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Originally Posted by Jay Random
That's true. On the other hand, they were all younger than Gaudreau is now, and therefore could be expected to improve more from year to year...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenLantern
What was the age of those players when they were given that ranking?
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Crosby, Kovalchuk, and Kane were all 18, and Malkin was 20-years-old. But here is the thing about NHLE: It EQUALIZES components to a degree that the comparison from one league to another is fairly consistent.
Compared to their peers in Canadian Juniour, Crosby and Kane both projected to be +60 point-scorers in their first NHL season, and both surpassed that mark by a considerable amount.
Compared to his peers in the NCAA, Gaudreau projects to be a +60 point-scorer next year, which is fantastic. But because his NHLE is so high, and because he is comparatively very young to make the move from college to the NHL, it should not come as a surprise to also see him surpass that mark.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenLantern
What is the difference, developmental wise, between a year of 17-18 or 18-19 and 20-21?
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Quite a lot, which is why the NHLE for the Canadian Juniour leagues is so much lower than it is for the European Elite leagues, the KHL, and the NCAA. YEs, age is important, but people make the mistake of expecting that because college players are commonly older upon their entry into the NHL, then this must mean that their NHLE is somehow not as significant. On the contrary, I think the age discrepancy is actually reflected in the results, which is also why Gaudreau's NHLE is all that more significant, since he will be among a fairly small group of NCAA players to make his NHL debut under the age of 21.