• For users coming over from tmlfans.ca your username will remain the same but you will need to use the password reset feature (check your spam folder) on the login page in order to set your password. If you encounter issues, email Rick couchmanrick@gmail.com

So the debate begins: Matthews vs. Laine

CarltonTheBear said:
The fact that NHLe would rate it above the Finnish league alone seems off.

I would rank it Finland, Sweden, Swiss.

A Swedish team won the Champions Hockey League this year - Frolunda beating Karat Oulu. The other 2 semi finalists were Davos (Switzerland) and Lukko (Finland).

In the QF stage it was 4 Finnish sides, 3 Swedish and 1 Swiss.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Zee said:

Again, not to take anything away from Matthews because, again, I'd draft him 1st overall, but I wouldn't really use NHLe when dealing with leagues like the NLA. There's just not nearly enough data there to get an accurate read on how a player's numbers would translate from there to the NHL because there hasn't been enough players to go from the Swiss leagues to the NHL. Even most of the Swiss players in the NHL didn't play there. The fact that NHLe would rate it above the Finnish league alone seems off.

Isn't it literally just looking at players who moved from those particular leagues to the NHL and calculating what % of their points they were able to translate from that league to the NHL?  The numbers would be what they would be, but it's just one factor among many and is only so useful.
 
Matthews highlights from FIN (3) vs USA (2)
https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4-mobile/zssm.mp4
 
L K said:
Matthews 1 assist +1 rating
Laine -1 rating 1 penalty, benched for the 3rd period
That's with Matthews playing on a line with AHLers vs Laine playing with good NHLers
 
Auston Matthews speaks with Darren Dreger
http://www.tsn.ca/hockey-canada/video/matthews-on-leafs-it-s-the-hockey-mecca-of-the-world~867089

Sadly not as awesome as Laine, but he sure is polished.
 
Heroic Shrimp said:
Corey Pronman was on TSN1050 yesterday, saying he considered it a toss-up between Matthews and Laine.

This guy is a joke. I really don't take anything he says seriously.
He once said that Freddy Gauthier was an excellent skater!
 
gunnar36 said:
Heroic Shrimp said:
Corey Pronman was on TSN1050 yesterday, saying he considered it a toss-up between Matthews and Laine.

This guy is a joke. I really don't take anything he says seriously.
He once said that Freddy Gauthier was an excellent skater!

I highly doubt he said that unless you can provide a link.  More than likely he called him above average.
 
Bullfrog said:

?Gauthier experienced an up-and-down campaign. He showed significant flashes, but also lapsed offensively for long stretches. He measures at 6?5″, 214 pounds, has some offensive talent, and shows advanced play for his age. He is an above-average skater, well above-average for a player his size, as he has a real easiness to his stride. He exerts little effort in his pushoffs, and he picks up speed very well. He is very agile, given his size. He had good offensive numbers this season, despite lining up against the opposition?s best players and taking a lot of defensive zone draws. He has a good amount of offensive hockey sense, but sometimes he is too conservative and would be better served by letting his creativity show. His pure offensive upside is a question mark. He also can be a gentle giant at times. He will engage, and I would not describe his play as soft, but he will not throw his body around, and he is not the meanest of players. Despite his frame, he does need to get stronger, and he could stand to shoot a tad more as well.?

Doesn't mean he is an excellent skater, just better than expected for Gauthier's size.
 
Looking back a number of people/services were complimentary of his skating. Button, ISS, RedLine, FutureConsiderations, McKeens.

*shrugs*
 
herman said:
Bullfrog said:

?Gauthier experienced an up-and-down campaign. He showed significant flashes, but also lapsed offensively for long stretches. He measures at 6?5″, 214 pounds, has some offensive talent, and shows advanced play for his age. He is an above-average skater, well above-average for a player his size, as he has a real easiness to his stride. He exerts little effort in his pushoffs, and he picks up speed very well. He is very agile, given his size. He had good offensive numbers this season, despite lining up against the opposition?s best players and taking a lot of defensive zone draws. He has a good amount of offensive hockey sense, but sometimes he is too conservative and would be better served by letting his creativity show. His pure offensive upside is a question mark. He also can be a gentle giant at times. He will engage, and I would not describe his play as soft, but he will not throw his body around, and he is not the meanest of players. Despite his frame, he does need to get stronger, and he could stand to shoot a tad more as well.?

