Most underrated player in the NHL?

[The S5]

Make a poll, see how wrong I am….

But of course you won’t

I don't need other people's opinions or validation. But, you do you.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

For the Rangers, I would nominate Vince Trocheck. He's been a low-end first line center since forever now.

Also, I always find myself surprised by the amount of goals Adrian Kempe has. There's no hype about it and then I see it and I'm like "wow, he's had a good season."

This is his 2nd nomination in almost decade. Where was he the last 8-9 years?

 

[HolyHagelin]

Im a Ranger fan and there is no way i take Fox over Makar.
Makar's skating skills are god-like.

Look at their WOWY numbers and you will change your mind

This is his 2nd nomination in almost decade. Where was he the last 8-9 years?

Being underrated in carolina

 

[Stephen]

Really? He's been mentioned as a top 10 center for the past few seasons at least if I'm not mistaken? I'd say that's fairly correct, seeing as he's never been able to replicate anything close to those numbers without being attached to Kucherov's hip.

Every top ten player has a running mate. That’s the name of the game.

 

[Buck Naked]

Every top ten player has a running mate. That’s the name of the game.

Of course. But when the difference in your game is Top 10 C with your running mate and average #2C without him, not sure you're underrated when you're being called a top 10 C on a regular basis.

 

[Stephen]

Of course. But when the difference in your game is Top 10 C with your running mate and average #2C without him, not sure you're underrated when you're being called a top 10 C on a regular basis.

Sports greatness is usually about great players playing with great players having personal and team success. So that’s exactly what Point has done in his career (with help) which exceeds many of the top guys around him…

But curiously enough when we have these online debates people usually want to iso in on the man-alone thesis like in order to be great you have to be doing it all by yourself head and shoulders above what’s around you. That’s not how it works on the ice.

 

[TheGoldenGod]

Which Forwards Play Toughest Matchups?

RANK	PLAYER	5V5 TOI AGAINST "ELITES"
1	Robert Thomas	454 mins
2	Sidney Crosby	452 mins
3	Auston Matthews	446 mins
4	Jordan Martinook	445 mins
5	Nick Suzuki	445 mins
6	Mikko Rantanen	432 mins
7	Brandon Hagel	428 mins
8	Mathew Barzal	427 mins
9	Nathan MacKinnon	425 mins
10	Claude Giroux	423 mins

“Thomas has thrived in this difficult workload, surrendering just 2.1 goals against per hour at five-on-five. St. Louis is plus-13 with Thomas on the ice at five-on-five but craters to a minus-17 goal differential when he’s on the bench.

Offensively, Thomas has always been a pass-first player because of his elite vision, almost to a fault at times. He’s more well-rounded offensively this year thanks to a more assertive shooting mentality. Across the board, he’s generating more shots, chances and goals for himself.”

Per Harman Dayal via the athletic

Ranked as the #1 underrated center in the nhl

 

[Buck Naked]

Sports greatness is usually about great players playing with great players having personal and team success. So that’s exactly what Point has done in his career (with help) which exceeds many of the top guys around him…

But curiously enough when we have these online debates people usually want to iso in on the man-alone thesis like in order to be great you have to be doing it all by yourself head and shoulders above what’s around you. That’s not how it works on the ice.

I totally agree with you. I'm a huge fan of Draisaitl and I've never given a f*** about him playing with McDavid to reach his peak numbers. All I'm saying is that if you're gonna be called underrated as a top 10 center in the league, I feel like you gotta do better than Point's done without Kucherov, especially since he still played with really good players when Kuch was out. I think he's very properly rated in the 7-10 range among centers in the league. And if someone, maybe you, feel like he's more in that 5-6 range, I don't consider the gap being that big that it constitutes underrated status.

 

[Stephen]

I totally agree with you. I'm a huge fan of Draisaitl and I've never given a f*** about him playing with McDavid to reach his peak numbers. All I'm saying is that if you're gonna be called underrated as a top 10 center in the league, I feel like you gotta do better than Point's done without Kucherov, especially since he still played with really good players when Kuch was out. I think he's very properly rated in the 7-10 range among centers in the league. And if someone, maybe you, feel like he's more in that 5-6 range, I don't consider the gap being that big that it constitutes underrated status.

Maybe underrated isn’t technically the right term for Point. It’s more like he’s just under mentioned.

I just think if he had won the cups in Tampa doing what he did in Edmonton how much of a Western Canadian hero he would be. Or in Toronto. But nope. Just a guy sometimes.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Which Forwards Play Toughest Matchups?
[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TH]RANK
[/TH]
[TH]PLAYER
[/TH]
[TH]5V5 TOI AGAINST "ELITES"
[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]Robert Thomas[/TD]
[TD]454 mins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]Sidney Crosby[/TD]
[TD]452 mins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]Auston Matthews[/TD]
[TD]446 mins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]Jordan Martinook[/TD]
[TD]445 mins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]Nick Suzuki[/TD]
[TD]445 mins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6[/TD]
[TD]Mikko Rantanen[/TD]
[TD]432 mins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7[/TD]
[TD]Brandon Hagel[/TD]
[TD]428 mins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8[/TD]
[TD]Mathew Barzal[/TD]
[TD]427 mins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9[/TD]
[TD]Nathan MacKinnon[/TD]
[TD]425 mins[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]Claude Giroux[/TD]
[TD]423 mins[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
“Thomas has thrived in this difficult workload, surrendering just 2.1 goals against per hour at five-on-five. St. Louis is plus-13 with Thomas on the ice at five-on-five but craters to a minus-17 goal differential when he’s on the bench.

