Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
Hossa would be amazing. IMO the most underrated reason the Blackhawks have become a dynasty, is how much better Hossa secretly makes Toews.
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I don't know if that's a good comparison. But I can see a similar role.
Put it this way, watching Barkov in Finland, it was clear that he's very intelligent and an incredibly strong 2-way player. You could debate his probable offense in the NHL (60 points? 70? 80?) but his strengths were obvious and undeniable. Combine that with his size and you easily have a number one center. Money in the bank.
Watching Laine, he's obviously a goal scorer. He can just stand there and shoot pucks past goalies.
Maybe I'm being too simplistic, but with Puljujärvi, it's way harder to be sure for some reason. Size, hard work, speed, certainly, but if we're thinking he's a first line forward, can we name the thing that what will make him succeed? He's a passer but without the obvious skill of a natural playmaker. He has a good shot in theory but not a goal scorer in practice. What I can say is that he's someone who will win a lot of puck battles for his linemates, he sees his linemates and he's a good enough passer to get pucks to them, he'll drive up the speed through the neutral zone and he'll be equally fast on the back check.