ESPN’s top 25 NHL players under 25... Worth a heck of a laugh

[flopfish]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-pu...4023--nhl.html

They omitted rookies off of it but seeing this is hilarious.

1. C Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks, 24
2. C Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, 22
3. C Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks, 23
4. C Jordan Staal, Carolina Hurricanes, 24
5. C John Tavares, New York Islanders, 22
6. RW Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks, 24
7. LW Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers, 21
8. D Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings,
9. D Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators, 22
10. LW Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins, 24
11. D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues, 23
12. C Tyler Seguin, Boston Bruins, 21
13. LW Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars, 23
14. LW David Perron, St. Louis Blues, 24
15. RW Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes, 20
16. D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, 22
17. LW Milan Lucic, Boston Bruins, 24
18. C Sam Gagner, Edmonton Oilers, 23
19. C Evander Kane, Winnipeg Jets, 21
20. D Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues, 24
21. C Jordan Eberle, Edmonton Oilers, 22
22. C Patrik Berglund, St. Louis Blues, 24
23. G Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche, 24
24. D Tyler Myers, Buffalo Sabres, 22
25. LW Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia Flyers, 24

The guy behind this said both Ryan McDonough and Oliver Ekman-Larsson didn't have "a large enough track record."...

I honestly feel disgusted at looking at this list. If this is ESPN's hockey analyst, no wonder why the game isn't growing in the states. That may be a bit extreme, but I mean, how do you place Eberle at 21? Look at some of the names above him. I'd place Eberle over Hall even. Also, not a large enough track record for OEL? He's played more games than some of the players on this list, and as the puck daddy article states, how the heck is Varlamov on this list above him. Varlamov?!?!

The order seems all over the place as well. Stamkos and Toews are interchangeable at #1, Couture at #3 over Staal is a shocker... Here's what mine looks like just based on this list.

1. C Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks, 24 -
2. C Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, 22
3. Jordan Staal
4. John Tavares
5. Logan Couture
6. Jordan Eberle
7. Patrick Kane
8. Drew Doughty
9. Alex Pietrangelo
10. Milan Lucic
11. Erik Karlsson
12. Tyler Seguin
13. Jamie Benn
14. Brad Marchand
15. Taylor Hall
16. Jeff Skinner
17.Evander Kane
18. Kevin Shattenkirk
19. David Perron
20. Tyler Myers
21. Victor Hedman
22. Sam Ganger
23. Patrik Berglund
24. Wayne Simmonds
25. Semyon Varlamov

Why do I have Hall ranked lower? Marchand is a pest, plain and simple. He's a rat... one of those players you hate to play against but love to have on your team as long as he cut out some aspects of his game and he can put the puck in the net while playing a solid 2 way game. Eberle has outshone Hall in all aspects of the game to me, and it was tough between him and Couture, but Couture has been dynamite thus far. John Tavares gets bumped up, he's got the third best two way game on this list IMO playing on a team with very little star power/support. Jamie Benn is dynamic, he's always a threat on the ice. Such a wicked shot. Seguin has outplayed Hall and has shown better growth (this coming from a Canucks fan who hates the Bruins). Doughty gets the slight edge over Petro because of his Cup win, he responded to all the critics extremely well in the post season. Karlsson had a phenomenal year last year, but Lucic is another dominant power forward who is really tough to knock off the puck and has proven his value countless times. From 12-17, the players are for the most part interchangeable. Shattenkirk and Perron can be swapped at 18 and 19, then 20-22 can be swapped around too.

Some names that aren't on the list but should be over some of them on it: Ryan McDonough, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Matt Duchene, Jhonas Enroth, Jonathon Bernier... yeah... what are your thoughts?

[adamslogik]

Alot of people not on that list:

Ovechkin
Neal
Giroux
Plekanec
Chara
etc.....


and I seriously don't believe that the only Goalie to Crack the list is VARLAMOV. What about LUndqvist, Quick, Price, the list goes on.

What a joke.

[johnferguson12]

Lol couture 3rd uhhh ok there ;)

[MattDMC]

Alot of people not on that list:

Ovechkin
Neal
Giroux
Plekanec
Chara
etc.....


and I seriously don't believe that the only Goalie to Crack the list is VARLAMOV. What about LUndqvist, Quick, Price, the list goes on.

What a joke.

Sorry but the players you list are over 25 years old.

The order of ESPN's list is laughable at best, Hall above Eberle is pretty funny and Varalmov really?

Flip #'s one and two put Stamkos over Toews (my opinion) and completely overhaul and redo the rest of the list (I'd make my own but don't have the time).

[cygnusx1]

LOL no Giroux on there is ridiculous (contrary to the above post, the age of 24 is not above 25) and I must say I'm surprised Pacioretty isn't on there either. I understand points aren't everything but he had the same amount of points this past season as Couture did.

[adamslogik]

Sorry but the players you list are over 25 years old.

The order of ESPN's list is laughable at best, Hall above Eberle is pretty funny and Varalmov really?

Flip #'s one and two put Stamkos over Toews (my opinion) and completely overhaul and redo the rest of the list (I'd make my own but don't have the time).

LOL, I didn't even notice the "under 25". Shift work has turned me into a Zombie.

[MasonRaymond0320]

heh tavares number 5 and eberle number 21..um ok..

[09232003]

yeah that a crazy list from ESPN

my top 5 would be
stamkos
jordan staal
john tavares
johathan toews
drew doughty


thanks
jim

[flopfish]

LOL no Giroux on there is ridiculous (contrary to the above post, the age of 24 is not above 25) and I must say I'm surprised Pacioretty isn't on there either. I understand points aren't everything but he had the same amount of points this past season as Couture did.

I completely forgot Giroux was 24, he's definitely on that list, and same with Patches. He's a very solid player and should be up there. Like I said, the results of this are quite shocking. You can find a lot of players better if you watch a little bit of hockey

[flopfish]

Lol couture 3rd uhhh ok there ;)

Couture's definitely a top 10, I'd have him at 5ish. He's a very dynamic player who contributed a lot to the Sharks last year and the year before.