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

[Spade]

I wonder if he did better if he went to the KHL.

Probably would not, but not so much so because of the quality of play. Under Marc Crawford, Matthews is given a lot of ice time and 1 on 1 coaching with a Stanley Cup-winning coach. Crow knows Matthews is a great talent and the best young prospect he's probably ever worked with, and if nothing else if he does a good job of helping him develop, that might lead to an NHL return. He's also savvy enough to give the kid enough ice time to produce offensively, while allowing for the odd sitdown if he makes mistakes.

In Russia, young players of his age don't really get a shot to produce offensively unless they're Ovechkin/Malkin-level talents. It's really impressive that Tarasenko and Kuznetsov were able to produce getting 3rd and 4th line minutes. And unlike Switzerland, he'd have a lot harder transition away from games, as the language barrier is vastly different than under an English-speaking coaching staff.

This is really a no-loss scenario for Matthews, and he's taking the ball and running with it.

 

[BB88]

The fact that pulijarvi is being compared to Matthews shows how prospects can get overrated during the wjc. The only prospect who I think has a shot of being better than Matthews from this draft is Laine. He has been amazing in a few games and clips I saw from the Finnish league. I really love his game and if he can improve his skating from good to great I think he can be ovi lite. Elite player imo and the only one who I think can go num 1 at draft day over Matthews. Still Matthews will most likely go 1st as he is a elite prospect who had a strong junior showcase and is a beast physically. Think both of them end up top 10 players in the nhl during their primes. Pulijarvi is a great prospect but I would take marner, strome, from 15 draft over him personally.

He's been compared to him for a year now, hardly new news there.

 

[IamherefortheFinn]

I just went to NLA's site and saw that Matthews is second of the whole league in PPG with 1,21 points per game as a 18 year old. With those stats one would be a fool not to draft him as number 1 at the moment....

There's still some time for things to chance but it does not look likely. Maybe if the other top prospects get a boost from their WJC performance and start producing a lot more points, things could get more close. After all Matthews is so much older than the Finnish prospects that it would be more fair to compare his last seasons performance to the Finns this season.

 

[Bank Shot]

In Russia, young players of his age don't really get a shot to produce offensively unless they're Ovechkin/Malkin-level talents. It's really impressive that Tarasenko and Kuznetsov were able to produce getting 3rd and 4th line minutes. And unlike Switzerland, he'd have a lot harder transition away from games, as the language barrier is vastly different than under an English-speaking coaching staff.

This is really a no-loss scenario for Matthews, and he's taking the ball and running with it.

Plus everyone speaks English in Switzerland. And the travel schedule would be much better.

And Switzerland culturally has more in common with North America.

 

[BusQuets]

Plus everyone speaks English in Switzerland. And the travel schedule would be much better.

And Switzerland culturally has more in common with North America.

Not true at all. They speak Swiss-German, Swiss-french and Italian. In Europe, every Nordic country has considerably higher % of people who speak english (well no surprise). But even in rest of the european standards people in Switzerland don't speak english that much. For example people in Poland speak english more (bet you didn't expect that). But that's enough for language lesson.

 

[Ducks Nation*]

 

[tuozzi]

Not true at all. They speak Swiss-German, Swiss-french and Italian. In Europe, every Nordic country has considerably higher % of people who speak english (well no surprise). But even in rest of the european standards people in Switzerland don't speak english that much. For example people in Poland speak english more (bet you didn't expect that). But that's enough for language lesson.

In the German speaking part (where Matthews is based) everybody sure does.

 

[Bank Shot]

Not true at all. They speak Swiss-German, Swiss-french and Italian. In Europe, every Nordic country has considerably higher % of people who speak english (well no surprise). But even in rest of the european standards people in Switzerland don't speak english that much. For example people in Poland speak english more (bet you didn't expect that). But that's enough for language lesson.

I didn't expect English usage to be higher in Poland because its not true.

I was using hyperbole. English usage is high in Switzerland.