Doesn't mean he is an excellent skater, just better than expected for Gauthier's size.

His comments about his stride and ease in which he pushes off back then are probably on the money, by all accounts his skating took a quantum leap forward when he started working with Barb Underhill.

If he already had good fundamentals for a big man, I'm sure with a few technique pointers from Barb he would have seen real improvement.
 
The Goat needs to take some mean lessons from Keptian Komarov on pesky play. I love Freddy and think he has a place with the big team, but a little truculence will go along way.
 
At this point I can't see any reason how the Leafs could pass on Matthews.

However, if the Leafs believe that Laine is the better player, and they would feel confident that they will be able to sign Stamkos as their #1 centre, then I guess it is something they should strongly consider.
 
Peter D. said:
At this point I can't see any reason how the Leafs could pass on Matthews.

However, if the Leafs believe that Laine is the better player, and they would feel confident that they will be able to sign Stamkos as their #1 centre, then I guess it is something they should strongly consider.

I would still rather than Matthews and Stamkos, vs Laine and Stamkos.
Heck, I'd even prefer Puljujarvi to Laine, personally. Laine is really good, but if his scoring dries up, he doesn't do as much away from the puck as the other two to keep things going in the right direction.
 
herman said:
Peter D. said:
At this point I can't see any reason how the Leafs could pass on Matthews.

However, if the Leafs believe that Laine is the better player, and they would feel confident that they will be able to sign Stamkos as their #1 centre, then I guess it is something they should strongly consider.

I would still rather than Matthews and Stamkos, vs Laine and Stamkos.
Heck, I'd even prefer Puljujarvi to Laine, personally. Laine is really good, but if his scoring dries up, he doesn't do as much away from the puck as the other two to keep things going in the right direction.

I don't know if I agree re: Laine vs. Puljujarvi but I definitely agree about Matthews at this point. He's really impressed me and the idea of having a Toews/Kopitar/Bergeron type and having skilled guys like Marner/Nylander out there to provide the scoring punch really strikes me as a good combination.
 
Nik the Trik said:
herman said:
Peter D. said:
At this point I can't see any reason how the Leafs could pass on Matthews.

However, if the Leafs believe that Laine is the better player, and they would feel confident that they will be able to sign Stamkos as their #1 centre, then I guess it is something they should strongly consider.

I would still rather than Matthews and Stamkos, vs Laine and Stamkos.
Heck, I'd even prefer Puljujarvi to Laine, personally. Laine is really good, but if his scoring dries up, he doesn't do as much away from the puck as the other two to keep things going in the right direction.

I don't know if I agree re: Laine vs. Puljujarvi but I definitely agree about Matthews at this point. He's really impressed me and the idea of having a Toews/Kopitar/Bergeron type and having skilled guys like Marner/Nylander out there to provide the scoring punch really strikes me as a good combination.

And it's not like Matthews is lacking himself in the scoring department either. He scores from the perimeter, from off the rush, from the blue paint scrambles, and off re-directs.

I think our management team really wants to get away from the idea of building the team core centred around a superstar winger. They have tremendous value, but it's like having the strongest chest and arms ever but always skipping leg and back days.
 
Potvin29 said:
So apparently Pronman put Laine #1 in his final draft rankings.

Was he around for the 2008 (Stamkos vs Doughty) and 2009 (Tavares vs Hedman) drafts?  Does anyone have what his rankings were for those drafts? 
 

About Us

This website is NOT associated with the Toronto Maple Leafs or the NHL.


It is operated by Rick Couchman and Jeff Lewis.
Back
Top