Quote:
Originally Posted by JTech780
Other players have stepped in to the NCAA at the same age or younger and they continued dominate. He is always going to be small, at the NHL level the players he is going to play against aren’t going to get smaller and weaker.
Since 2000 his pace of 1.13 points would put him 7th amongst draft eligible U19 players. He is behind Fantili (1.81), Eichel (1.78), Celebrini (1.68), Kessel (1.31), Schroeder (1.29), and Zeev Buium (1.19). Not to mention Matthews who produced at 1.28 ppg in the Swiss League in his draft year.
So while he has been doing well, he is behind some other very good talents. On top of that he is a winger and wingers just aren’t that valuable.
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I struggle with these types of comparisons, because they’re bound to not be apples to apples. The league was filled with completely different players when those guys did what they did. They played on different teams with different strengths, and the opposition was completely different. Maybe it was a weaker league, maybe they had better teammates, maybe they were more physically developed… I don’t know but am not willing to ignore those variables.
He plays on a mediocre 4-4 team, is 3rd in scoring as a 17-year old kid playing with and against men 4-6 years older than him. He’s one of, if not the youngest player in the league and he’s shooting at an unsustainably unlucky 6.8% shooting percentage. By all accounts he’s generating scoring chances at a historic rate. Guys that can do what he does are super rare. Flames fans should know that better than anyone because we’ve rarely had them.
Remember back to Connor McDavid playing in the world juniors as a 16-year old, when he scored 1g,3a in 7 games, he wasn’t a star on that team, he was a kid learning his way amongst elder teammates, playing bottom six minutes. Then he came back the next season a year older and popped off for 11p in 7 games. It’s pretty normal progression and what McKenna is experiencing by shifting to a different league at 17 is a similar experience in my eyes.
Kids with his level of talent don’t just stop being great players. Give it time, with a little growing, he will catch up and get back to dominating opponents. This is very much short term pain for long term gain and the team that gets him will be all the better for him having gone through it.
The list throughout Flames history of players who have ever scored 100 points at any level of hockey is an extremely short one. And the list that did it in the fashion McKenna did is non-existent. A player like McKenna would be an absolute game changer for the franchise, no question in my mind.
I haven’t felt this way about a potential prospect since MacKinnon. He may not be a Center, but the Flames as an organization desperately need him.