It's higher than Poland no question. In my personal experience travelling through Switzerland it was much easier to find an English speaker than it was in Poland. Also, the internet sites 60% of Swiss being able to speak English versus 33% of Poles.

Either way, the percentage of English speakers in Switzerland blows Russia out of the water.

 

[VictorLustig]

Not true at all. They speak Swiss-German, Swiss-french and Italian. In Europe, every Nordic country has considerably higher % of people who speak english (well no surprise). But even in rest of the european standards people in Switzerland don't speak english that much. For example people in Poland speak english more (bet you didn't expect that). But that's enough for language lesson.

Please provide a source for this. It's far from true according to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population

In a city like Zurich almost everyone speaks English, to some degree.

 

[BusQuets]

In the German speaking part (where Matthews is based) everybody sure does.

Yeah in the Swiss-German speaking part the english is used more.

Please provide a source for this. It's far from true according to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population

In a city like Zurich almost everyone speaks English, to some degree.

Source is me living there for quite some time. Also with a quick look that wikipedia article seems quite suspect for many countries. Of course there are many english speakers in a city like Zurich..

 

[AD1066]

Not true at all. They speak Swiss-German, Swiss-french and Italian. In Europe, every Nordic country has considerably higher % of people who speak english (well no surprise). But even in rest of the european standards people in Switzerland don't speak english that much. For example people in Poland speak english more (bet you didn't expect that). But that's enough for language lesson.

Is it regional? I had a Swiss exchange student live with my family once upon a time, and he and his entire circle of friends all spoke pretty decent English. Anecdotal, I know.

 

[BusQuets]

Is it regional? I had a Swiss exchange student live with my family once upon a time, and he and his entire circle of friends all spoke pretty decent English. Anecdotal, I know.

Yeah, more likely to find english speakers in german part rather than french or italian. No doubt Matthews have been fine with english in a city like Zurich.

 

[DMoran0788]

Is it regional? I had a Swiss exchange student live with my family once upon a time, and he and his entire circle of friends all spoke pretty decent English. Anecdotal, I know.

I am not surprised ... English seems to be a second language in most of Europe

 

[Beukeboom]

I just went to NLA's site and saw that Matthews is second of the whole league in PPG with 1,21 points per game as a 18 year old. With those stats one would be a fool not to draft him as number 1 at the moment....

There's still some time for things to chance but it does not look likely. Maybe if the other top prospects get a boost from their WJC performance and start producing a lot more points, things could get more close. After all Matthews is so much older than the Finnish prospects that it would be more fair to compare his last seasons performance to the Finns this season.

I think that people overrate months at that age. It has more to do at what level you play. That is, he is born late and that is why he is in sync with the Finns. For instance if you have to be 16 to play in juniors then people born late will play the season after the other ones in their year. Number of seasons at a certain level is more important than those extra months. That is my opinion.

 

[lawrence]

I just went to NLA's site and saw that Matthews is second of the whole league in PPG with 1,21 points per game as a 18 year old. With those stats one would be a fool not to draft him as number 1 at the moment....

There's still some time for things to chance but it does not look likely. Maybe if the other top prospects get a boost from their WJC performance and start producing a lot more points, things could get more close. After all Matthews is so much older than the Finnish prospects that it would be more fair to compare his last seasons performance to the Finns this season.

.... he's exactly 7 months older then Laine.... much older? Give me a break. Eichel is also older then McDavid, are they using excuses for that?

 

[Snowsii]

.... he's exactly 7 months older then Laine.... much older? Give me a break. Eichel is also older then McDavid, are they using excuses for that?

Do you understand, that Eichel is less than 2 months older than McDavid? Btw.. Auston is just little over 8 months younger than McDavid

7 months is big difference maker, when we're talking about U18 players.. Let's take Laine as an exsample: He went from horrible/below avarage skating to good in 1 healthy summer training. And that time period is shorter than 7 months.

