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Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
I'm only going to address you thoughts on Ekblad. Was he physically mature in junior? Yes. Is THAT the reason why he was considered an exceptional talent? Hell f'ing no. And there aren't "countless" examples of players given exceptional player status who then had everyone else catch up to them. You're creating a completely false narrative to fit an argument that doesn't make sense.
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Of course not, and nobody is making that argument. But it was certainly something that was in his favor as a 15 year old. If he had a different maturity curve (say of a guy like Sam Bennett) he likely wouldn't have gotten exceptional status
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
Oh, and comparing Ekblad to Phaneuf? come on now....
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Wait, so comparing Phaneuf to Gaudreau is completely fair game, but comparing him to Ekblad is somehow off limits? The Phaneuf - Ekblad comparison is way more appropriate than the Phaneuf - Gaudreau comparison, not even sure how that is debatable.
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Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
He hasn't shown any progression since his rookie year? LOL, you can tell that you only watch the Flames play hockey. Ekblad has already become the team's top pairing shutdown defender AND offensive driver. He's an advanced stat dreamboat. Possibly one of the best shot suppression players in the game right now...and he's just 20. I don't know how much more progression you want to see from him.
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He was great in his rookie year as well, and more productive offensively
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Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
Because Ekblad plays a much harder position to learn and did so at an age that guys almost never break into the league. Even if a guy makes it as a defenseman at 18, they often have a lot of up and down problems. Ekblad has been nothing but consistent since entering the NHL at 18.
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If that is the case, then wouldn't that imply that Ekblad has even more variation with respect to the outcome distributions?
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Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
At the same age, Gaudreau was playing in a lesser league and learning how to adapt his skill set to playing with larger players. It was far from a guarantee that he would get to this level, let alone excel at it. People thought he would get killed playing with men. To his credit, he's learned how to play his game effectively without getting destroyed.
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And that should somehow be used against him?
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Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
Ekblad has been as sure a bet as you can make since day 1. There was never that sort of certainty with Gaudreau, but we're getting closer to asserting that he is one of the top players in the game. I would argue that Ekblad is probably already a top 10 defenseman in the NHL, but it would probably be debatable as to whether Gaudreau is a top 10 forward.
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Wow I would not agree with that, and neither would most people. There is a reason Johnny was rated much higher in the NHL's top 50 player list. Maybe one day Ekblad could be top 10, but you have to score more than 36 points to be an elite defenseman these days, regardless of how good you are in your own end.
Karlsson
Doughty
Hedman
OEL
Brodie
Subban
Letang
Weber
Josi
Burns
Keith
Vlasic
Pietrangelo
Are all ahead of Ekblad IMO.