Post 2013 Lockout Forward Tournament Tier 2, Round 1: Patrik Laine Versus Sam Reinhart

[DitchMarner]

Since the players involved are at different stages of their careers, the best way to vote is probably by answering this question: If I was a General Manager and I could draft one player for my team (having the knowledge that I have about each player at this point in time), which player would I choose?

Some are more accomplished than others and some have been more injury-prone than others, but under different circumstances, how different could things have been?



Jason Robertson (16-7 in votes - 69.6%)
Johnny Gaudreau

Matthew Tkachuk (17-2 in votes - 89.5%)
Kyle Connor

Sebastian Aho (15-9 in votes - 62.5%)
Mark Stone

Mathew Barzal
Filip Forsberg (28-2 in votes - 93.3%)

Johnathan Huberdeau
William Nylander (29 votes to 23 - 55.8%)

Tyler Seguin
Mark Scheifele (25 votes to 16 - 61%)

Taylor Hall
Clayton Keller

Patrik Laine
Sam Reinhart

Click to read more...

 

[DitchMarner]

I think circa 2016 one could have comfortably said, "if nothing else, Laine will at least have the highest single season goal total between the two."

 

[Albatros]

Laine, he at least had three good seasons in Winnipeg whereas Reinhart was thoroughly mediocre in Buffalo. About trade return it's still early to say much definitively.

 

[BHD]

Reinhart. Like other players, he’s come into his own since escaping Buffalo.

 

[ijuka]

Laine is more talented but injuries combined with a worse mental aren't great for longevity.

If you were to draft the two players, then I'd probably go with Laine and try to develop him differently and hope that he doesn't get concussed in his first season in the same way. Still think that there's a lot more there to work with than with Reinhart, whose current season looks more like an anomaly than anything else.