Offensively, Thomas has always been a pass-first player because of his elite vision, almost to a fault at times. He’s more well-rounded offensively this year thanks to a more assertive shooting mentality. Across the board, he’s generating more shots, chances and goals for himself.”

Per Harman Dayal via the athletic

Ranked as the #1 underrated center in the nhl

I am against...elites.

 

[TheBuyckStopsHere]

I don't know if he's considered underrated anymore, but I remember watching Roope Hintz couple years ago, and especially during the playoffs in the bubble when Dallas made the Stanley Cup Final thinking damn this guy is pretty good can play in all situations. It just seems like Fins are all business, and alot of them tend to be underrated.

 

[elmaco]

Explain!

it was a likebait

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Warren Foegele's impact has been very underrated.

Adrian Kempe and Kirill Marchenko are near the top in terms of underrated

 

[SallyBalls]

Lane Hutson

 

[deca guard]

larkin

 

[stevo61]

old post I'm not gonna read through but it's probably safe to assume most people are throwing in players from their own team. Columbus' nominee would probably be Voronkov. Marchenko seems to be gaining attention but I'm not sure the hockey world has caught onto how skilled the big man Voronkov is .

 

[Kennedys]

Lane Hutson

We got a case of HDS over there

 

[Mike C]

Lane Hutson

Hutson is getting his props and will be recognized as a stud very soon

Love the way he uses head fakes. Reminds me of Makar in that regard

Shades of Number 4

 

[HabzSauce]

I'm going Kyle Connor if hasn't already been said. He's basically PPG every single year and yet sometimes I forget he exists. I also rarely see his name ever brought up on these boards

 

[BlueMed]

Parayko. He goes up against the other team's top forwards, has an oZS of 35%, and is on pace for 46 points this season. That is wild.

 

[majormajor]

old post I'm not gonna read through but it's probably safe to assume most people are throwing in players from their own team. Columbus' nominee would probably be Voronkov. Marchenko seems to be gaining attention but I'm not sure the hockey world has caught onto how skilled the big man Voronkov is .

Aaron Portzline talked to three NHL pro scouts about Voronkov in December, for a piece published Dec. 17th.

Dmitri Voronkov​

Position: LW/RW
Age: 24
Career: 97 games, 26-21-47
This season: 22 games, 8-5-13

Scout No. 1​

Plus: “A big man who can play old-school. You’re picking him first in summer hockey because he has hands and he can score. He doesn’t always look the part. He looks like a defenseman, honestly. But when he gets the puck, he knows what to do with it.”
Minus: “He has zero detail in his game. Zero. But he has so many things that you can’t teach. If somebody can get through to him … if he slims down, he could be a legitimate second-line power forward.
Comparable: “Dave Andreychuk … minus 400 goals. (laughs) But, really, a big guy with really good hands. Unmovable.”

Scout No. 2​

Plus: “This guy is such a horse. He’s going to get points by going to dirty areas. He’s a middle-six guy for me, and definitely on the wing.”
Minus: “He’s usually feistier than he’s been this season. I don’t know what that’s about. That’s an element of his game that he needs to get back. It’s part of his makeup.”
Comparable: “I’ve got two. Nik Antropov and Brian Boyle.”

Scout No. 3​

Plus: “He’s got incredible hands for a guy that’s almost 250 (pounds). I like the player. I think he’s a third-line winger who could score 15 to 20 goals. He’s got very good hockey sense.”
Minus: “Just be a little quicker. He’s probably going to be a third-line guy his whole career — he probably thinks he’s better than that, but … he’s got to get better defensively. And he will. He already has.”
Comparable: “He’s an odd duck as a comparison. Who’s that big with that skill set? Give me Brian Boyle.”

In the month since publication, Voronkov is tied for 2nd in the NHL in goal scoring with ten.

So yeah it's hard to think of a player getting more underrated than that. Comparing him to Brian Boyle? Maybe 15-20 goals a year?

 

[stevo61]

Aaron Portzline talked to three NHL pro scouts about Voronkov in December, for a piece published Dec. 17th.



In the month since publication, Voronkov is tied for 2nd in the NHL in goal scoring with ten.

So yeah it's hard to think of a player getting more underrated than that. Comparing him to Brian Boyle? Maybe 15-20 goals a year?

Putting Antropov and Boyle in the same comparison is... a choice

 

[majormajor]

Putting Antropov and Boyle in the same comparison is... a choice

The Andreychuk comparison made sense until the "minus 400 goals" part. Andreychuk averaged maybe 35 a year for most of his prime. Voronkov can do that. We have no idea if he'll have that type of longevity but he can be Andreychuk caliber right now.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Homer vote but Travis Konecny. 10th in the NHL in scoring and he has 21 more points than the 2nd leading scorer on the Flyers (a rookie).

 

[KJoe88]

larkin

Easily.