Connor McDavid vs Jack Eichel

[ATBLeafsTyler]

People watch one game of both Eichel and McDavid and say Eichel is better. You people know nothing at all. McDavid is coming off of a broken hand, I think people seem to forget that. Even though he didn't produce as much offense as we'd like tonight, he created a lot and there's a lot we could take from it. He will break out, just wait.

And also, even though the US does have some skill, they are not as deep as Canada. For the states, it will be more of the Eichel show. For Canada, everyone will contribute more than the states.

Such nonsense... ONE GAME and people think they are NHL scouts all of a sudden...

Stop with this nonsense about because he's American, he's number two. Anyone who is saying Eichel is better, obviously hasn't watched McDavid enough. His hands and hockey sense are out of this world. He will make any player he plays with 20 times better.

McDavid before he broke his hand: on pace for 170 points with Erie.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Canadian bias.

Eichel is a beast. Guy is 6'2, 200 and ripped. He looks like an athlete and can rip the net up from range...

McDavid has had great coaching and development, but he's not a physical specimen or a great shooter. Guy looks like a frat pledge.

If they were both from Ontario Eichel would be the clear #1. McDavid would be wasted in Edmonton, all he can do is distribute.

You make it sound like this is a body building contest.

And by the way, Eichel is exactly 1 inch taller than McDavid, people make it sound like they are night and day in size.

 

[danktopshelf]

You make it sound like this is a body building contest.

Professional sports is a body building contest. I'd rather take the guy who could play D1 football as something other than a kicker or punter. Part of Ovi's dominance is how good he is on the hoof. You don't need such an amazing hockey "IQ" if you're big, fast, and strong.

 

[IPreferPi]

As a longtime Yotes fan who has suffered w/o having anything close to a superstar forward for the better part of almost 2 decades now, I'd be ecstatic if we ended up with either one of CoJack. That being said, my assessment of them at their primes:

McDavid: 1.25 PPG+ player (multiple 100+ point seasons)
Eichel: PPG+ player

Both are dynamic skaters. Size difference is negligible. Eichel certainly plays a flashier, more intense game, and at this point, he's the better goal scorer. But McDavid's overall processing of the game, how he drives the play, is unreal. Crosby is very much a dead-on comparison.

 

[SidDidNothingWrong]

The most dissapointing thing about this thread is that the only reason I am hearing for why McDavid is better is "because he is better." Deal with the fact that roughly half of scouts asked would take Eichel and half would take McDavid and wait until you have a relevant comparison. They play in two different leagues and in 2 different situations. McDavid does not have to step up in team Canada games all the time because Canada is so deep. A lot of our offence is supposed to run through Eichel. However I do like the delicious ironic Canadian tears from earlier today. We played the reigning gold medal champs and Eichel scored our only goal and scored a shootout goal. The thread was then inundated with "great dominating performance Eichel *le sarcasm face*." Canada plays one of the worst teams in the tournament and McJesus didn't contribute on any of the 8 goals(unless I am mistaken).
Also, whoever thinks Eichel does not have any Hockey sense is crazy. If Tuch farts, Eichel shutters. McDavid and Eichel are both playmakers.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Oh give me a break. Both are absolutely elite but McDavid is better. It's close but he's better and anyone saying it's because he's Canadian are just whining and baiting

But Why?
For those pointing to McDavid's scoring pace, I'd point to Eichel having one of the most offensive seasons ever for a freshman his age

 

[ATBLeafsTyler]

As a longtime Yotes fan who has suffered w/o having anything close to a superstar forward for the better part of almost 2 decades now, I'd be ecstatic if we ended up with either one of CoJack. That being said, my assessment of them at their primes:

McDavid: 1.25 PPG+ player (multiple 100+ point seasons)
Eichel: PPG+ player

Both are dynamic skaters. Size difference is negligible. Eichel certainly plays a flashier, more intense game, and at this point, he's the better goal scorer. But McDavid's overall processing of the game, how he drives the play, is unreal. Crosby is very much a dead-on comparison.

His hockey sense more reminds me of Gretzky. Like I said up there, McDavid was on pace for 170 points with Erie. Gretzky had 182 in 77-78 OHA. McDavid was essentially on pace for as many assists this year as Gretzky had.

I'm not going to say McDavid is the next Gretzky, but this amount of skill and hockey sense hasn't been seen in a prospect for a while.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Professional sports is a body building contest. I'd rather take the guy who could play D1 football as something other than a kicker or punter. Part of Ovi's dominance is how good he is on the hoof. You don't need such an amazing hockey "IQ" if you're big, fast, and strong.

lol. First of all, McDavid is a tremendous athlete, elite skater, elite hands, is only slightly smaller than Eichel. If it was up to you, you would have a team full of muscle bound freaks who can't play a lick of hockey getting their doors blown off by some actual hockey players.

