Quote:
Originally Posted by Buff
The more I read, the more I think Laine is going to be the best player from this class. Is his stock rising so much because he has played more than Matthews over the past few weeks so people are just going by what is freshest in their memory? Or is he really improving as the season goes on and impressing scouts that much more? Did he just catch fire at the best possible time? Either way, it sounds like he is going to be a good NHL player. Hopefully for the team that picks him (teams not from Edmonton or Vancouver), he'll be a star for a long time.
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You've got to think that Laine having a deep run in his leagues play offs whilst Matthews went out in the 1st round really affected peoples judgements. The play offs are a great chance to see what players are like in high pressure, clutch situations and both Laine and Puljujarvi showed fantastic character during their teams play off runs.
I reckon had Matthews had a deep run with his Swiss team, he would have helped solidify his place at the top of the rankings.
Was looking at the Swiss play offs and it was incredible how it all played out. Bern, the team that swept out Matthews' ZSC Lions in the quarter finals, won the semi finals 4-1 and then the final 4-1. They were the 8th and lowest ranked seed to make the play offs. They were level on points with the team in 9th and they had to go into a play out to even stay in the league. So Bern barely made it in, had a mediocre 21-20-9 record, yet still romped the play offs, only dropping 2 games in the process. They 1st, 2nd and 5th seeds to win it as well. Incredible. Kinda like the Kings from a few years ago.
Anyway, back on topic.