Ottawa is the one that really ****ed up. Couturier could have replaced both Fisher and Kelly. Spezza-Turris-Couturier would give them exceptional matching options.
You'd think after Fowler and Getzlaf they'd learn that player interviews are worthless.
As mentioned, you're talking about one of the best drafting teams in the league. I'm not saying they were right, but you simply have to respect their opinions as professionals. They liked Zibanejad - a lot, so they picked him instead.
I personally wanted Hamilton, but again, I trust one of the best groups of scouts in the league.
yeah you can teach any 19 year old to completely shut down the league's leading scorer in his first ever playoff game
god what an awful post
i dont think hockey is for you
His post and point still stand.
You can teach defense more so than you can teach offensive skill. Does Couturier have fantastic defensive skills? Absolutely. But in a few years the guys taken above Couturier have the potential to be just as good as him defensively, and potentially better offensively.
The fact he's 19 has nothing to do with it. In fact it's the exact opposite. This is mostly about where in 5 years do these players stand.
I had the feeling that Couturier would definitely go top 5 in 2011, and ahead of those 3 centres especially. Why were the drafted ahead of him? Do they project to be better than him long term? No disrespect to them as players, but I though Couturier was the consensus best centre after RNH.
i asked that exact same question watching the draft. Couturier was def second in forwards on my list and pushing for first overall.
i was never as sold on huberdeau as florida obviously was and i was VERY surprised how far Couturier slipped
Ottawa is the one that really ****ed up. Couturier could have replaced both Fisher and Kelly. Spezza-Turris-Couturier would give them exceptional matching options.
IMO, Zibanejad will be much better than Couturier.
I think most people generally agree that Couturier should have gone in the top 5 (either 4 or 5). He doesnt have the high end skill as RNH, or Huberdeau and hes not as fast or physically strong as Landeskog, but he does everything well.
The Devils however needed a defenceman, the Isles were dumb enough to get sucked in by Strome's flair, Ottawa needed a winger, and Cheveldayoff showed that while he is a smart man, he has clearly never been involved in an NHL draft, where such thing as trading down exists
Before we start killing teams for NOT picking Couturier, can we at least wait to see what kind of players the other guys will be please? For all we know any of those 3 could end up being better than him for cripes sake...
Couturier will be a future mainstay in Selke nominations, just wait for it. I'll take that and his 40-60 points he will produce yearly over guys who will be lucky to top out at 70
Couturier's most seen opponent this year is Evgeni Malkin.
Essentially, Peter Laviolette matches up Sean Couturier against Malkin for every Pens vs Flyers game.
In the 7 games this year (including tonight's playoff game), Malkin has scored 2 even strength points (both assists) when Couturier is on the ice.
2 assists in 7 games when Couturier is out there against the 2nd best player in the league and future Hart winner for this past season.
Agreed. He is a great Defencive player that also threw up almost 30 points this season. The Jets could of used him this year to shut down top competitors and lower the GA, giving us more of a chance for the playoffs.
Defence can be taught.........ya but he is a natural and Defence usually wins Championships
Well here's my analysis, which is the same one I repeated pre-draft.
Huberdeau was already better than Couturier at the time they were picked with one less season played. Huberdeau led the entire CHL in 5on5 pts and was QMJHL playoff + memorial cup MVP. Couturier was coming off of an upset vs Gatineau where he was something like -6 in one game or two and was completely shut down offensively.
In Huberdeau's third Q season (after the fact, but the only season you can compare to Couturier's because of the age + experience difference) he maintained a 2pt/game scoring rate.
Larsson should've been drafted before Huberdeau imo, so that speaks for itself and Lando+RNH are both Calder noms.
As for Strome, I've never been as enamoured with him as so many others are, but I don't watch him on a regular basis and don't pretend I do.
