Reality? Nice try passing off your opinion as reality.
I've seen them both. I'd take Hamilton. I think his game will transition better to the NHL too. Just because Rielly can make fancier plays doesn't make him the better player.
It's not about fancy plays. It's about carrying the play. Which is a big factor in making him the better player.
And still have been given no counter-analysis to my analysis of both players, so yes, it is reality.
You could, but he's certainly a safer bet to reach the "1st pairing defenseman" skill level than Rielly in my opinion.
Just the nature of that type of defenseman - as I said it's incredibly difficult to cut it as an undersized offensive defenseman in the NHL.
He certainly could make it though, no question about it. Just not as likely.
6'0" 205 is being built like a truck. It doesnt matter about hieght if your that strong.... Multiple examples to prove it. Lanky D however have less balance, less agility which makes for a harder transition. If anything body types at this point is in Riellys favour unless Hamilton makes huge strides in filling his frame (again has the potential to hinder mobility causing him to be less effective). It seems to me like there are more questions surrounding Hamiltons size
Both are going to be solid players for their respective teams. Hamilton has that extra year of development but let's wait and see how Rielly does at the WJ
I see no other reasons given for why people think Hamilton is better defensively.
I have seen both quite a bit now, and that is what I am basing my decision on. I think Rielly surpasses Hamilton in ability to create plays. I often find myself saying "Oh, he got an assist" when watching Hamilton. I often find myself saying "Oh, he didn't get an assist?" when watching Rielly. I think Hamilton is more the type of player that racks up points, somewhat behind the scenes. He gets a hell of a lot of them, I give him that, but I see Rielly as the type that actually makes things happen from nothing (and this season especially, to no avail). Rielly's team has gone 1-4-4 or something in the last 9, and Rielly is still the best player out there on either team most nights.
As for defensively, I don't see what makes one better than the other. I have probably seen more good defensive plays out of Hamilton, but I have also seen a lot more bone-headed plays out of him too. He also has gone on these good and bad stretches a lot, while I believe Rielly has been more consistent (in play, not necessarily in points). Meanwhile, Rielly is on a far worse team.
Yeah, Hamilton has height on Rielly, but it's not like he uses it to his advantage or anything, at least physically. In fact, the way it looks now, Rielly is going to be the bigger, more physically imposing player once they reach the NHL. He's a gym-rat.
And the usual consensus around here is that the one who can make plays, the one who does the quiet-steady thing in the defensive zone, the one who is a gym-rat, the one that is faster, and the one that hit that level one year sooner is the better choice. Except when it's a Leaf.
So all of Rielly's points are due to his super-awesomeness and all of Dougie's points are him just getting lucky. Rielly "hit that level one year sooner" uh, no, check Dougie's accolades from 2011-2012. This is why nobody argues with your "facts", your whole post just reeks of blatant homerism.
6'0" 205 is being built like a truck. It doesnt matter about hieght if your that strong.... Multiple examples to prove it. Lanky D however have less balance, less agility which makes for a harder transition. If anything body types at this point is in Riellys favour unless Hamilton makes huge strides in filling his frame (again has the potential to hinder mobility causing him to be less effective). It seems to me like there are more questions surrounding Hamiltons size
Well there's 297 defenseman who played in the NHL and 75 are 6' or under (26%). Of those 75, only 18 of them are at, or over, 205 pounds.
So actually it seems like those type of players are exceptionally rare. Of those, only 9 played over 20 minutes per game:
Kevin Shattenkirk
Tim Gleason
Justin Faulk
Drew Doughty
James Wisniewski
Francois Beauchemin
P.K. Subban
Barret Jackman
Matthew Carle
Great players absolutely, but those are the guys that made it and are the best of the best (using ice time as a benchmark).
Like I said, it's totally possible that he makes it happen, but it is very hard to make it as a 6' or smaller defenseman (26% of total population): and weight doesn't really seem to make any difference.
You could, but he's certainly a safer bet to reach the "1st pairing defenseman" skill level than Rielly in my opinion.
Just the nature of that type of defenseman - as I said it's incredibly difficult to cut it as an undersized offensive defenseman in the NHL.
He certainly could make it though, no question about it. Just not as likely.
