have an opinion, but either way I'm excited for both players.

 

[Semantics]

If were talking last year, it would have been Eichel at number 2. Eichel's numbers in college is flat out, unreal. scouts were saying if he was born 3 days earlier, Mathews would have end up number 3.

That's the HF consensus, but HF is more often than not wrong on these matters. Scouts are not going to say anything that could be construed as negative in public about the kids from the current draft class. But don't be surprised if by the 2016 draft you see scouts saying he's better than Eichel. If it came down to it, I don't know how as a scout you can throw away several years of Matthews consistently outperforming Eichel in every league and tournament, and then just assume Eichel took some giant leap because he put up good NCAA numbers in the extra year he had. Eichel's WJC performance, where he was outclassed by McDavid, showed that he had NOT in fact taken a huge leap, there just haven't been a lot of superstars in the NCAA to serve as comparables.

 

[Team Cozens]

Yes, he's better than Eichel. If he was born a couple days later the draft would have gone 1. McJesus, 2. Matthews, 3. Eichel.

It's going to be interesting as there is a good chance the Sabres draft Matthews this year. TEAM USA !!!!!!!

 

[ayrton2388]

Welcome to the Ducks, kid...

 

[Black Noise]

Welcome to the Ducks, kid...

Blue Jackets are worse

 

[Team Cozens]

Blue Jackets are worse

AGREED. This is how I see the bottom shaping up:

30. Columbus
29. Arizona
28. Bruins
27. Devils
26. Sabres
25. Leafs
24. Ducks

 

[canuck2010]

Trying to compare the stats on Eichel and Matthews is one thing but using them to prove one or the other is better is a complete waste of time.

Way too many variables, different teams, different teamates etc. etc.. 18 year old hockey players are drafted on how they project not on stats.

 

[Lilou]

Our future is so bright I'm almost blind. He will look good on the young maple leafs.

 

[Tecumseh]

Blue Jackets are worse

Only 1 point worse and they've scored 12 more goals than Anaheim.

 

[Thebesthockey]

nope!

Mathews McDavid Yacupov

book it its destined !

 

[FlareKnight]

Going to be interesting seeing this guy have an awesome season. Plus with the new lotto format, it really is hard to say what'll happen.

Anyone near the bottom right now can understandably feel like they should get this guy. Everyone needs something to feel better about .

nope!

Mathews McDavid Yacupov

book it its destined !

I don't even want to joke about that...

 

[stavs*]

AGREED. This is how I see the bottom shaping up:

30. Columbus
29. Arizona
28. Bruins
27. Devils
26. Sabres
25. Leafs
24. Ducks

Arizona is a much improved team with Domi and Duclair, they probably won't have a realistic chance at Matthews. I see them finishing between the 25-15 range.

Ducks will fire Boudreau and get the Ducks train rolling again. Seeing the talent on that team, its hard to see them not make it into the playoffs even with a pitiful start.

Columbus hired Torterella and they should be winning games again, they will likely be a bottom 10 team, but they might have too much skill to be in the bottom 5.

Sabres are a young team with a lot of new skill. Once they start getting chemistry with each other, they will start to win a few.

Bruins may challenge for a top 5 but its too early to tell, they have some skill and veteran players still and may challenge for a spot in 20-15 range.

Toronto and New Jersey are as good as locks for bottom 5, or maybe even bottom 2. They are the least skill NHL teams by far at the moment.


I think as the season continues, you'll start to see separation between 2 worst team (Leafs and Devils) and the rest of the bottom feeders. Spots 3-5 will likely be a battle between Buffalo, Columbus, Carolina, Arizona, Edmonton, Bruins. You never know, there may even be a few unexpected surprises of teams that drop into the top 5 that was not on anyone's radar. As a leaf fan, I'll be damn near shocked if they even hit 65 points this season and that's being generous. They are a borderline AHL team with at least 45-50 losses in them this season.

 

[wings5]

I can barely comprehend how the top ranked player for the draft comes from a place like Arizona, where hockey isn't as popular, he is facing lesser competition growing up etc. It's not like he was the son of a former NHL player or former hockey player either which is usually the case for players who end up developing well in non traditional markets ( Nylander, Levin ). Certainly a Seth Jones type situation.

