Future duo: ANA vs MTL vs SJ vs CLB

[Mattb124]

I like the size down the middle. I prefer both of them to Smith. I have Celebrini as the best player but not by alot. San Jose was the worst team in hockey last year. When should I be giving them their 'flowers'

When you reference last season’s team performance to justify an opinion on the future performance of players who weren’t on last years team, you need to re-evaluate your thought process.

 

[Baksfamous112]

I really like all 4 duos here. Columbus has some question mark because of Lindstrom back injury so I would tend to put them last (at least for now). I also feel Anaheim duo would have been better represented with Carlsson/McTavish. I like Gauthier a lot but McTavish is a clear cut above him talent wise. The fact that it’s Gauthier made me rank them #3.

The two remaining duos are pretty close in terms of talent and possible impact on the game. I gave the edge to Montreal because I think Slafkovsky will be more physical, harder to play against, almost impossible to take the puck from and will be a pain in the ass to deal with in the playoff. None of the other 3 has that kind of (physical) potential.

 

[HanSolo]

These are four great duos. I think CBJ is the biggest question mark with Lindstrom's health and while I'm a big fan of his, I don't think Fantilli is quite as dynamic as some of the other players here (comparing against guys' ability to dictate the flow of their team's offensive play with the puck on their stick, I think Fantilli is more of a receive and make quick plays kind of guy, at least for the time being).

I do like Slaf and Demidov but I think there's still questions about how much Demidov's skill will translate when he comes to North America against bigger and faster players playing tight defense and it remains to be seen how much better Slafkovsky can be.

I'm biased towards Carlsson and Gauthier as a Ducks fan but I can admit Carlsson still needs to work on his timing and add more size. But assuming he puts everything together I think he has the potential to be the best overall package with his blend of size, skill, and vision. He's already fairly hard to knock off the puck for a kid his age but as he adds size and strength, he's going to be a tank. Gauthier there's no denying he's not a play driver so a lot with him will depend on his own ability to find space to find shooting lanes and how well he meshes with his linemate. Seems the Ducks are keen on trying to develop chemistry between him and Leo so we'll see if that can become the next Getzlaf-Perry or something much lesser.

I think as of today, Celebrini and Smith is the right answer just on pure upside potential, but I don't think it's an AINEC situation and I don't think there's a guarantee one of the other duos can't exceed them.

Yea, Ducks look good, plus they have Dostal, who I believe is one of the top 10 goalies in the world. I don't see the Smith love. I feel he's really gonna miss Leonard and Perrault.

They also have a pretty crazy future d-core in the works between Mintyukov, Zellweger, Luneau and I think Solberg is going to be on a lot of people's radar in a couple years. If for no other reason, then the fact that he hits everything that moves is gonna make him stand out.

 

[bert]

When you reference last season’s team performance to justify an opinion on the future performance of players who weren’t on last years team, you need to re-evaluate your thought process.

Oh you think this is clever.

Those are specific prospects that I gave a fair evaluation on even said I liked Celebrini the best. The poster that quoted me says 'i never give San Jose their flowers' what do you think he meant by that? Neither player has played for San Jose yet. I even voted for Celebrini and Smith.

I just think that it should have been Carlsson and Mctavish as the comparable from the Ducks not Gauthier.

Perhaps before calling someone out about their thought process maybe you need to re think your own.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Celebrini-Smith seems like a good duo. Gun to my head, I might go Carlsson as the best overall prospect every so slightly ahead of Celebrini, but I prefer Smith over Gauthier.

My main issue with Columbus is the relatively lack of certainty with Lindstrom ATM. His sample size is the smallest of the bunch, and the reason for that sample size cannot be ignored without more information. I also like Fantilli a lot, just not as much as the best players from the other three duos.

Canadiens duo should be tons of fun, but while I do think Demidov has the skill and will to do some things like a centreman, we are still projecting two wingers here. When the margins are this small between the duos, I have to consider that aspect and that puts them behind SJ and ANA duos.

1. SJ
2. ANA
3. MON
4. CLB

 

[HFpapi]

Sharks duo is the obvious answer here and it's who I picked.

With that said, the Ducks duo should've been Carlsson/McTavish and dare I say, I can see a world where that duo is like a modern day prime Kopitar/Ryan O'Reilly 1-2 punch and that would be a devastating duo come playoff time.

 

[Ducks]

As a Ducks fan I went Celebrini-Smith, because that is clearly the most promising of the options provided.

That said, the Ducks have a wealth of riches and it's not a given that Carlsson-Gauthier is the top line combo when you also have McTavish, Zegras, Sennecke, etc. in the mix.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I like San Jose's. That's a lot of skill there, but no real size.

Anaheim's has some size and skill.

Columbus has size and skill, but as much as I like Lindstrom I'm a little bit concerned that he's still hurt. He'd promising career might start off on the wrong foot.

I feel like having any of these is a pretty damn good start.

 

[matt trick]

Celebrini and Smith. Carlsson, McTavish would be close, and Carlsson, McTavish, Gauthier, Sennecke would be better than Eklund, Musty, and these two.

I hope Anaheim and Chicago move themselves into the 7th and 8th spots in this years draft because adding Martone, Hagens, Frondell, Schaefer, or Rybakin would be nuts.