Why do people constantly bring up Reilly's size as though he is small? Not only is he not small, he also excelled at the combine in the strength tests.
...I certainly hope you're not talking about Crosby.
What makes you think Rielly is already on the same level as Hamilton?
Just saying, but you could easily make a case for Rielly. I mean, everytime they have played together or against the same competition (All Canada-Russia series), Rielly has impressed much much more than Hamilton. Sample size I know, but you could make a case.
Well there's 297 defenseman who played in the NHL and 75 are 6' or under (26%). Of those 75, only 18 of them are at, or over, 205 pounds.
So actually it seems like those type of players are exceptionally rare. Of those, only 9 played over 20 minutes per game:
Kevin Shattenkirk
Tim Gleason
Justin Faulk
Drew Doughty
James Wisniewski
Francois Beauchemin
P.K. Subban
Barret Jackman
Matthew Carle
Great players absolutely, but those are the guys that made it and are the best of the best (using ice time as a benchmark).
Like I said, it's totally possible that he makes it happen, but it is very hard to make it as a 6' or smaller defenseman (26% of total population): and weight doesn't really seem to make any difference.
At 18 (still growing) he already weighs as much or more than 7 of the top 11 offensive d-men (plus his strength results at combine).
Just saying, but you could easily make a case for Rielly. I mean, everytime they have played together or against the same competition (All Canada-Russia series), Rielly has impressed much much more than Hamilton. Sample size I know, but you could make a case.
Hamilton played a great game against Russia, Rielly was good but not flawless, not that I should be surprised Rielly impressed much much more in your mind.
Last edited by bruinsfan46: 11-15-2012 at 12:44 PM.
That seems unfair. Rielly has terrific offensive abilities.
Not only unfair but silly. Essentially what he said was "if you remove the fact that many paid professionals deemed him to be the be worthy of being near best of his age group (even with a devastating injury and almost no games played) and ignore that he is among the best in the world at arguably the most important skill in his trade, what else is there"?
If you ignore Bill Gates' bank account and stocks, I'm the better pick financially....
At 18 (still growing) he already weighs as much or more than 7 of the top 11 offensive d-men (plus his strength results at combine).
How do you know he's still growing? 18 is pretty old for height growth. And how is his weight compared to offensive dmen relevant to his odds of amounting to a first pairing defenseman?
Hamilton played the best game a Canadian defenseman has played in the Subway Series, just total shutdown defense and he actually got a point. Not a fraction as flashy but you also don't have to ignore a handful of less than stellar defensive plays.
Pretty bold statement that can definitely be debated. He wasn't even assigned to shutdown Yakupov's line. It was Harrington and Percy who shut him down, and it wasn't til Hamilton was paired up with Harrington in the final minutes of the game that Yakupov was able to score against him. I don't blame Hamilton for that, but I wouldn't call him the total shutdown on defense.
Hamilton played the best game a Canadian defenseman has played in the Subway Series, just total shutdown defense and he actually got a point. Not a fraction as flashy but you also don't have to ignore a handful of less than stellar defensive plays.
What game were you watching? I saw the point but the rest you said is ridiculous
Judging from most of the posts here, people haven't even seen Hamilton play. He's getting overrated big time. He's not a future franchise defenseman. He'll be a good #2 or great #3 capable of putting up around 30-35 points a season. You heard it here first!
Judging from most of the posts here, people haven't even seen Hamilton play. He's getting overrated big time. He's not a future franchise defenseman. He'll be a good #2 or great #3 capable of putting up around 30-35 points a season. You heard it here first!
So what you're saying is that any source that has him being projected as a franchise defenseman hasn't seen him play?
How can you say I'm a homer? I'm present my argument in detail and supporting it with what I have observed from the two players so far. I've also seen a lot more of Dougie than Rielly. All I'm saying is that I prefer a smart player that is dynamic. It's my favourite type of player and those players usually have success. I'm not denying that Dougie is talented or capable of playing good defense. Just saying that I find his hockey sense questionable at times.
Probably because you compared Hamilton to Cody Franson.
But this is HFBoards, where it's your job to scream about how everything you say is right until you realize that the facts prove you wrong at which point you forget it ever happened and go back to claiming how you're always right.
