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Who will be the next "Best Player in the World"?

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Regal said:
It’s kind of crazy how we’ve had a bit of a lull for guys who looked primed for best in the league status. Someone mentioned in a Boldy thread recently that he might be the best winger under 25, with Raymond and Marchenko his best current competition. Which, as good as they are, is a far cry from a Kucherov.

Makar and Hughes are obviously awesome as defensemen and maybe Makar takes the mantle from the forwards, but the young forward crop doesn’t seem like it’s full of potential 120-130 point players. Jack Hughes is great, and I could see him maybe winning an Art Ross one day, but I don’t think he reaches the level of the top guys today. Celebrini and Bedard have that potential but as still a ways off. I don’t think there’s any answer that isn’t just taking a stab in the dark at this point
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You don't always see guys coming though.

MacKinnon had a lot of hype as a prospect, and a good rookie season, but was mostly "meh" overall his first 4 seasons. Good - but not necessarily "projected best in the world" good. And in year 5 - he took off and never looked back, hitting a much higher level of top ~2-5 player in the world.

Draisaitl. He was a talented player, but with even less hyp than MacKinnon...had a strong 5th season (2018-2019) with 50 goals/105 points, but most saw him as a product of McDavid, and nowhere near best in the world. Then - in year 6 at age 24, in 2019-2020, he exploded, swept the awards and outdid McDavid all season long. Been a consistent top ~2-5 player in the world since.

Kucherov was a very low draft pick so a much bigger surprise - but also, unlike Drai and Mack he had a very upwards trajectory since his debut. By his 3rd season (2016-2017) it was obvious he was among league leaders, and just kept improving and hasn't looked back. So, also surprising, but maybe a bit earlier than the other 2.

My point is - it's hard to predict these things sometimes.

Any of Hughes, Bedard, Celebrini or many others may end up taking a big leap like that.
 
bobholly39 said:
You don't always see guys coming though.

MacKinnon had a lot of hype as a prospect, and a good rookie season, but was mostly "meh" overall his first 4 seasons. Good - but not necessarily "projected best in the world" good. And in year 5 - he took off and never looked back, hitting a much higher level of top ~2-5 player in the world.

Draisaitl. He was a talented player, but with even less hyp than MacKinnon...had a strong 5th season (2018-2019) with 50 goals/105 points, but most saw him as a product of McDavid, and nowhere near best in the world. Then - in year 6 at age 24, in 2019-2020, he exploded, swept the awards and outdid McDavid all season long. Been a consistent top ~2-5 player in the world since.

Kucherov was a very low draft pick so a much bigger surprise - but also, unlike Drai and Mack he had a very upwards trajectory since his debut. By his 3rd season (2016-2017) it was obvious he was among league leaders, and just kept improving and hasn't looked back. So, also surprising, but maybe a bit earlier than the other 2.

My point is - it's hard to predict these things sometimes.

Any of Hughes, Bedard, Celebrini or many others may end up taking a big leap like that.
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Your 3 examples Kuch, Nate, Draisaitl were never thee very best player innthe game.
 
PaulD said:
Your 3 examples Kuch, Nate, Draisaitl were never thee very best player innthe game.
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The poster I was responding to was implying guys like Hughes, Bedard or Celebrini may never reach the level of top guys today (ie Kuch/Dra/MacK). And i'm saying - they might, as sometimes players take unexpected jumps, so that could still happen for someone like Jack Hughes, and a few others.

I think it's obvious to me there's no McDavid level player on the horizon for the next few years. Could Bedard, McKenna or other reach that leve? I suppose, but we're still far away from seeing that. So with no McDavid/Crosby caliber player - the next "best player in the world" is likely to be in the mold of a Kuch, Drai or MacKinnon level player, so I think they're good comparables.
 
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bobholly39 said:
The poster I was responding to was implying guys like Hughes, Bedard or Celebrini may never reach the level of top guys today (ie Kuch/Dra/MacK). And i'm saying - they might, as sometimes players take unexpected jumps, so that could still happen for someone like Jack Hughes, and a few others.

I think it's obvious to me there's no McDavid level player on the horizon for the next few years. Could Bedard, McKenna or other reach that leve? I suppose, but we're still far away from seeing that. So with no McDavid/Crosby caliber player - the next "best player in the world" is likely to be in the mold of a Kuch, Drai or MacKinnon level player, so I think they're good comparables.
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what level the next best player will be ? Sure.
Who it will be was the question.
But I get ya.
Cheers
 
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