 

[ATBLeafsTyler]

The most dissapointing thing about this thread is that the only reason I am hearing for why McDavid is better is "because he is better." Deal with the fact that roughly half of scouts asked would take Eichel and half would take McDavid and wait until you have a relevant comparison. They play in two different leagues and in 2 different situations. McDavid does not have to step up in team Canada games all the time because Canada is so deep. A lot of our offence is supposed to run through Eichel. However I do like the delicious ironic Canadian tears from earlier today. We played the reigning gold medal champs and Eichel scored our only goal and scored a shootout goal. The thread was then inundated with "great dominating performance Eichel *le sarcasm face*." Canada plays one of the worst teams in the tournament and McJesus didn't contribute on any of the 8 goals(unless I am mistaken).

Tuch scored your goal, Eichel had the assist.

 

[AmericanDream]

As a Canadian, I never thought of it as a Canada/USA issue. But it's also interesting when you look back on highly rated American players taken in the top 1-5, a lot of them come up short when it comes to evolving into the great franchise players envisioned of them:

David Legwand, Jack Johnson, Erik Johnson, Phil Kessel, Patrick Kane, James van Riemsdyk. Only maybe Kane has lived up to that early first overall hype/expectation, and it was funny that there was so little hype to Kane until the actual draft...

The only ones you named that were really ever considered for #1 were Kane and EJ. Legwand had some hype but it was the Vinny show from the get go. I don't know what this list has to do with Eichel, but if you want to look at another #1 pick, then bring up Mike Modano.

I personally do not see Eichel as #1, and honestly, who gives a ****?? McJesus and him are two extremelly talnted players that the NHL will surely need more of. Nationality always plays a role in hockey and there are those clearly aligned on both sides of the fence, but comparing Eichel to a bunch of guys 7-10 years ago is silly. Galchenyuk and Jones are doing just fine as top 4 picks, and both should be a part of many US teams moving forward.

If you cant tell by now that Eichel is legit then I do not know what else to say, but it will come down to 10 years down the road as to who is the better player, and I am not going to make any calls until then.

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Professional sports is a body building contest. I'd rather take the guy who could play D1 football as something other than a kicker or punter. Part of Ovi's dominance is how good he is on the hoof. You don't need such an amazing hockey "IQ" if you're big, fast, and strong.

Clearly a body building contest.

 

[AmericanDream]

Clearly a body building contest.

compared to what the average NHLer looked like back then...this is

Al Iafrate smoke and drank during intermissions for God's sake

 

[Beesfan]

His hockey sense more reminds me of Gretzky. Like I said up there, McDavid was on pace for 170 points with Erie. Gretzky had 182 in 77-78 OHA. McDavid was essentially on pace for as many assists this year as Gretzky had.

I'm not going to say McDavid is the next Gretzky, but this amount of skill and hockey sense hasn't been seen in a prospect for a while.

Then he should clearly be Canada's best player this tournament. No excuses. Not saying it won't happen, but it sure didn't look headed in that direction today.

 

[Michael Brand Eggs]

because he's Canadian

This. The Canadian media hasn't had the same amount of time to run wild with Eichel hype (and the American media doesn't really care), and top of that there's the nationalistic thing where Canada really wants to have another big star for their national pride. It's almost inconceivable that McDavid would bust, and it's not so much because it's impossible on the player level, but rather because so many people just couldn't accept the idea.

 

[SidDidNothingWrong]

Tuch scored your goal, Eichel had the assist.

That should go to show you how impressed I was with it lol you are right. Either way, he made that damn goal.

 

[Zaddy]

People watch one game of both Eichel and McDavid and say Eichel is better. You people know nothing at all. McDavid is coming off of a broken hand, I think people seem to forget that. Even though he didn't produce as much offense as we'd like tonight, he created a lot and there's a lot we could take from it. He will break out, just wait.

And also, even though the US does have some skill, they are not as deep as Canada. For the states, it will be more of the Eichel show. For Canada, everyone will contribute more than the states.

Such nonsense... ONE GAME and people think they are NHL scouts all of a sudden...

Stop with this nonsense about because he's American, he's number two. Anyone who is saying Eichel is better, obviously hasn't watched McDavid enough. His hands and hockey sense are out of this world. He will make any player he plays with 20 times better.

McDavid before he broke his hand: on pace for 170 points with Erie.

