We heard the debate for months, Taylor Vs Tyler and most people in the hockey world knew when Steve Tambellini stepped up to the podium Taylor is was. After hearing the experts debate for months it was almost like the Oilers brass could do no wrong.. Both Kids had the tools to be gamers. One ready now, the other likely a year out. Now with a season under their collective belts (scratches/injuries not withstanding) we can reflect on what has become of these two highly touted prospects.
Lots of people thought Seguin needed to return to Junior ranks, myself included.. Did not look strong enough for the NHL. However the kid deserves credit, he worked hard, took his bumps in stride and now is blossoming into an everyday top line center (2 big bodies on his wings, helps him get a lot of space). I would argue that riding shotgun through a Stanley Cup winning playoff run has done this kid wonders, he got to watch some real big time players get it done and saw first hand what it takes. This no doubt served as motivation for him to come into camp at the same fitness level at his teammates, a place he sat below last year. Career Stats: 89 GP 22 G 20 A = 42PTS +10 (one cup ring) *note Seguin has 20 PTS already this season, 2 less than last years full totals and a 10 PTS in his last 5 GP
Taylor Hall was on a terrible team last year and was seen as a saviour for the city of Edmonton, he had a pretty good rookie season thats was cut short by an ankle injury and was shut down after 65 games. Solid rookie totals, a good transition to the NHL game, Hall is considered to be well on his way to a successful career. The Oilers have found themselves and very solid building block for the future. Halls strength, accurate shot, big body, high top speed, desire to be physical and go to the net have drawn comparisons to a speedier Mark Messier. He’s seen as a future leader and has developed some chemistry with Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Career Stats: 81 GP 25 G 27 A = 52 PTS – 9 *Note Hall is off to a slow start to the season (3G 7A) but is playing mixed minutes on a balanced and competitive Oilers squad that started strong but has had its ups and down lately.
Hall has less games played than Tyler Seguin (excluding playoffs) and has totaled more points, however Seguin has been playing well and has benefit from moving onto the Boston’s top line in the wake of the Injuries and struggles of David Krejci, he has never looked back. From looking purely at points I think we see Seguin with higher career totals when all is said and done, he’s going to become a permeant fixture on Boston’s top line, his quick release and accurate shot will make him a scoring threat but soon enough his passing will begin to shine, he’s a top line guy from here on out. Taylor Hall is the more rare find, he is a big bodied power forward that can score from almost anywhere on the ice, his point totals may not exceed Seguin’s but his goal scoring most likely will, he’s the type of player everyone looks for and is hard to find. Thinking about it, I can’t count to many players in the NHL with his skill set. Oilers are lucky to have him, and now seem to have the perfect complimentary player in RNH. I have to see Hall score a little more to give him the nod, in the future he could take this one day hands down. Seguin seems to be on a mission to rid Boston of this cup hangover. Right now this contest goes to Tyler Seguin.
So Lets see how the top rated guys from the post lockout drafts have faired, if these teams could do it again how would they change their picks? I’m sure we would see some movement based on how guys have established themselves so far in their careers, but again who knows how they would fair if they took the spotlight on draft day?
2011 Draft: Give these guys a year to hash it out, a few great guys to watch: Nugent-Hopkins (EDM), Landeskog (AVS), Couturier (PHL) for this season anyway.
2009: 1.Tavares 2.Hedman 3.Duchene 4.E.Kane 5.B.Schenn
Re-Draft: 1.Duchene 2.Tavares 3.E.Kane 4.Ekman-Larsson 5.B.Schenn 6.Hedman
Tavares is a pretty solid first pick in my books, however Duchene would have challenged harder for first overall, based on his foot speed, ability to make plays and identical point totals in a harder western conference. Kane bumps up, he’s becoming a dominate power forword. Hedman is soft for his size and has become serviceable but overrated, Ekman-Larsson, Rundebland and Cowan, all look to surpass him and maybe one day, de Haan, Ellis or Leddy could challenge on a long shot.
2008: 1.Stamkos 2.Doughty 3.Bogosian 4.Pietrangelo 5.L.Schenn 6.Filitov 7.Wilson
Re-Draft 1.Stamkos 2.Doughty 3.Myers 4.Karlsson 5.Bogosian 6.Eberle 7.Pietrangelo
Not touching this top two, thats solid and was pretty much a give back in 2008, after the top two (maybe 3, Bogosian is looking better each year and plays in all situations for the Jets). After this we see a wide open draft Pietrangelo is also becoming an great all-around blue liner in St Louis but later drafted D men have made a bigger impact at this point. Tyler Myers, Eric Karlsson, would have gone top 5 at this point. Many other players would have re-arranged the top 10 maybe even 15 as some great pick were made throughout the first round of the 2008 draft. Jordan Eberle (22nd), John Carlson (27th), Tyler Ennis (26th), Jake Gardiner (16th), Joe Colborne (17th) Would surely be considered in the top 10, while the rest of the first round was full of serviceable D men and bottom 9/6 forwards.
