Erling Haaland NHL Equivalent

[Alexander the Gr8]

Big strong young guy who scores a ton of goal. This description fits young Ovi perfectly as many others mentioned.

Matthews is a bit more finesse than brute force, he’s more like Harry Kane I would say.

 

[Jack Straw]

Phil Esposito is the first name that comes to mind. Big (for his time), strong, incredibly good at what he did even if what he did wasn’t especially sexy. It’s easy to diminish what both of them did/do but as the saying goes, if it was that easy everyone would do it.

And the NFL equivalent? Cris “All he does is catch touchdowns” Carter.

 

[MardyBum]

This is actually Ovechkin erasure. Håland is a useless as they come aside from tapping in easy goals. Ovechkin is a complete player and will always be considered one of the best ever in his sport, Håland won't.

Ovechkin was rarely ever a complete player. Haaland is a pure striker, he scores goals. He doesn't need to be a playmaker, Man City have more than enough. Him being on the pitch draws 2 players opening up everything else for them and he still scores all the goals.

Haaland is already on track to be one of the greatest goalscorers in the top 5 leagues ever. Tracking better than Messi or Ronaldo (in goals, calm down everyone).

I feel like Ovechkin is a good comparison, as the first thing people think of is goals goals goals. I couldn't even tell you off the top of my head where he sits in total points vs where he sits all time in goals.

 

[MardyBum]

People keep saying it’s early days. He’s been doing this for two+ seasons now.

Yes his team context is about as good as you can ask for but his goal scoring pace is completely ridiculous.

And it was the same in Dortmund. 62g in 67 appearances.

He's been lethal in top 5 leagues for like 5 years now.

 

[elmaco]

0 goals vs Kazakhstan, can't do it in a bad team.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

“Mommm, can we have Haaland?”

Mom: “We have Haaland at home.”

 

[Bjindaho]

For those who aren’t watching, Norwegian striker Erling Haaland is currently toying with what most consider to be the best soccer league in the world.

In a sport/league that averages around 3 total goals per match, this guy has averaged a goal per game over two full seasons (he is three games into his third season now having missed just a handful for various reasons), with 70G in 69GP.

The previous reigning best striker in this league, Harry Kane, scored 8 hat tricks over the course of 320 matches. Haaland has equaled that in 69 matches. The leader in hat tricks in league history had 12 in 275 matches.

I feel like this level of goal scoring is better than even Gretzky and Lemieux when adjusting for sport/era. What kind of stats would a hockey player have to put up to match this level of dominance?

First of all, he isn't GPG. He is GPG in the EPL, but adding up his whole seasons, he is below GPG (Champions League, Community Shield, Super Cup, FA Cup). He has 1 top 5 league GPG season so far (though he will have many more).

To put that in perspective, Christiano Ronaldo was GPG over his entire 9 year tenure in Real Madrid including 6 GPG seasons).

FWIW, here is a reddit with the top single season goals ever:

 

[behemolari]

Lainec

 

[K1900L]

There hasn't been a natural goal scorer as good as Haaland since van Basten in the 80/90s. Haaland is just a brute force and a physical monster.
I agree that the closest comparable would be prime Ovechkin.

Personality wise, he reminds me of pissy Draisaitl, though

 

[CristianoRonaldo]

Big strong young guy who scores a ton of goal. This description fits young Ovi perfectly as many others mentioned.

Matthews is a bit more finesse than brute force, he’s more like Harry Kane I would say.

Talking about Harry Kane, he is the biggest loser in Football currently, he managed to curse Bayern who lost the Bundesliga for the first time in 12 years...

 

[Stephen]

Never heard of Haaland but I think his closest comparable is prime Puljujarvi.

View attachment 904531View attachment 904532

He actually reminds me of Olli Jokinen.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Talking about Harry Kane, he is the biggest loser in Football currently, he managed to curse Bayern who lost the Bundesliga for the first time in 12 years...

I won’t lie, I had that in mind a little bit when I made the comparison

 

[MoneyManny]

Goal per game when a match averages three is nuts.

It’s an absolute anomaly. There are less goals scored in football than there is hockey yet we haven’t seen a player go goal per game in a full season in the modern era.

Now here is the question.

If Auston Matthews played 60 minutes a game for however many games is in a football season, how many goals would he amass?

A lot less than he's scoring now, he'd be gassed for 90% of the game.

 

[Jyrki]

This is actually Ovechkin erasure. Håland is a useless as they come aside from tapping in easy goals. Ovechkin is a complete player and will always be considered one of the best ever in his sport, Håland won't.

Making plays in soccer is not that hard but actually scoring goals against teams of similar quality is a mountain to climb. There's immense value in having a striker that can constantly find soft spots, beat offside lines and get inside position to turn hopeful plays into genuine scoring chances. Even if they're not the best finishers.

