Malkin as a prospect

[BenchBrawl]

In another unrelated thread I was discussing Malkin as a prospect and I made the claim that he would have gone 1st overall in every draft since Eric Lindros other than against Crosby, Ovechkin and McDavid. I meant that he was perceived as a bigger prospect than anyone other than those three.

Do you agree/disagree with that claim or have any other thoughts or remembrance to share about Malkin in his draft year?

Thanks!

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

How hyped were Stamkos, Mackinnon and Matthews? For the latter, I seem to remember a non-negligible minority were thinking Laine was the better prospect which perhaps speaks to Matthews not being held in quite the same regard as Malkin did as a prospect. Of course Laine has had a disappointing career trajectory compared to early projections.

 

[Troubadour]

Not sure. It's been a long time. I only remember the boards going crazy about Malkin after the red hot rookie Ovechkin, when asked whether Crosby or himself were the most talented youngster, replied "Malkin". I think coming to the US later and having his tires pumped by Ovechkin did a lot for Malkin's rep/hype.

 

[Staniowski]

In another unrelated thread I was discussing Malkin as a prospect and I made the claim that he would have gone 1st overall in every draft since Eric Lindros other than against Crosby, Ovechkin and McDavid. I meant that he was perceived as a bigger prospect than anyone other than those three.

Do you agree/disagree with that claim or have any other thoughts or remembrance to share about Malkin in his draft year?

Thanks!

Yes, more or less correct.

Malkin was a huge prospect, one of the best ever. Even compared to Ovechkin, I think some teams would take Malkin first. Don't forget, Ovechkin is a late birthday, and Malkin was born in the summer, so Malkin is a year younger, which creates that dynamic of weighing how much of a factor the age difference is.

I think a few of the others are somewhere close, and it always depends on individual teams where players are actually drafted.

But there's no doubt Malkin was one of the very best prospects in draft history. He had it all for talent.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Cross-year comparisons are difficult for obvious reasons, as much of that is going to be based on "hype" which is a far more meta topic. It's of course much easier in scenarios where players are only a year or so apart and playing in same levels concurrently (i.e., easier to say McKenna is more hyped than anyone in the 2025 draft).

 

[bobholly39]

In another unrelated thread I was discussing Malkin as a prospect and I made the claim that he would have gone 1st overall in every draft since Eric Lindros other than against Crosby, Ovechkin and McDavid. I meant that he was perceived as a bigger prospect than anyone other than those three.

Do you agree/disagree with that claim or have any other thoughts or remembrance to share about Malkin in his draft year?

Thanks!

The most hyped prospect after Crosby/McDavid is definitely Connor Bedard, outside of the 2 Russians.

I honestly don't remember the hype around Ovechkin nor Malkin. But - I would say Connor Bedard is the bar to compare against.

1. Crosby
2. McDavid

Then - it's either Bedard or Ovechkin (I'm assuming Ovechkin, but not sure).

 

[MadLuke]

Ovechkin/Malkin was so high that I remember some people saying not sure Crosby would have went number 1 if in the same draft class, that said it is hard to go with hype has they need to manufactured some....

Bedard would be an interesting 1:1 he was really high, Malkin is 6 foot 4, Bedard is relatively small in comparison, CHL vs KHL comp is not obvious, was not breaking things when playing against kids in the worlds but that small sample size and was getting a very special level of attention.

Maybe some were more highly rated on some teams that we think, say a Joe Thornton ? There could have been still some Russia angle for some GM we can imagine.

 

[Voight]

How hyped were Stamkos, Mackinnon and Matthews? For the latter, I seem to remember a non-negligible minority were thinking Laine was the better prospect which perhaps speaks to Matthews not being held in quite the same regard as Malkin did as a prospect. Of course Laine has had a disappointing career trajectory compared to early projections.

