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

[rt]

Are you good in maths??

And you can add a few more games than regular NLA scedule with Champions Hockey League and Swiss Cup. And he will miss less regular season games during WJC than in the WHL.

Who cares about number of games? He gets to live in Zurich and he will be paid four hundred thousand dollars. And he gets to live in Zurich.

Would you like to spend the next year of your live in Everett Washington making about ten grand, or would like to spend that year in Zurich making four hundred kay? It's pretty easy.

 

[totozenerd]

By how much do you reckon this will boost attention for the NLA in North America?

 

[Richi]

http://www.2112hockeyagency.com/play-in-europe.html

That´s not really the truth. There have been players (Dube, Robitaille) who made more than 1 Million. Brunner reportedly earns between 800´000 and 1 Million and a bunch of other players earn way more than 500000.

Sorry if asked already, but will he be playing with any notable players/prospects on his new team?

Prospects:

Jonas Siegenthaler(2nd round pick 2015 by the Capitals)
Denis Malgin (4th round pick 2015 by the Panthers)

A select few players with NHL experience/ near-NHL skills:

Robert Nilsson(1st round pick 2003 by the Islanders; 252 NHL games)
Luca i (3rd round pick 2007 by the Lightning)
Roman Wick (5th round pick 2004 by the Senators; 7 NHL games)
Severin Blindenbacher (9th round pick 2001 by the Coyotes; 1 AHL season)
Marc-Andre Bergeron(No explanation needed I believe)
Dan Fritsche (2nd round pick 2003 by the Blue Jackets; 256 NHL games)
Mathias Seger (Record player and captain of the Swiss National team)
Ryan Keller (6 NHL games)
Ryan Shannon (305 NHL games)

I believe these are the players from whom he can learn a lot and they also provide a boatload of experience.

 

[Canadiens1958]

September 17, 1997 Birthday

September 17, 1997 birthday so Auston Matthews missed the 2015 NHL Entry Draft draft by a couple of days.

Others who were drafted late because of one or two days are Alex Ovechkin and Anthony Mantha.

In the 2003 NHL Entry draft, Ovechkin may have had a chance at the #1 overall,

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=63735

Anthony Mantha drafted a year earlier would have been a late 2nd to early 5th round pick:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=136790

Question of how players mature, given an extra year that a couple of days provides.

 

[doncherrysgrill]

For the purpose of his NHL rights (post 2016 draft) would he be considered a Euro?

I think him going to Europe is a good move because he MIGHT not make an NHL roster next year. The new lottery system for 2016 could mean a fringe playoff team could select him 1-3. For example if the Islanders falter and miss the playoffs and "win" the lottery (picks 1-3), I highly doubt he would start 2016-17 in the NHL.

If he played the 2015-16 season in the WHL, what would his options be if he didn't make the NHL in 2016-17? Another WHL season?

There is about a 0% chance he doesn't make whatever team picks him next year.

 

[Zen Arcade]

This kind of reminds me of undrafted players going to the IHL in the early 90's.

 

[BananaSquad]

Who cares about number of games? He gets to live in Zurich and he will be paid four hundred thousand dollars. And he gets to live in Zurich.

Would you like to spend the next year of your live in Everett Washington making about ten grand, or would like to spend that year in Zurich making four hundred kay? It's pretty easy.

/thread. Move along, easy decision.

 

[Vagrant]

It sucks that so many sure-fire high first round picks have to pretend like they want to go to school and make that a priority. This guy is going to play in the NHL for 15 years even if he doesn't get an ounce better in Europe. He's going to make more than 99% of us will ever make doing that. If he so chooses, chooses mind you, he can go back to school with that fat wad of cash he'll no doubt make when he signs his ELC and subsequent contracts.

It's so weird how we give athletes so much hell for these kind of decisions when we praise trade workers for the same decision on lower levels. You want to go mine coal instead of going to college? Good for you for having a life plan. You want to play hockey for $400,000 instead of going to school? You're a bad person. You're a risk now. You accepted half a million dollars to play hockey in one of the most beautiful places on earth at 18. How dare you!

And somehow, we haven't even talked about how this stands to improve his game... which it does. Going to the CHL and scoring 120 points like everyone else? I mean.... it's not a bad plan for sure. But if you can go get some professional experience, especially when you were *so close* to this being your draft +1 season, why not give it a shot? There are TONS of European stars in the NHL that played in various professional leagues before making the jump. It's a non issue.

The only people this hurts, just like when star basketball recruits have done it in the past, are the people who still view Junior/NCAA as some kind of rite of passage for North American kids. Just because it's how everyone has done it before doesn't mean it's the right move. Hopefully, we allow more kids to chase their dreams.

 

[Dod93Cityt]

How much are people expecting him to produce in the NLA? Over PPG? Is leading his team in scoring too high of an expectation?

 

[rt]

Auston Matthews plays a wild, roving game. His physical ability and natural skill sets are top notch. He's ultra talented. But he doesn't really play in adherence to a structured system. I think it's why a lot of people project him as a winger rather than a pivot. Playing professional hockey in a top men's league should be a huge benefit to him. The CHL would not develop what his game is missing. The NLA will. This is easily the best choice for him and he's going to be much better for it.

 

[The Dayvan Cowboy]

It sucks that so many sure-fire high first round picks have to pretend like they want to go to school and make that a priority. This guy is going to play in the NHL for 15 years even if he doesn't get an ounce better in Europe. He's going to make more than 99% of us will ever make doing that. If he so chooses, chooses mind you, he can go back to school with that fat wad of cash he'll no doubt make when he signs his ELC and subsequent contracts.