Ya, this has been going on all day and not only in regards to Eichel and McDavid but also in terms of Matthews and Hanifin. It's absolutely ridiculous. People watch a period or two of these guys and think they have enough to form an educated opinion of them. It's laughable. I take most things I read on HF with a grain of salt but I never knew people could be this short-sighted.

 

[Bob b smith]

Clearly a body building contest.

Looks can be deceiving, he could bench press 140 pounds (64 KG) for 1 rep (true story).

 

[KaseMeOutside]

People watch one game of both Eichel and McDavid and say Eichel is better. You people know nothing at all. McDavid is coming off of a broken hand, I think people seem to forget that. Even though he didn't produce as much offense as we'd like tonight, he created a lot and there's a lot we could take from it. He will break out, just wait.

And also, even though the US does have some skill, they are not as deep as Canada. For the states, it will be more of the Eichel show. For Canada, everyone will contribute more than the states.

Such nonsense... ONE GAME and people think they are NHL scouts all of a sudden...

Stop with this nonsense about because he's American, he's number two. Anyone who is saying Eichel is better, obviously hasn't watched McDavid enough. His hands and hockey sense are out of this world. He will make any player he plays with 20 times better.

McDavid before he broke his hand: on pace for 170 points with Erie.

the scouts are divided, so stop acting as if there isn't a debate as to who the better prospect is

 

[AmericanDream]

I still don't think McDavid is better then Tavares was at his age....anyone care to differ?

I think McDavid will be a great player, same with Eichel, but I personally think Tavares is better then both at the same stage. And I hear very little if any generational talk about Tavares.

 

[jgimb]

on pace for 170 pts in a league with 68 games.. prior to the injury

 

[CanadienShark]

Before the year started McKenzie said his 10 scout poll had it 7-3 McDavid. So that's more than 0 right there.

No one doubts who is going first. That's never been the conversation. No one has the balls to take someone over the guy who was put in the top spot years ago.

The conversation is go into the WJ board and see that dictating play like Eichel did today is "being selfish" and not being able to get on the board against Slovakia is "they didn't give McDavid the right wingers".

The conversation has always been Canadians covering their eyes and ears and screaming "I can't hear you" while the rest of the objective world sees how it's not the "anyone who even thinks they're close is just kidding themselves" narrative that gets pushed and repeated by the same people over and over. They largely just all happen to share the same nationality for some reason.

Don't generalize, you make yourself look bad. There are many Canadians who respect Eichel, like myself. It isn't Canadians vs. the rest of the world here big guy. There are many Americans who think McDavid the right choice, and on the flip side, many Canadians think that Eichel is the right choice.

 

[jgimb]

This. The Canadian media hasn't had the same amount of time to run wild with Eichel hype (and the American media doesn't really care), and top of that there's the nationalistic thing where Canada really wants to have another big star for their national pride. It's almost inconceivable that McDavid would bust, and it's not so much because it's impossible on the player level, but rather because so many people just couldn't accept the idea.

please remember the American bobby Orr a few years ago? how about kessel being a on par if not better than Crosby? The hype train works both ways, Mcdavid has earned his hype.

 

[Bob b smith]

Don't generalize, you make yourself look bad. There are many Canadians who respect Eichel, like myself. It isn't Canadians vs. the rest of the world here big guy. There are many Americans who think McDavid the right choice, and on the flip side, many Canadians think that Eichel is the right choice.

Button had them as co-Number 1s before the tournament. Not 1-2.

 

[SaintMorose]

McDavid has been making noise longer (partly because of his nationality).

Honestly I don't see him as much better if at all. Not to say he isn't great, but seems like a guy who can put up close to Tavares numbers and you'd like to think has a higher ceiling because of better skating. Not sold on the generational talent yet, and Eichel is also projecting to be a player that you build a top line around.

 

[ATBLeafsTyler]

Then he should clearly be Canada's best player this tournament. No excuses. Not saying it won't happen, but it sure didn't look headed in that direction today.

Again, he's coming off an injury. I have no doubts he will break out in this tournament. Tomorrow against an even worse opponent in Germany, I can see him getting to 100% again. He deserved some points for his work tonight.

And no, it doesn't mean he should be the most dominant player at all. I would argue Gretzky played on a less deep Canadian team than this one and against worse competition. Literally any line is capable of scoring at any time. This will be a team effort for Canada. I don't think McDavid cares if he is top of the tournament either, he has even said it. As long as he plays his game, is effective, and the team wins, he is happy.

That should go to show you how impressed I was with it lol you are right. Either way, he made that damn goal.

I never said Eichel is a bad player. I agree he is highly skilled and a deserved #2.