The "teach defence" "Huberdeau's offensive upside/ceiling is better" vs "Couturier's a top shutdown guy" "he can learn offence" "he's not picked for offence" blah blah argument is irrelevant considering that AT THE TIME OF THE DRAFT, Huberdeau was better and if you want to know why any one player was picked first, you have to eliminate ALL hindsight bias and think about why these teams picked who they did AT THE TIME OF THE DRAFT.
Agreed. He is a great Defencive player that also threw up almost 30 points this season. The Jets could of used him this year to shut down top competitors and lower the GA, giving us more of a chance for the playoffs.
Defence can be taught.........ya but he is a natural and Defence usually wins Championships
I agree. I was so stoked when our pick came around and he was still on the board. Then "WTF"!!!
We sure could have used his defensive awareness this year and many more years down the road.
IMO, Zibanejad will be much better than Couturier.
I really wanted the isles to get Zib last year. I think his offensive upside is much greater than Couturiers, and i think they could end up being comparable on the defensive side. I just hope this draft pick (Strome) doesnt come back to bite the isles in the ass....again
What's that fairy tale, again? Right, the tortoise and the hare. Moral of the story: It's not how you start, but how ya finish; therefore, I wouldn't get all rapped up with the notion that Couturier (aka Jordan Staal, imo) is better because he's already in the NHL. Huberdeau (aka Nicklas Backstrom, imo) will be better than Sean Couturier. Mark that down and take it to the bank. I don't really know that much about Scheifele (although I didn't like the pick at the time, mostly because i had no clue as to who the kid was) and Strome is a completely different type of player (most likely a 2nd line centre). In terms of Zibanejad, I'm a Sens so obviously I'd rather him as our 1st or 2nd line RW than Couturier as our 3rd line centre.
I don't see why people seems to think he dosn't have potential while he was scoring at 1.66 PPG inm the junior and was at one point taught to be a potential 1st OV.
The guy might not be the best skater in the world but he is a very complete player, with good hands, and is already having a decent scoring season at age 19 playing 3rd line minutes.
Strome had a very impressive season as a 17 year old. His numbers put him in very select company. Someone on these boards ran some numbers for points scored in a draft eligible year and controlled for age and the results were interesting, with Strome being higher than most recent high picks. I'll see if I can find it.
To play Devil's advocate for a moment, someone also performed a statistical analysis that "proved" Eric Staal had a better season than Claude Giroux. I'm not so sure that such an analysis is better than the reality. Scouts/media criticized his work ethic on the ice and his attitude in general.
I guess I'm just wary of heavily "adjusted" (?) statistics.
The "teach defence" "Huberdeau's offensive upside/ceiling is better" vs "Couturier's a top shutdown guy" "he can learn offence" "he's not picked for offence" blah blah argument is irrelevant considering that AT THE TIME OF THE DRAFT, Huberdeau was better and if you want to know why any one player was picked first, you have to eliminate ALL hindsight bias and think about why these teams picked who they did AT THE TIME OF THE DRAFT.
Agreed. Just focusing on my team the Jets. I felt that we needed Couturier at the time more then Scheifele based on the roster and team needs. I could care less about Strome and Huberdeau as they were going to go high anyway. Based on team needs I felt the Jets should of went after Couturier.
We chose Scheifele. Today Couturier is logging good minutes and neautralizing top scoreers while Scheif matures more in the JRs.
We will obviously not know which pick was better for the Jets until Scheif makes the show. Just my perspective on my teams choice.
I agree with you. Just thought I'd share it because I thought it was interesting. Regardless, Strome's season was clearly impressive and there really was no reason to be surprised that he was drafted so early. 100+ points as a 17 year old puts him in select company.
I think people are putting a lot of stock into the fact that Couturier can play in the NHL as an 18 yr old. He can and it's a good sign but I don't see his offensive talent as high as Huberdeau or his skill as high as Strome's (can't really comment on Scheifele, only saw him play a couple Wpg games but he showed he has some decent hands).
Re: Strome over Couturier, why do the Islanders do anything that they do? You'll never figure it out, they're a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.
