That's your opinion. Mine differs. I don't see Montour as being a tier above any of Dermott, Nielsen or Zaitsev. Carrick also had a dominant ahl playoffs where he led in ppg I believe. Dermott and Nielsen will get a taste of pro hockey this season so we shall see how they respond to the challenge. Each of Dermott, Nielsen and Zaitsev have their share of accolades as well (2nd team OHL, WJC, 2nd team WHL, near ppg, 1st team KHL twice, WHC all star team...)
Carrick is a similar player to Montour at the same age while being less productive and effective despite playing on a more offensively loaded team. One playoff with a small sample size doesn't change that.
And yes, we'll have to wait for Dermott and Nielsen to see how they translate. The thing is, matching Montour would pretty much be the best case scenario in terms of translation, and it stands to reason that if they would need to outdo their statistical projections to match him, then they are probably lesser prospects.
Zaitsev is a wild card, very hard to judge. I've really liked the guy from way before we signed him, so I believe he is at least a safer bet at the moment.
Yes it's just opinions but it's not like I want Montour to be better. I'm a Leafs fan, I'm naturally biased towards the other guys. It's just that there's really strong arguments against Montour over them. He's shown higher potential at a higher level.
Nothing of that is a vote of no confidence on Dermott and Nielsen. I really like them both. It's just that Montour is
that good.
