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RW Patrik Laine - Tappara, Liiga (2016 Draft) III

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The way draft position is viewed before the draft is weird to me. People often talk about it as if there is this one official list which determines who goes where. The only thing that matters when a pick is made is the list compiled by the scouting staff of the picking team. Sometimes it only takes a single scout banging his fists on the table to determine the pick (see Barkov).

If the lottery winning team's scouts truly believe that Laine has the best chance of becoming the best player in this draft, he will be drafted first.

Personally I would go with Matthews at this point because there is some risk in Laine. But I would say it is a legitimate discussion.
 
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Eternal Leaf said:
Matthews is the better pick.

10/10 times Matthews will be picked first. He's a safer pick, franchise #1 C with defensive prowess. He's a cerebral talent.

This takes nothing away from Laine who will be a stud in his own right. I just don't ever see him going ahead of Matthews as it stands right now.

I know it gets boring to see the same guy at the top and people want dramatic things to happen but please be reasonable.
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Matthews is the saver pick but making statements such as this isn't being reasonable. A lot of (European) scouts who've had the chance to view both of the players actually favour Laine. This said, I'm sure there's same amount that have it the other way around. The facts are, Laine is bigger, younger, holds a higher ceiling and has outplayed Matthews in the only stage where both of them have been on display. Then when it comes down to big games, Matthews simply has been unable to find that other level to carry his team forward, not only in the WJC but also now in the NLA. Laine on the other hand was the pillar on a team that won the gold medal and has yet another chance to see what he can produce in the FEL playoffs.

The only agreeable thing is that Matthews is the saver bet, but Laine isn't a reach all things considered. Luckily there's plenty of hockey left to be played and nothing is written on the wall. Then again as I've said before it doesn't really matter who goes where but how we view these players years down the road.
 
I have a feeling Laine will be a maple leaf. Him with Kadri, Marner, Nylander, JVR, Soshnikov, and kapanen is pretty good top 6. Lots of skill. Obviously not a lot of size but lethal offensively.
 
kelsier said:
Matthews is the saver pick but making statements such as this isn't being reasonable. A lot of (European) scouts who've had the chance to view both of the players actually favour Laine. This said, I'm sure there's same amount that have it the other way around. The facts are, Laine is bigger, younger, holds a higher ceiling and has outplayed Matthews in the only stage where both of them have been on display. Then when it comes down to big games, Matthews simply has been unable to find that other level to carry his team forward, not only in the WJC but also now in the NLA. Laine on the other hand was the pillar on a team that won the gold medal and has yet another chance to see what he can produce in the FEL playoffs.

The only agreeable thing is that Matthews is the saver bet, but Laine isn't a reach all things considered. Luckily there's plenty of hockey left to be played and nothing is written on the wall. Then again as I've said before it doesn't really matter who goes where but how we view these players years down the road.
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There are so many straw man arguments in the post. Where are all these scouts who have publicly stated they prefer Laine? Are you talking about the Finnish scouts who have weighed in? Yeah, no conflict of interest there...... Do you honestly believe that a couple of average games in the WJC (where he was excellent overall) or NLA (where he as a 18 year old competing at a high level in a men's league) is going to be held against him? Matthews is the safer pick because he's an elite-two way center. That is a priority for all NHL teams. There is also this narrative that has been perpetuated that Matthews somehow has limited upside. How's that-because he's such a polished product at such a young age? Is it because he's not "flashy"? We've entered into the "flashy" = "more upside" argument I guess.
 
Rabid Ranger said:
There are so many straw man arguments in the post. Where are all these scouts who have publicly stated they prefer Laine? Are you talking about the Finnish scouts who have weighed in? Yeah, no conflict of interest there...... Do you honestly believe that a couple of average games in the WJC (where he was excellent overall) or NLA (where he as a 18 year old competing at a high level in a men's league) is going to be held against him? Matthews is the safer pick because he's an elite-two way center. That is a priority for all NHL teams. There is also this narrative that has been perpetuated that Matthews somehow has limited upside. How's that-because he's such a polished product at such a young age? Is it because he's not "flashy"? We've entered into the "flashy" = "more upside" argument I guess.
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Why the bias card is always used around here?
Should I comment on your posts for example that clearly you are bias towards Matthews?