If you think that facing better competition makes one better, and popularity of the game motivates kids, than you can understand why Toronto, Minnesota, Alberta, Michigan etc tend to produce the elite talents. At age 8-12 its pretty much evident who will become a good player, 12-15 theres another development curve where you can pick out the elite talent pretty accurately. Of course theres the few late bloomers too, for Matthews to have developed such high level skills as a product of Arizona is pretty unique itself.

 

[Beukeboom]

Trying to compare the stats on Eichel and Matthews is one thing but using them to prove one or the other is better is a complete waste of time.

Way too many variables, different teams, different teamates etc. etc.. 18 year old hockey players are drafted on how they project not on stats.

Agree. But as an European it is pretty much impossible to see any games from college hockey or the canadian juniors. So statistics is all we got. It gives some indication at least adn especially when Matthews has 8/9 imo.

 

[LeafChief]

Matthews is wet.

 

[McKappa]

Arizona is a much improved team with Domi and Duclair, they probably won't have a realistic chance at Matthews. I see them finishing between the 25-15 range.

Ducks will fire Boudreau and get the Ducks train rolling again. Seeing the talent on that team, its hard to see them not make it into the playoffs even with a pitiful start.

Columbus hired Torterella and they should be winning games again, they will likely be a bottom 10 team, but they might have too much skill to be in the bottom 5.

Sabres are a young team with a lot of new skill. Once they start getting chemistry with each other, they will start to win a few.

Bruins may challenge for a top 5 but its too early to tell, they have some skill and veteran players still and may challenge for a spot in 20-15 range.

Toronto and New Jersey are as good as locks for bottom 5, or maybe even bottom 2. They are the least skill NHL teams by far at the moment.


I think as the season continues, you'll start to see separation between 2 worst team (Leafs and Devils) and the rest of the bottom feeders. Spots 3-5 will likely be a battle between Buffalo, Columbus, Carolina, Arizona, Edmonton, Bruins. You never know, there may even be a few unexpected surprises of teams that drop into the top 5 that was not on anyone's radar. As a leaf fan, I'll be damn near shocked if they even hit 65 points this season and that's being generous. They are a borderline AHL team with at least 45-50 losses in them this season.

Doesn't matter cause Edmonton is getting him anyways.

 

[Rebuilt]

I expect Edmonton to improve this year. They have enough talent . They have good goaltending now as well as new coaching and management.

I feel they will finish anywhere from 18th to 22nd . Then they can draft Matthews and continue to improve for next season.

 

[Team Cozens]

Arizona is a much improved team with Domi and Duclair, they probably won't have a realistic chance at Matthews. I see them finishing between the 25-15 range.

Ducks will fire Boudreau and get the Ducks train rolling again. Seeing the talent on that team, its hard to see them not make it into the playoffs even with a pitiful start.

Columbus hired Torterella and they should be winning games again, they will likely be a bottom 10 team, but they might have too much skill to be in the bottom 5.

Sabres are a young team with a lot of new skill. Once they start getting chemistry with each other, they will start to win a few.

Bruins may challenge for a top 5 but its too early to tell, they have some skill and veteran players still and may challenge for a spot in 20-15 range.

Toronto and New Jersey are as good as locks for bottom 5, or maybe even bottom 2. They are the least skill NHL teams by far at the moment.


I think as the season continues, you'll start to see separation between 2 worst team (Leafs and Devils) and the rest of the bottom feeders. Spots 3-5 will likely be a battle between Buffalo, Columbus, Carolina, Arizona, Edmonton, Bruins. You never know, there may even be a few unexpected surprises of teams that drop into the top 5 that was not on anyone's radar. As a leaf fan, I'll be damn near shocked if they even hit 65 points this season and that's being generous. They are a borderline AHL team with at least 45-50 losses in them this season.

Sabres lost to the Devils last night.
Injuries to Lehner, Bogosian, Foligno & Kane are adding up.
Eichel has been fantastic but there is a huge learning curve and his wingers can't
finish.