It's so weird how we give athletes so much hell for these kind of decisions when we praise trade workers for the same decision on lower levels. You want to go mine coal instead of going to college? Good for you for having a life plan. You want to play hockey for $400,000 instead of going to school? You're a bad person. You're a risk now. You accepted half a million dollars to play hockey in one of the most beautiful places on earth at 18. How dare you!

And somehow, we haven't even talked about how this stands to improve his game... which it does. Going to the CHL and scoring 120 points like everyone else? I mean.... it's not a bad plan for sure. But if you can go get some professional experience, especially when you were *so close* to this being your draft +1 season, why not give it a shot? There are TONS of European stars in the NHL that played in various professional leagues before making the jump. It's a non issue.

The only people this hurts, just like when star basketball recruits have done it in the past, are the people who still view Junior/NCAA as some kind of rite of passage for North American kids. Just because it's how everyone has done it before doesn't mean it's the right move. Hopefully, we allow more kids to chase their dreams.

As a Canadian who is a bigger proponent of the NCAA than most I agree with everything in this post. I don't see this as a bad decision at all and I'm really excited at the potential precedent this could set for future prospects.

 

[Plub]

Wonder if it hurts his draft status...think teams may question his character?

Is this a serious question?

 

[Philip Kessel]

It's probably been answered but why didn't he go play somewhere else in Europe like sweden/finland? The leagues are easily better, no?

 

[snizzbone*]

It's probably been answered but why didn't he go play somewhere else in Europe like sweden/finland? The leagues are easily better, no?

NLA has minimal travel time I believe + Switzerland is awesome.

 

[The Iron Goalie]

Is this a serious question?

Agreed, and if anything this should only help him solidify his spot as the #1 pick. Playing in a men's league, and if he plays well he'll leave everyone else behind.

 

[IamherefortheFinn]

Matthews is almost 8 months older than Puljujärvi. Do you think that it would be more fair to compare Puljujärvis last seasons performance to Matthews performance in the 2013-2014 season? And Pulju's game in the WJC2016 in Helsinki to Matthews in WJC2015 (1+2) in Canada? That would make sense too because the WJC2016 is going to be played in the big rink and WJC2015 was played in the small one.

Matthews has some experience in the big rink but i guess that his experiences playing against men are limited. Lot of the guys playing in the NLA are seasoned pro's. I think that in the early season he has some adjusting to do, so in that regard Pulju has a slight edge in the start of the season. I'm sure that the advantage will diminish some what fast though.

 

[Ryker]

How much are people expecting him to produce in the NLA? Over PPG? Is leading his team in scoring too high of an expectation?

No and yes. NLA isn't bush league, he can consider it an achievement if he's top 6 in scoring on his team.

 

[kulenova seka]

How much are people expecting him to produce in the NLA? Over PPG? Is leading his team in scoring too high of an expectation?

It depends on how much PP time he gets and what linemates he gets. I would say if he can crack into top5 scoring on team it is success for him.

 

[shelf]

Sorry if asked already, but will he be playing with any notable players/prospects on his new team?

Quite a few former NHL players that you might recognize. Dan Fritsche, Ryan Shannon, Robert Nilsson, Marc-Andre Bergeron.

 

[Pandaman11]

By how much do you reckon this will boost attention for the NLA in North America?

There'll be focus on Matthews for 12 months, after that nobody will care again.

It's probably been answered but why didn't he go play somewhere else in Europe like sweden/finland? The leagues are easily better, no?

Maybe they didn't want to spend money or didn't have it. Or can't acquire a foreign teenager. Or simply didn't have the idea. Actually, during the lockout Zurich was the only non-KHL team close to signing Crosby.
And no, those leagues are not easily better.

 

[Pandaman11]

Quite a few former NHL players that you might recognize. Dan Fritsche, Ryan Shannon, Robert Nilsson, Marc-Andre Bergeron.

...who was made a scratch because of his defensive liability one might add

 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[holyprime]

I'd say around 30 points could be seen as success, as the ZSC plays a pretty structured game and he has to adapt to the bigger ice as well. For comparison, that's about what players like Robert Nilsson or Chris Baltisberger produced last year with the Lions.
If he gets going right from the start and develops chemistry with someone, i don't think PPG is out of question.

Maybe they didn't want to spend money or didn't have it. Or can't acquire a foreign teenager. Or simply didn't have the idea. Actually, during the lockout Zurich was the only non-KHL team close to signing Crosby.

The ZSC is also pretty renown for its player development since/thanks to the merger with GC (at least on a national level). I hate to say this, but it's one of the top level organisations in europe.

But i'd guess that Crawford is one of the main reasons, can't hurt to get some advise from a former Stanley Cup Winner (eventough its been a while) for a season before you get drafted.

 

[Richi]

Decent read by a Swiss NHL scout:

http://swisshockeynews.ch/index.php...thews-nhl-glamour-returns-to-the-swiss-league

 

[Tritsche]

How much are people expecting him to produce in the NLA? Over PPG? Is leading his team in scoring too high of an expectation?

I guess 18 Goals and maybe 20 Assists he will produce. Over PPG I don't think so. And yeah I guess he will finish behind Wick and i in points. But we will see, maybe I underrate him. It's tough to be better than a point in the swiss league.

http://www.sihf.ch/de/results-stats/national-league/#/players/points/desc/page/1/2015/1/1833

As you can see, last season only 4 players were over PPG!