Quote:
Originally Posted by driveway
Monahan v. Other #1 centres in the league at 20 years old.
Monahan 140gp 46g 34a 80p
Kopitar 164gp 52g 96a 138p
Getzlaf 57gp 14g 25a 39p
Toews 147gp 58g 65a 123p
Tavares 161gp 53g 68a 121p
Backstrom 82gp 13g 55a 69p
Seguin 155gp 40g 49a 89p
Giroux 2gp 0g 0a 0p
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As impressive as Monahans stats and development are at his age, I think this also hints that he'll probably be just that one step below the elite #1s. He's up there when it comes to goals, but his assist totals are relatively lagging (even though he's made big strides this year). Now he might not have as good line mates as some of these guys had, but the truly elite centers tend to excel there too.
Don't get me wrong, I think we got the steal of the draft, but I'm not sure he has that playmaking ability that most of these guys have, and that's one of those things that is more of a natural trait, than a learned one. He's the guy who scores the clutch goals, is in the right place at the right time, is defensively aware... but I don't think he's the necessarily the grand puppet master on his line that makes everyone else around him dance. That along with his relatively average speed makes me still think he'll be more of a 1B centre at the end of the day. A 1B who might be your Captain and score the Stanley Cup winner for you though, so I'll take it just fine.