There were some people trying to claim Laine was the better prospect but Matthews was the presumptive #1 a year in advance FWIW.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Reading some threads from 2004 on Hfboards, it is crazy that people thought Malkin's size was a concern, that he was too skinny (he was like 6 3 190 lbs). Relics of the 1990s obsession with size. No one would bat an eye today at this, right? Ovy was already a man physically, this seemed like a big reason people preferred him.

I also recall that Malkin was considered a good two-way player back then.

 

[BenchBrawl]

How hyped were Stamkos, Mackinnon and Matthews? For the latter, I seem to remember a non-negligible minority were thinking Laine was the better prospect which perhaps speaks to Matthews not being held in quite the same regard as Malkin did as a prospect. Of course Laine has had a disappointing career trajectory compared to early projections.

They weren't that hyped other than Matthews being a Toronto poster boy. Matthews was the most hyped, I think. Stamkos was hyped by Tampa Bay with their "Seen Stamkos?" or silly Michael Jordan comparisons, but I recall some people preferred Drew Doughty (with good reason!). I don't recall MacKinnon or Stamkos being even close to Malkin in terms of prospect hype.

 

[Habsfan18]

The only two I'm not so sure he would have gone ahead of based on pre-draft hype, are Kovalchuk and Lecavalier.

I wrote a lengthy post on Kovalchuk in another thread awhile back, but the short form of it was that scouts called him by far the best prospect since Lindros, and he was essentially Ovechkin before Ovechkin. Malkin may have been the more complete prospect, but in comparing their pre-draft hype which I remember quite well..I have Kovy ahead, at least by a bit.

Lecavlier had way unreasonable expectations, but that "big skilled Canadian boy" had fans and scouts drooling.

Edit: And I suppose Bedard. The hype was ridiculous. Unfair to the kid.

 

[BenchBrawl]

John Tavares was really hyped in his early junior days but despite remaining 1st overall, his hype fizzled down quite a bit by the time of the draft. He would have been another candidate, as would Shane Wright, if they had kept their early momentum going.

 

[BenchBrawl]

The only two I'm not so sure he would have gone ahead of based on pre-draft hype, are Kovalchuk and Lecavalier.

I wrote a lengthy post on Kovalchuk in another thread awhile back, but the short form of it was that scouts called him by far the best prospect since Lindros, and he was essentially Ovechkin before Ovechkin. Malkin may have been the more complete prospect, but in comparing their pre-draft hype which I remember quite well..I have Kovy ahead, at least by a bit.

Lecavlier had way unreasonable expectations, but that "big skilled Canadian boy" had fans and scouts drooling.

Edit: And I suppose Bedard. The hype was ridiculous. Unfair to the kid.

Yeah Kovalchuk is an intriguing candidate. I'll try to find articles that compare them, ideally from Russia.

Was Lecavalier more hyped than Thornton? Both seem pretty similar 1st overalls.

 

[Habsfan18]

John Tavares was really hyped in his early junior days but despite remaining 1st overall, his hype fizzled down quite a bit by the time of the draft. He would have been another candidate, as would Shane Wright.

Tavares suffered from Mike Ricci syndrome. Scouts being insanely high on them at like 15-16 but then had all the time in the world to pick at their game, and they grew a bit tired of them.

 

[Habsfan18]

Yeah Kovalchuk is an intriguing candidate.

Was Lecavalier more hyped than Thornton? Both seem pretty similar 1st overalls.

Lecavalier was definitely more hyped than Thornton, IMO. It didn't help that Vinny had that ridiculous "Michael Jordan of hockey" moniker attached to him thanks to one of Tampa's owners in the lead-up to the draft. Thornton was highly touted but was viewed as quite green and a bit of a project even though scouts were convinced if he hit he was going to be a game changer. Vinny was the big french Canadian skilled posterboy.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Lecavalier was definitely more hyped than Thornton, IMO. It didn't help that Vinny had that ridiculous "Michael Jordan of hockey" moniker attached to him thanks to one of Tampa's owners in the lead-up to the draft. Thornton was highly touted but was viewed as quite green and a bit of a project even though scouts were convinced if he hit he was going to be a game changer. Vinny was the big french Canadian skilled posterboy.