I think that people overrate months at that age. It has more to do at what level you play. That is, he is born late and that is why he is in sync with the Finns. For instance if you have to be 16 to play in juniors then people born late will play the season after the other ones in their year. Number of seasons at a certain level is more important than those extra months. That is my opinion.

So only thing that matters is playing? You disregard training. 7 months training gives big advantage, when talking about young players.

None the less.. Auston will most likely go first, and all three are elite prospects.

 

[kelsier]

.... he's exactly 7 months older then Laine.... much older? Give me a break. Eichel is also older then McDavid, are they using excuses for that?

Are you joking? 7 months at this age is a huge factor. And this is when talking in general sense, not regarding the "Auston vs The Finns" debate. Since the topic has been rolled from north to south already there's hardly a point going there again. I just find the comment amusing.

 

[LoveNHL]

With own experience from coaching youngsters between 14-18 we were struggling with skill difference depending on if the guy was born early or late in a year. The best players were almost every time born early but it didn't mean they had more talent.

 

[scipio]

With own experience from coaching youngsters between 14-18 we were struggling with skill difference depending on if the guy was born early or late in a year. The best players were almost every time born early but it didn't mean they had more talent.

I think this is actually a well known fact, not only in hockey but as well in other sports. There is even some article on this matter on nhl.com

 

[holyprime]

Is it regional? I had a Swiss exchange student live with my family once upon a time, and he and his entire circle of friends all spoke pretty decent English. Anecdotal, I know.

It's regional, yes, as language policies in school can be different in each Kanton (state). Generally, the french/italian part has the focus more on the Latin-languages and the german part more on english. They have to learn (some) french as well for instance but no italian.

But imho its more of a question of travelling and profession, as you learn most of the languages after obligatory school anyway (in university, apprenticeship or by yourselves). French and italian native speakers can talk in their tongue in much more places than germans can. And when you have to learn another language anyway, you'll choose the most common one worldwide more often than not.

Then there's the obvious differences that in an international city like Zurich or Geneva you just have to use it more than in lets say some rural area in the alps

But even in rest of the european standards people in Switzerland don't speak english that much.

That's just wrong. Switzerland ranks among the higher percentages of english speakers with about 60%, while most european countries are below 40% or even 30%.

 

[Beukeboom]

Do you understand, that Eichel is less than 2 months older than McDavid? Btw.. Auston is just little over 8 months younger than McDavid

7 months is big difference maker, when we're talking about U18 players.. Let's take Laine as an exsample: He went from horrible/below avarage skating to good in 1 healthy summer training. And that time period is shorter than 7 months.



So only thing that matters is playing? You disregard training. 7 months training gives big advantage, when talking about young players.

None the less.. Auston will most likely go first, and all three are elite prospects.

No. But the finns are in their second season against men and Matthews is in his first. That extra season in a professional league is at least as valuable as 7 months of age. It is like you assume they all started playing hockey at exakt the same age. What if the finns started at 3 and Matthews at 4? Just an example.

I think the reason 7 months in younger age matters is due to body size and development, not extra training. But at the age of 18 that difference is not as important anymore.

 

[Beukeboom]

Tied for #1 in the league in goals and 10th place in scoring atm with 10-15 games less than everyone else. That is pretty darn good I'd say!

I really don't get people comparing him to Thornton, they aren't alike. Matthews is a goalscorer and has been so in every league it seems. He is more Malkinesque but with less flashy play I'd say.

 

[Knies iT]

Liked what I heard from Ray Ferraro in the U20s on Matthews. He said Ron Wilson attested to his work-ethic and drive. Said he elevates the tempo in practice and sets the tone so that everything is done at maximum effort and maximum speed. "He drags the team along" per Wilson.

 

[KPower]

Marc Crawford talks about Matthews on leafs lunch today on TSN Radio.

http://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-105...n-matthews-skill-set-that-s-for-sure-1.425380

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Crawford calls him a more dynamic Anze Kopitar.