[News] Article: Monahan and Gaudreau are the next elite NHL duo

[jg13]

Pretty long article with a lot of comparisons to Toews and Kane.

Anything hockey related in August is worth posting in my opinion, check it out!

http://www.todaysslapshot.com/nhl-we...oews-and-kane/

It seems somewhat premature to dub Monahan and Gaudreau the next Toews and Kane, but the similarities are much more abundant than they may seem.

Sure, there are the obvious ones – with each duo being comprised of a serious, hyper-focused Canadian star alongside a speedy, American stickhandling king – but a deeper look into how each of these four players approach the game tells a more comprehensive story.

The similarity between Gaudreau and Kane is easy to spot after watching a handful of shifts from each of the two wingers. Both have grounded their games in speed, expert stickhandling, and elite vision, and have used said attributes to move past the disadvantage of their similarly smaller statures.

Their rookie season scoring clip was fairly similar as well – each tallied just over 20 goals while piling up a decent amount of assists. Kane’s 72 points during his rookie campaign slightly bested Gaudreau’s 64, though the former also began his career at a time when overall NHL scoring was much higher.

[CaptainYooh]

[foofighter15]

This is news?

[Sylvanfan]

Does Gaudreau have any bad apple cousins who may dust up a cab driver?

[underGRADFlame]

And to think we have Sam Bennett too.

[bax]

I love this comparison and think that it's fairly accurate, but it's important to remember that Kane jumped to the NHL right after the draft and Johnny spent 3 years in college. Still so happy to have the duo though

[FBI]

It is so weird to have the media agreeing with CP these days.

[DionTheDman]

Originally Posted by underGRADFlame

And to think we have Sam Bennett too.

Maybe we can find a way to stuff all three on the same line.

[Brewmaster]

While I agree that Monahan and Gaudreau are beginning to look remarkably similar to Toews and Kane, I don't think their Junior/College careers were all that similar. Gaudreau, in particular, was a late round draft pick that accomplished everything possible at Boston College over a 3 year period. Even at the start of this season, Gaudreau entered the NHL with a ton of question marks as to whether he would be an impact player. Kane, on the other hand, was drafted 1st overall and jumped right into the NHL as an 18 year old.

The article also points out that Toews and Monahan had similar PPG numbers in their 'pre-NHL' seasons, but fails to recognize that PPG numbers in the OHL and the NCAA are entirely different.

[mile]

Monahan's second season (not his first) should be compared to Toews' first season. Toews' rookie season was a year after he was drafted.

In addition to what was said about NCAA and OHL PPG numbers being different, Toews' 54 point rookie season was in 64 games. Monahan's 34 point season isn't really close to that, but shouldn't be compared anyways.

The Gaudreau and Kane comparisons have always been spot on. Only difference is that Gaudreau needed three years to become a player close to what Kane was in his first year.

After next year people might be saying Monahan, Gaudreau, and Bennett are the next elite NHL trio.

[Hugh Jahrmes]

3 elite forwards (with Bennett on the way) and 3 elite defencemen with two more who are "elite second pairing" guys.

F yeah

[PlayfulGenius]

I don't expect Monahan to be as good as Toews... nor do I expect Gaudreau to be as good as Kane... but I'm crazy excited, nonetheless (as we all are)...

... I agree it particularly exciting to consider Bennett could be better than the other 2 Flames mentioned... it's a great time to be a Flames Fan, no question.

[FiveSeven]

Originally Posted by PlayfulGenius

I don't expect Monahan to be as good as Toews... nor do I expect Gaudreau to be as good as Kane... but I'm crazy excited, nonetheless (as we all are)...

I must be crazy but I think that one day soon they might be better, or at least one of them.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by mile

Monahan's second season (not his first) should be compared to Toews' first season. Toews' rookie season was a year after he was drafted.

In addition to what was said about NCAA and OHL PPG numbers being different, Toews' 54 point rookie season was in 64 games. Monahan's 34 point season isn't really close to that, but shouldn't be compared anyways.

The Gaudreau and Kane comparisons have always been spot on. Only difference is that Gaudreau needed three years to become a player close to what Kane was in his first year.

After next year people might be saying Monahan, Gaudreau, and Bennett are the next elite NHL trio.

Gaudreau needed those 3 years to grow out of puberty, but he always had insane talent. I would never say Johnny will be as good as Kane but I do think he could reach 88 points someday which would match Kane's top point total.

[Geeoff]

I think the stylistic comparison is apt but they've got a long way to go to match the achievements.

[ricardodw]

Toews has the ability and desire to dominate physically. Monahan has not shown such an inclination.

The article mentions that Monahan is better at staying out of the penalty box than rookie Toews

However, Monahan was much more responsible when it came to staying out of the penalty box, racking up only 20 total penalty minutes over his first two seasons compared to Toews’ 95.

I for one will not be disappointment with the higher penalty total that Sam B. puts up battling with the other teams intimidators..... as did Toews.

Toew's nasty streak creates a titch more space for Kane and it will be interesting if Hudler/Frolik plays full time on the Monahan-Gaudreau line or if some beef is inserted or if Gaudreau end up playing with Bennett.

With all the stats out there it is somewhat surprising that net penalty minutes is not easily available. Offsetting penalties do not hurt the team and playing a more aggressive style might very well result in drawing more penalties.

The other thing that the article leaves out is that Toews and Kane broke in with Sharp Havlat and Byfuglien with Ladd and Brouwer being added for their 2nd year.

All of these players would not be Lady Byng winner Hudler.

Gaudreau and Monahan will get more space with the addition of Ferland, Bennett and Poirier to go along with Bouma and Colborne.

[CliffFletcher]

I think Gaudreau has a better chance of achieving close to Kane's offensive output than Monahan has of achieving Toew's overall game. Toews was the best forward at the Olympics as a 21 year old, not only leading Canada in scoring but playing a shutdown role against the best players in the world.

[GreenLantern]

I don't expect their peaks to line up exactly, but we don't really need them to. Even having forwards who are say 80% as good as Toews and Kane will be good enough of a core to compete for a Cup annually.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by DionTheDman

Maybe we can find a way to stuff all three on the same line.

No.

The Flames are much better off with Monahan and Bennett anchoring separate lines. Two deadly scoring lines centred by two top-line forwards.

[Tyler]

Yeah. Toews may go down as the best player in this generation. I think that's a bit lofty for Sean to aspire to at this point