McDavid vs. Eichel

Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel? Who's better? Two players coming from two completely different programs makes you raise an eyebrow on who is actually better.

Looking at Connor McDavid, he played three season with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League. Putting up at least a point-plus per game in each of those three seasons, with his best season being this season putting up about 120 points in just 47 games. Impressive? Yes, but numbers aren't everything. Looking at the Otters roster of this season, he wasn't the only one putting up impressive numbers. Six players put up over a point per game (one of them being Dylan Strome, who is expected to go in the top five this year).

Now taking a look at Jack Eichel from Boston University. One season as a freshman and put up Kariya-like numbers and also became the first freshman to win the Hobey Baker since Paul did back when he was a freshman at Maine. And if my research has served me right, he's the first American freshman to win the award. If you want my honest opinion, he will need more development before throwing him into the big show. But chances are, everyone will jump the gun (no matter where he goes), and throw him in and sign him. My opinion? Let the kid develop a little bit. If you are going to sign him right out of the draft, the least you can do is send him to the minors. But who knows what they will do. One season at a Division 1 University isn't really enough to constitute a huge draft stock, but that's what they pay these NHL scouts to do, is get them the insider on these young players. But remember, once he is signed, he can't go back to back to college for further development, unlike McDavid, who can go back to the juniors once he is signed (if need be).

So what is McDavid playing for? Money? Fame? A career in hockey? Sure. It doesn't seem like there is much pride to go around in the juniors, considering they are just preparing them for a hockey career and that's it (or that's at least all that's cared about). What if his hockey career tanks? Not every high numbered draft pick makes it. What could he have a career in? A sales rep at Canadian Tire? He's 18 with a plan that he is going to make it big in the NHL. We shall see. But I can't really say much different about Jack Eichel. What will he amount to if his career tanks? One year worth of college will probably land him into a management career (depending on how great his management skills are). Even though the chances are not high enough to constitute a complete draft bust, these boys have their eyes set on big league hockey and the fame that comes along with it. As long as we don't get another Sidney Crosby out of McDavid, we'll be alright. This league already has enough pretty boys. We already have Cry-Baby-Crosby, no need to add a Cry-Baby-Connor.

Lets see how next season pans out for these guys after the draft. My guess is, anyone who goes after them in the draft is bound to do a little better. The reason why I say this? They will get the development needed to play in the big leagues before being thrown in the cage. Don't forgot who is picking number one and two. Edmonton and Buffalo. As it sits now (and how it will most likely turn out), McDavid will get drafted to the Oilers and Eichel will go to the Sabres. The Sabres at least show some fight in them season after season, so Eichel will have a chance to get some decent development. But whoever Edmonton decides to take, they are doomed. Development comes to a screeching halt, much like the German airline that crashed into the Alps earlier this month. Not only is the development in question, but it puts their entire playing career in jeopardy if they are subject to the Oilers out of the draft. The best hope after getting picked by Edmonton is that you get traded at some point in the early part of your career.

Good luck boys, especially to who goes number one, you'll need it!

Who's going to take the cup this year?

Hey guys, it's me again talking about hockey. We have reached the playoffs and we are about half way through the first round. This year features five Canadian teams.

1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Ottawa Senators
3. Winnipeg Jets
4. Vancouver Canucks
5. Calgary Flames.

Of course I'm not rooting for a Canadian team, as I am a die-hard Red Wings fan. But I won't complain if we see a team from the great white north win the cup. It's only been what, like 22 years since we saw the Montreal Canadiens lift the cup. As they would be the last Canadian team to win it all, fans all over Canada have been patiently waiting for their team up there to take it all and bring it home.

Yes, I want the Red Wings to win the cup this year, but I also want to win the Megabucks, but there is very little chance at me accomplishing that. So, if my wings fail to lift a cup again, like they have been lately, I will gladly tip my hat to one of the teams from Canada if they can. My favorite would be the Habs.

We have the boys in Chicago looking to get back into the winners circle this year, and they are, unfortunately, the favorite to take it all this year. Yes, they are good, but who really wants to see the Blackhawks lift another one besides the people of Chicago? (I'm pulling for Nashville to take them out in the first round).

But like I said, as I would love to see my boys from the D take it this year, considering they have made the playoffs 24 years in a row and have nothing to show for it lately, I will gladly root for a Canadian team to take it home this year. And if anyone deserves it more than anyone, its Montreal. So, lets get it Habs, make Canada proud.

Let's hear who you want to win it all

P.S. I'm not Canadian.

Whats the benefit of being a top NHL Draft pick lately?

So I may be wrong here, but I have a feeling that I will have a vast majority actually agree with me on this one. What is the point of being a number one draft pick at the nhl level if the team that is picking you is ultimately a garbage team? No offense to the teams that always end up in the basement at the end of each season, but you know you can do better with a little bit of wheeling and dealing. I learned tonight that the Edmonton Oilers won the draft lottery (yes, again), and will receive number one pick. Let's look back at some of the picks that they have gotten in the last five years.

1. Leon Draisaitl, #3 overall in 2014
2. Darnell Nurse, #7 overall in 2013
3. Nail Yakupov, #1 overall in 2012
4. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, #1 overall in 2011
5. Taylor Hall, #1 overall in 2010

They have received a number one pick three times out of the last five years. For a team that is getting the best young talent to come to the NHL level, they are consistantly putting up sub-par numbers and getting a top 10 pick almost every year. A huge problem that I am seeing is within their development. A lot of these young talents that come into the league as a top pick are being put straight into NHL play and expected to make an immediate impact. In rare cases, things like this work to their advantage, but in about 90% of the cases, it can crash and burn. I'm not calling these past five picks a complete fluke, but what I am saying is that these players would have a higher chance at reaching full potential if they played with a team that had a better development program and then put them into the big show with more experienced players. The one case where we have seen an immediate impact in a true all-star player was Wayne Gretzky. To be honest with you, I find that this is what the front office in Edmonton is going off of. Not every top draft pick is going to go on and put up next-to-impossible numbers like Gretzky did. Like I said, he is a rare case. I believe that Edmonton should let their crop grow before they harvest it. Yes, these picks have put up great numbers, but are they really playing to full NHL potential? Who knows?

So what is the benefit of being a top NHL Draft pick lately? The real question is, do you really want to go to a team that seems like they want to tank to get a top pick? What is the real benefit of having a team full of recent top picks? To be brutally honest, there is absolutely zero benefit. Yes, you have the talent in these young stars, but you are lacking two more important keys to building a highly competitive and contending team; experience and ambition. Experience, ambition, and talent are the three keys to winning championships. So back to the question of what the real benefit is, you are joining the big show (fresh out of the juniors where you put up monsterous numbers), with a group of young players that were in the same boat you were a few years ago. While these previous picks have showed a lot of get up and have a few years of experience under their belt, they aren't the kind of players that you need to be around to get the experience that you deserve.

So to the NHL, let's shake things up a little bit, eh? Instead of doing a draft lottery for the teams that didn't make the playoffs and then order them based on their records, lets do a completely random picking system. "The luck of the draw," as I would put it. That way, teams will play to their absolute potential instead of playing for a top pick.

So as this was my first blog, I will say I have more to come. I haven't come up with a catchy catch phrase for this kind of thing yet, but maybe in time I will.