2007: 1.P.Kane 2.VanRiemsdyk 3.Turris 4.Hickey 5.Alzner 6.Gagner 7.Voracek 129.Jamie Benn!
Re-Draft 1.P.Kane 2.Couture 3.Benn 4.Subban 5.VanRiemsdyk 6.Voracek 7.Pacioretty 8.Simmonds
Another wide open draft, Kane still takes top spot in all but despite putting several servicable NHLers in the league this draft comes off as a little weaker. Logan Couture is a sure fire 2nd pick and Jamie Benn is getting better each game becoming a dominate force for a hot Dallas team. Two players taken in the second round in PK.Subban (43rd) Wayne Simmonds (61st) would surely take up a first round pick, where Hickey would have fallen a round or two easily. While Jamie Benn and Max Pacioretty would have shot up the rankings, Karl Alzner, Sam Gagner and Kyle Turris would have fallen toward the later first round based on some opinion and team needs.
2006: 1.E.Johnson 2.J.Staal 3.Toews 4.N.Backstrom 5.Kessel 18.C.Stewart 22.C.Giroux
Re-Draft 1.Toews 2.Backstrom 3.Giroux 4.Johnson 5.Staal 6.Kessel 7.Stewart
I love this draft, mostly because its the hardest to look back because so many good players with unique attributes could have gone top 10 here. WIDE open doesn’t describe it, Toews with a Stanley Cup, Gold Medal, & Conn Smyth is huge, he oozes leadership, Kills the faceoff dot and his point totals will always be solid. Backstrom a pure passer here, it would have been the Pens pick and I doubt they pass on Erik Johnson after taking Crosby/Malkin in the years before. Nick Backstrom may be a little over rated benifiting from Ovies and Semins high numbers in a few years, but how can you pass on a guy with his skill. Claude Giroux is the man, been a huge fan for years as he looks to become a serious 90 point player and top line center for years to come, with a big ability to dominate a game. The wealth of talent continues to flow as Johnson, Staal, Kessel and Stewart round out the top 7. You see a guy who plays his role perfectly in Staal he could be a top line center and fills in when needed, but can shut down many of the top guys in the league, if I’m an NHL GM I want Jordan Staal on my top 2 lines, you win with guys like that. Kessel is currently working on his 4th, 30+ goal season and is on fire to start this year, he could finally be fit and grown-up enough to fill the shoes of a guy once thought to be the 1st overall in this draft. Chris Stewart 30 Goal scorer, power forward, hard to come by, enough said.
2005: 1.Crosby 2.B.Ryan 3.J.Johnson 4.Pouliot 5.Price 6.Brule
Re-Draft: 1.Crosby(Duh) 2.Kopitar 3.Ryan 4.Price 5.Letang 6.Johnson 7.Yandle 8.Neal
Lots of depth in the later part of this draft, Crosby is a no-brainer, Kopitar jumps up to 2 slot as he his starting to become a dominate young center in the west, Bobby Ryan is a pure goal scorer with size and skill, one of those rare breeds, a sure fire 3rd overall. Price might be the best Goalie in the league on another team, he goes up to 4. Price carries Montreal, put him on a team with solid D like Philly, Vancouver or Nashville and no doubt he’s won a Veizna by now. Kris Letang come WAY up from the early 3rd round and James Neal jumps into the top 10 from the early second round. A deep post lockout draft has some great late value that surely would have went earlier had they only known what could be. Marc Staal (12th), TJ Oshie (24th), Vlasic(35th), Pavelac (41st), Paul Stastny (44th) and way back there Keith Yandle (105th) who some would prefer over Jack Johnson, comes in no doubt in the Top 10.
So there you have it folks, the draft is an inexact science and as I attempt to educate myself on prospects, I find it a useful tool to look back and see what could have been, now to figure out what kept the low guys from going higher, and the high bust from meeting potential. Enjoy
As always, feedback, opinion and debate welcome
E-mail: thehockeyuniverse@gmail.com
Twitter: @AndyLevang
thehockeyuniverse 