Wait was it Vinny or Stamkos that was compared to Jordan?

Don't tell me it was both lol Oh man

 

[Habsfan18]

Wait was it Vinny or Stamkos that was compared to Jordan?

Don't tell me it was both lol Oh man

I don't recall that with Stamkos but I could be wrong. Vinny was definitely called that though and it was ridiculous lol

 

[BenchBrawl]

For Connor Bedard, if people were concerned about Malkin's size at 6 3 190 lbs because he was too skinny, if we go with an "adjusted" draft combining both 2004 and 2023 mentalities, expectations for Bedard would surely be going down from his lack of size and Malkin would sneak into the 1st overall spot.

 

[Michael Farkas]

I also recall that Malkin was considered a good two-way player back then.

He was super hyped and yes, we were assured he was a two way center. We had like 7 centers on the roster in 2009, he was the worst defensive one haha

The media and the draft go together like lamb and tuna fish...

 

[Nick Hansen]

I was just 12-13 yrs old back then (in Sweden) but I don't remember Malkin being all that hyped, not anywhere near Stamkos or Tavares for instance. The Ovechkin hype was through the roof on the other hand. I'm probably wrong as so many others here are testamenting otherwise. Probably was focused on Ovechkin as you are as a kid, you know, the big shiny thing.

I do recall that at one of Malkin's very first World Hockey Championships, my father, who is a former hockey player although at a lower level, quipped that Malkin was someone to keep an eye one. He saw something special in him. He definitely had never heard of him before but Malkin made an impression on him. I would guess it was the 2006 WHC. One could say he was right... Malkin was a wonderful player in his prime. Cheesy music aside, this video of him destroying the 2012 WHC always cheers me up:

 

[jigglysquishy]

2013 was a weird draft year. It was touted as a year with four first overall picks (Mackinnon, Drouin, Barkov, Jones). Jones overtook Mackinnon in hype for lots of February through April. Drouin outpointed linemate Mackinnon. Mackinnon was raw and was able to blow past small defenseman and there was some doubt if just overpowering everyone would work against men. Seth Jones' dad played for the Denver Nuggets, so there was the Colorado connection too.

Mackinnon had a weak world juniors and was outplayed by Drouin, Barkov, and Jones there too.

It wasn't until the playoffs, especially the Memorial Cup, where Mackinnon solidifed himself. He was by far the best player in the finals.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Malkin was more hyped than Stamkos to my recollection. Tavares was way up there. More than Stammer.

 

[MadLuke]

Tavares was really highly hyped for a while, but by the months before his draft he was down from memory, enough that a lot of people talked about a 2 way race, with Hedman maybe going number 1:

The Battle for Number One - Victor Hedman - The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

At the 2009 NHL Entry Draft held on June 26th you will, without some unforeseen surprise, hear one of two names called first. One of those, John Tavares, has been…

thehockeywriters.com

Hedman is so highly thought of that a senior NHL scout who had a lot of success in drafting the past 20 years told a representative at Hockey’s Future during a WJC game this week that he would not hesitate to recommend to his organization to take Hedman instead of Canadian John Tavares as the first overall pick.

Suspense builds over No. 1 NHL draft pick

John Tavares or Victor Hedman?

www.reddeeradvocate.com

Some even tried to act as if Duchene had a shot but that could have been made up

 

[Michael Farkas]

I overscouted Tavares and put Hedman at 1. But Tavares was still super hyped. I don't know if that necessarily impacts the prompt here (I mean that literally, I don't know, I'm not incredulous haha). Like, Angelo Esposito was way more hyped than, whoever, Thomas Hickey (it doesn't matter who goes in that spot...Ian Cole)...

 

[WarriorofTime]

Tbh Hedman over Tavares played out, although it took a long time to get there.