A guy like Lukaku has spent most of his career getting blasted for not bagging the chances he gets, yet he's still a mainstay in top flight clubs. Haaland is like a more skilled version of that, and it's not surprising he makes it rain while playing for Man City like no other.

 

[keglu]

In a sport/league that averages around 3 total goals per match, this guy has averaged a goal per game over two full seasons (he is three games into his third season now having missed just a handful for various reasons), with 70G in 69GP.


I feel like this level of goal scoring is better than even Gretzky and Lemieux when adjusting for sport/era. What kind of stats would a hockey player have to put up to match this level of dominance?

Not really close. Lewandowski averaged more than goal per game in his last 3 seasons in Bayern. Without checking im sure Ronaldo and Messi also had multiple seasons with more than 1 GPG. . Kane you mentioned just had 36 in 32 last season.
Even with much lower gpg average i soccer it is much more common for player to average over gpg than in hockey, especially since most popular formations became ones with one striker.

 

[swiftwin]

I don't follow soccer as much as I used to, but these are my analogues.

McDavid = Messi (prime)
They both have insane acceleration, agility and speed, and seem even faster with the ball/puck. Incredible 1-on-1 skills and have the ability to dangle their way through the entire opposing team. Considered to be one of the best players of all time in their sport. Some of their most memorable goals look remarkably similar:



Crosby = CR7
Both absolute physical specimens, masters of their craft and ageless wonders. They were both considered the best, or at least top 2 players in the world for most of their careers. Maybe not as "naturally" gifted as Messi/McDavid, but they've practiced perfection.

Ovechkin (prime) = Haaland
Both are prolific goalscorers. They use their size and imposing strength to their advantage. They pile up the goals seemingly at will, from the same spot (ie. Ovechkin island on the PP), and nobody can do anything about it. Neither are known for their two-way play.

Mackinnon = Mbappe
Both are among the best in their respective sports in terms of raw explosive speed. They can brute force goals with that explosiveness, but they also have the skill and finesse to finish plays. Neither are on that McDavid/Messi tier though in terms of ball/puck handling at high speed.

Matthews = Lewandowski (prime)
Both are well rounded players who have the insane ability to score from anywhere in the opposing zone with their powerful accurate shot. One of Lewandowski's most memorable moments was scoring 5 goals in 9 minutes, whereas one of Matthews' most memorable moments was scoring 4 in his first NHL game.

Draisaitl = Harry Kane
Neither are known for their speed, but they are just smart, supremely talented, and have a tiny bit of edge to their game that allows them to put up insane numbers.

Kucherov = Zlatan (prime)
Both have that swagger, give funny interviews and love f***ing with fans. Both can get quite angry and aggressive and are prone to dirty plays. Yet they are supremely talented and just seem to keep winning championships.

Patrick Kane = Neymar
Both have that showtime flair to their game. Both used to be considered a top 3 player in the world.

Suarez = Marchand
Talented pests. Also, licking/biting opponents. Except Marchand actually seems like a decent person off the ice.

Karlsson = Bale
Bale started off as an offensive defenseman, being a huge offensive threat from the back end. Like Karlsson, injuries caught up.

 

[DuklaNation]

Goal scoring in soccer isn't equivalent to hockey. The goals are concentrated among fewer players in that sport making a comparison not useful.

 

[thomast]

I don't follow soccer as much as I used to, but these are my analogues.

McDavid = Messi (prime)
They both have insane acceleration, agility and speed, and seem even faster with the ball/puck. Incredible 1-on-1 skills and have the ability to dangle their way through the entire opposing team. Considered to be one of the best players of all time in their sport. Some of their most memorable goals look remarkably similar:



Crosby = CR7
Both absolute physical specimens, masters of their craft and ageless wonders. They were both considered the best, or at least top 2 players in the world for most of their careers. Maybe not as "naturally" gifted as Messi/McDavid, but they've practiced perfection.

Ovechkin (prime) = Haaland
Both are prolific goalscorers. They use their size and imposing strength to their advantage. They pile up the goals seemingly at will, from the same spot (ie. Ovechkin island on the PP), and nobody can do anything about it. Neither are known for their two-way play.

Mackinnon = Mbappe
Both are among the best in their respective sports in terms of raw explosive speed. They can brute force goals with that explosiveness, but they also have the skill and finesse to finish plays. Neither are on that McDavid/Messi tier though in terms of ball/puck handling at high speed.

Matthews = Lewandowski (prime)
Both are well rounded players who have the insane ability to score from anywhere in the opposing zone with their powerful accurate shot. One of Lewandowski's most memorable moments was scoring 5 goals in 9 minutes, whereas one of Matthews' most memorable moments was scoring 4 in his first NHL game.