Hoping it’s San Jose, Columbus, Calgary, Pittsburgh, and someone other than those two in the bottom five this year. Seems unlikely though. Hoping CBJ gets Hagens.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Celebrini and Smith. Carlsson, McTavish would be close, and Carlsson, McTavish, Gauthier, Sennecke would be better than Eklund, Musty, and these two.

I hope Anaheim and Chicago move themselves into the 7th and 8th spots in this years draft because adding Martone, Hagens, Frondell, Schaefer, or Rybakin would be nuts.

Hoping it’s San Jose, Columbus, Calgary, Pittsburgh, and someone other than those two in the bottom five this year. Seems unlikely though. Hoping CBJ gets Hagens.

I’m just hoping we land somewhere we can grab a RHD…. Which is far and away our biggest hole… pref big and mean

Mintyukov luneau
Zellweger
Solberg lacombe
Hinds, dioncicio, moore, port , Warren

 

[Juxtaposer]

Sharks duo is the obvious answer here and it's who I picked.

With that said, the Ducks duo should've been Carlsson/McTavish and dare I say, I can see a world where that duo is like a modern day prime Kopitar/Ryan O'Reilly 1-2 punch and that would be a devastating duo come playoff time.

Mason McTavish is a horrible defensive player right now, how on earth is he getting a comparison to Ryan O'Reilly, who was a top-5 defensive center in his prime?

 

[Garbageyuk]

It’s somewhat close between all of them, but if I were to bet on it, I’d take the SJ duo. Anything can happen though because they are all high end prospects/young players.

 

[matt trick]

I’m just hoping we land somewhere we can grab a RHD…. Which is far and away our biggest hole… pref big and mean

Mintyukov luneau
Zellweger
Solberg lacombe
Hinds, dioncicio, moore, port , Warren

Way too soon for projecting but if Bob’s list were accurate come draft you got to think 6’2 Hensler would be high on Verbeek’s list. We just saw dmen go right handed then left in order of height. Position of need for San Jose as well, but can’t imagine we’ll be outside the bottom 5, and McQueen, Martone, and Schaefer are also position of need. Hagens less so, but if he’s the next Jack Hughes, you just figure it out.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Mason McTavish is a horrible defensive player right now, how on earth is he getting a comparison to Ryan O'Reilly, who was a top-5 defensive center in his prime?

Most duck fans see Joe pavelski as a reasonable comp for mctavish, but also ducks as a team are horrible defensively…. We made hampus lindholm look questionable defensively . But I don’t see mctavish being a Ryan o rielly type center in terms of defense.

Way too soon for projecting but if Bob’s list were accurate come draft you got to think 6’2 Hensler would be high on Verbeek’s list. We just saw dmen go right handed then left in order of height. Position of need for San Jose as well, but can’t imagine we’ll be outside the bottom 5, and McQueen, Martone, and Schaefer are also position of need. Hagens less so, but if he’s the next Jack Hughes, you just figure it out.

Oh ya sharks just go bpa now… and figure it out when the team starts winning…. Not a bad thing. Anaheim in theory should be drafting 5-10 hopefully

 

[Juxtaposer]

Most duck fans see Joe pavelski as a reasonable comp for mctavish, but also ducks as a team are horrible defensively…. We made hampus lindholm look questionable defensively . But I don’t see mctavish being a Ryan o rielly type center in terms of defense.

Oh ya sharks just go bpa now… and figure it out when the team starts winning…. Not a bad thing. Anaheim in theory should be drafting 5-10 hopefully

I... don't agree that a system can make a good defensive player look as bad defensively as McTavish looked last year. Yes, it can make a good defensive player's defensive metrics look bad, totally. But the Sharks were just the worst defensive team I have ever had the displeasure of viewing, and yet William Eklund consistently stood out defensively in a positive way.

(That isn't to say that McTavish can't become good defensively down the road, but he looked so disinterested defensively last season that the O'Reilly comp made me laugh a bit.)

 

[HanSolo]

I... don't agree that a system can make a good defensive player look as bad defensively as McTavish looked last year. Yes, it can make a good defensive player's defensive metrics look bad, totally. But the Sharks were just the worst defensive team I have ever had the displeasure of viewing, and yet William Eklund consistently stood out defensively in a positive way.

(That isn't to say that McTavish can't become good defensively down the road, but he looked so disinterested defensively last season that the O'Reilly comp made me laugh a bit.)

To me it looked like his big focus this year was figuring out how to get through opposing defenses to get more effective offensively. I think he has the physical tools to be defensively adept. Hopefully this is a big year for him. Not the best comp but if the point is that Leo and Mac can be a great 1-2 into the future, I don't think that's a wild statement. I think the Leo-Cutter duo functions better if you're considering that they could well be long time linemates.

 

[Phion Keneuf]

Sharks

Ducks
Habs
Columbus

 

[A1LeafNation]

Imo Johnson has more upside than Lindstrom

 

[Juxtaposer]

To me it looked like his big focus this year was figuring out how to get through opposing defenses to get more effective offensively. I think he has the physical tools to be defensively adept. Hopefully this is a big year for him. Not the best comp but if the point is that Leo and Mac can be a great 1-2 into the future, I don't think that's a wild statement. I think the Leo-Cutter duo functions better if you're considering that they could well be long time linemates.

Sure, and like I said, he could definitely develop defensive acumen, I just think Ryan O'Reilly is a crazy comparison from what I've seen of McTavish.

Certainly Carlsson-McTavish vs. Celebrini-Smith is a more interesting toss-up than what's in the poll.