Swedish writer for example wrote there's a new Sundin and sadly he's a Finn after he saw him play against mens Swe team, I'm sure he was bias too :sarcasm:
 
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DeanYoungblood10 said:
Yeah I hope the leafs can get this guy if they miss out on Mathews. Is Laines season over as well, or does his team still have playoffs?
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no it's not, unlike your granted no.1 phenomenal powerhouse franchise center who fades playoff games to playoff games

Wonder Dan said:
I have a feeling Laine will be a maple leaf. Him with Kadri, Marner, Nylander, JVR, Soshnikov, and kapanen is pretty good top 6. Lots of skill. Obviously not a lot of size but lethal offensively.
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anyone but oilers should be fine, have zero trust on them
 
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Rabid Ranger said:
There are so many straw man arguments in the post. Where are all these scouts who have publicly stated they prefer Laine? Are you talking about the Finnish scouts who have weighed in? Yeah, no conflict of interest there...... Do you honestly believe that a couple of average games in the WJC (where he was excellent overall) or NLA (where he as a 18 year old competing at a high level in a men's league) is going to be held against him? Matthews is the safer pick because he's an elite-two way center. That is a priority for all NHL teams. There is also this narrative that has been perpetuated that Matthews somehow has limited upside. How's that-because he's such a polished product at such a young age? Is it because he's not "flashy"? We've entered into the "flashy" = "more upside" argument I guess.
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Finnish scouts huh? You think NHL scouts who are scouting for NHL organizations would be flat out biased when it came down to drafting BPA? Doubt even the Finnish scouts would be stupid enough to gamble on a player that could cause them their jobs. I listened an interview a month or so back where (can't remember who) was talking about the upcoming draft and he mentioned "nothing had changed, but looking at five years the road Laine could be the best player of the draft..." and he sounded American. Sadly don't have the time to dig in to the source. But yeah in general you hear and read these articles if you bother to use time looking. Also a lot of the scouts prefer to remain unanimous since they are hired work and prefer not to go public by decision/restrictions. No one is claiming Matthews' ceiling to be low, it's more of a matter of Laine having higher. The topic itself can be argued one way or another, since we're discussing about kids that are 17 or 18. The '2 way franchise center man versus franchise goal scorer' has been more or less covered to the point of exhaustion. It's also pretty much the only thing in the favour for Matthews because in reality centers are more highly regarded than wingers. Also I'm not quite sure where your trying to go with suggesting Laine being more flashy than Matthews, since Laine has been producing quite well throughout the season while being more or less flashy and by not been given any handouts. He's actually worked and earned his minutes where Auston was pretty much given the key role in the ZSC Lions the minute he signed up for the team. Oh hey, Mr Crawford!
 
BB88 said:
Why the bias card is always used around here?
Should I comment on your posts for example that clearly you are bias towards Matthews?

Swedish writer for example wrote there's a new Sundin and sadly he's a Finn after he saw him play against mens Swe team, I'm sure he was bias too :sarcasm:
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The bias argument is one of the most laughable and over used in Hfboards. There is no such thing as objective opinion because every opinion is subjective and thus biased. But i guess it's easy to use when you can't make a comprehensive counter-argument..
 
If Laine had elite skating he'd be the #1 pick in this years draft. It's not a weakness, but he's not an amazing skater to say the least. If he can become a good to great skater in the NHL, he's gonna be a huge force.
 
sessiroth said:
If Laine had elite skating he'd be the #1 pick in this years draft. It's not a weakness, but he's not an amazing skater to say the least. If he can become a good to great skater in the NHL, he's gonna be a huge force.
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I agree. He might've been the best prospect in a really long time, if he was an elite skater. In terms of skill, he's arguably the best recently, but he's not close to as good of a skater as McDavid or Eichel.

He's made big strides though recently with his skating. Can he make more big strides to go from an average/slightly above average skater to an elite skater? If he can, he has generational potential.
 
Technique-wise, there is nothing preventing him to be a very good skater, think Malkin. But he doesnt have the explosiviness of Ovechkin, obviously.
 
johnnyutah said:
Is there any chance Patrik Laine becomes nothing more than a bigger Yakupov?
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So you mean a first OA but just not a bust?

Joking aside, I'd say Laine has a much better "power forward" game than Yakupov. I see he could develop (hope it doesn't ever come to that) into a great second line winger if everything goes wrong from this point on in his development.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
I agree. He might've been the best prospect in a really long time, if he was an elite skater. In terms of skill, he's arguably the best recently, but he's not close to as good of a skater as McDavid or Eichel.

He's made big strides though recently with his skating. Can he make more big strides to go from an average/slightly above average skater to an elite skater? If he can, he has generational potential.
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People need to chill a bit.
 
The shot alone should separate him from Yak comparisons. Being able to quickly get off an NHL-elite shot from just about anywhere and off almost any quality of pass should get you at least 15-20 goals even if you're atrocious at every other aspect of the game.
 
I still think jesse puljujärvi is more impressive. I'm curious why the HF hype for Laine lately?
 
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