Draisaitl = Harry Kane
Neither are known for their speed, but they are just smart, supremely talented, and have a tiny bit of edge to their game that allows them to put up insane numbers.

Kucherov = Zlatan (prime)
Both have that swagger, give funny interviews and love f***ing with fans. Both can get quite angry and aggressive and are prone to dirty plays. Yet they are supremely talented and just seem to keep winning championships.

Patrick Kane = Neymar
Both have that showtime flair to their game. Both used to be considered a top 3 player in the world.

Suarez = Marchand
Talented pests. Also, licking/biting opponents. Except Marchand actually seems like a decent person off the ice.

Karlsson = Bale
Bale started off as an offensive defenseman, being a huge offensive threat from the back end. Like Karlsson, injuries caught up.

Messi=Crosby

Easy one, both are smaller low center of gravity players who have puck/ball glued into their stick/foot. Rarely beat defenders by speed, but with the combination of balance, skill and IQ.

Kucherov=Lamine Yamal

Elusiveness is the best way to describe their game. Both are playmakers who runs the offense.

Ovechkin=Cristiano

I think Cristiano is by far the best football/soccer comparison for Ovechkin.

 

[Overrated]

Messi=Crosby

Easy one, both are smaller low center of gravity players who have puck/ball glued into their stick/foot. Rarely beat defenders by speed, but with the combination of balance, skill and IQ.

Kucherov=Lamine Yamal

Elusiveness is the best way to describe their game. Both are playmakers who runs the offense.

Ovechkin=Cristiano

I think Cristiano is by far the best football/soccer comparison for Ovechkin.

I don't wanna come off as a fanboy but one simply can't compare him to Crosby. That is an insult. The only single player he could ever be compared to is Gretzky. They even have a very similar playstyle.

 

[FDBluth]

Young Ovechkin definitely. Big, strong, fast, both absolute goal hounds. Both have/had totally overpowering/unique frames in their respective sports.

 

[thomast]

I don't wanna come off as a fanboy but one simply can't compare him to Crosby. That is an insult. The only single player he could ever be compared to is Gretzky. They even have a very similar playstyle.

Agree to disagree, Messi has much higher ability and quality if we compare him to Crosby. I talked about stylistic similarity. Gretzky has similar quality, but doesen’t have same style. Gretzky wasn’t a great skater and foundation of his game isn’t generational balance.

Messi is like a player who has attributes like Datsyuk hands, Crosby balance, Kane skating and Sakic shot. Balance is most underrated skills in all sports and it buys more space and time for player like Messi. He can score or assist from a bad position with defender on his skin. Crosby is exactly the same.

 

[Overrated]

Agree to disagree, Messi has much higher ability and quality if we compare him to Crosby. I talked about stylistic similarity. Gretzky has similar quality, but doesen’t have same style. Gretzky wasn’t a great skater and foundation of his game isn’t generational balance.

Messi is like a player who has attributes like Datsyuk hands, Crosby balance, Kane skating and Sakic shot. Balance is most underrated skills in all sports and it buys more space and time for player like Messi. He can score or assist from a bad position with defender on his skin. Crosby is exactly the same.

I didn't get to see Gretzky live but when I see replays and highlights he really shines in terms of his agility. This idea that he was an unremarkable skater is totally false. I've heard it several times in here but I have no idea where it comes from. Gretzky wasn't the fastest (though he was quite fast let's not kid ourselves) but Messi is also not known for his pace.

If you watch Gretzky you will often see him moving in circles like this:

It also happens to be one of Messi's signature moves:


Gretzky is also described as someone who always knew where everyone was and was a step ahead all other players. That is the same thing they say about Messi. Instead of making crazy tricks and skills they both made others look terrible even more so than showing some crazy skill. Messi came up in an era where all of the other stars did insane tricks and skills yet Messi does virtually none of them. He will beat you with simplicity.

Gretzky was known for his very accurate shot. Messi's shot also doesn't have that much power but is extremely accurate. Messi actually takes way fewer shots and from further away than most pure strikers yet has an extremely high conversion rate.

Messi is also first and foremost a playmaker yet holds the goal scoring record exactly like Gretzky.

 

[Brookbank]

And Haaland just got another 2 goals. The first player in league history to score 9 in the first 4 matches of a season.

Another 3x captain opportunity missed.

 

[benfranklin]

Who?

 

[JoVel]

If Haaland is so great why isn't his country doing anything internationally?

Truth is if he wasn't playing on Man City he wouldn't score as much. Strikers like him need other players to do most of the job for him

Why has Anze Kopitar never had international success if he's supposed to be a good player?