I'm with you in terms of not liking comparisons, but I have heard Giroux's name thrown around in regards to describing Barzal's style of play. Seems like, despite being a natural center, he'll probably be pretty interchangeable between C/RW.

I was floored when BOS passed on him 3x in a row and once I saw the Isles trade into the 16 spot, I was shouting at the TV for them to pick him.

edit: After a little digging, Barzal has actually been quoted as saying he tries to model his game after Giroux and Datsyuk.
- eichiefs9

I drank until I could no longer feel things.

Does he also try to grab dude's asses too?
- DeflatedPucks

Speaking from experience:

Yes.

I drank until I could no longer feel things.
- glove_was_stuck

At least you got Kyle Connor, right?

At least you got Kyle Connor, right?
- Girouxsalem90

Kyle Connor, Jake DeBust. Same thing

Kyle Connor, Jake DeBust. Same thing
- glove_was_stuck

At least you got Zach Sensation or whatever

It has to be Trouba for a left defenceman of comparable skill.

How else do you explain this notion going from a muttering by hockey’s chief fabulist, Eklund, on Friday, to being chewed over as a very real possibility by a mainstream media Ottawa sports broadcaster on Monday?

Normally I pay zero attention to Eklund’s made-up stories, and so it was with this rumour, even as there was no end of chatter over the weekend on the Oilogosphere about this matter. But then came Monday’s Oilers Now on 630 CHED, and play-by-play man A.J. Jakubec of TSN 1200 in Ottawa discussing Ceci’s future contract and his overall future with the Ottawa Senators.

he he he


http://www.msn.com/en-ca/...ed2l?li=AAggNb9&ocid=iehp

At least you got Zach Sensation or whatever
- eichiefs9

Oh I'll get plenty of sensations watching this year I'm sure. Shame...embarrassment...hangovers

Pass.

We have no need for another RHD. At the price Trouba would cost, I'd rather take my chances with Pulock...who could very well end up as a comparable defenseman.
- eichiefs9

BAILEY FOR TROUBA....TROUBA FOR BAILEY

BAILEY FOR TROUBA....TROUBA FOR BAILEY
- DDM-Coga

Would prefer Grabovski for Trouba and a conditional 2019 3rd, IMHO tbh

Would prefer Grabovski for Trouba and a conditional 2019 3rd, IMHO tbh
- eichiefs9

grabo would love the peg.

Would prefer Grabovski for Trouba and a conditional 2019 3rd, IMHO tbh
- eichiefs9

tldr Bailey for McDavid GTFO OMFG

Oh I'll get plenty of sensations watching this year I'm sure. Shame...embarrassment...hangovers
- glove_was_stuck

Whats Better
Zboril, DeBrusk, Senyshyn & McAvoy, Frederic

or

Barzal, Connor, Chabot & Chychrun , Not Frederic

Whats Better
Zboril, DeBrusk, Senyshyn & McAvoy, Frederic

or

Barzal, Connor, Chabot & Chychrun , Not Frederic
- DDM-Coga

Man. Barzal, Connor, Chabot would have been some haul.

Whats Better
Zboril, DeBrusk, Senyshyn & McAvoy, Frederic

or

Barzal, Connor, Chabot & Chychrun , Not Frederic
- DDM-Coga

Thats a toughie. I'd go Zboril, Barzal, Connor, McAvoy, Not Frederic

Thats a toughie. I'd go Zboril, Barzal, Connor, McAvoy, Not Frederic
- glove_was_stuck

Its a choose your own adventure game to a good draft class

Its a choose your own adventure game to a good draft class
- DDM-Coga

Barzal is a great prospect

Dal Colle has fallen drastically after not being able to crack the world juniors roster with Canada.... Something about him is off.

Wish the Leafs drafted Barzal.. hopefully Dal Colle pans out for the Isles!!

They def need to find someone to play with JT!!

Good luck to them.

so we meet again
- BestRapperAlive

Barzal is a great prospect

Dal Colle has fallen drastically after not being able to crack the world juniors roster with Canada.... Something about him is off.

Wish the Leafs drafted Barzal.. hopefully Dal Colle pans out for the Isles!!

They def need to find someone to play with JT!!

Good luck to them.
- thehockeygod

Dal Colle is very underwhelming at this point.

Eklund: Trouba STILL getting Interest. Montreal and Isles. Buzzcast at 12:30
- Eklund

The silly season of the National Hockey League is officially upon us, as the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for Cody Ceci trade “rumour” attests.

Hope is king in July for hockey fans, even for fans of losing teams. The pain of the last season is distant. The expectation of the new season is fuelled by the home team’s draft picks, signings and trades. Gone are at least a few players who everyone is tired of watching. Arriving are numerous unknown quantities. I’d be surprised if there are more than two or three NHL fanbases where the majority of fans do not expect their team to make the playoffs in 2016-17. Indeed, at this time of year, fans are willing to believe almost anything, including the wild Nugent-Hopkins for Ceci scuttlebutt.

How else do you explain this notion going from a muttering by hockey’s chief fabulist, Eklund, on Friday, to being chewed over as a very real possibility by a mainstream media Ottawa sports broadcaster on Monday?

Normally I pay zero attention to Eklund’s made-up stories, and so it was with this rumour, even as there was no end of chatter over the weekend on the Oilogosphere about this matter. But then came Monday’s Oilers Now on 630 CHED, and play-by-play man A.J. Jakubec of TSN 1200 in Ottawa discussing Ceci’s future contract and his overall future with the Ottawa Senators.

“When it comes to Cody Ceci we’ll see what happens in terms of contract talks,” Jakubec said. “But I think they are a lot more comfortable making that type of move if they get a real quality piece in return. Not that I think they’re going to just seek that type of move but if they get a Nugent-Hopkins or a Draisaitl back they’re probably a lot more comfortable now making that move now that they’ve got Dion Phaneuf to compliment Marc Methot and Erik Karlsson than they would have been before acquiring him.”

To his credit, Bob Stauffer, the host of Oilers Now, suggested to Jakubec that this rumour was absolute rubbish, though Stauffer put it much, much more politely. But Stauffer did say with emphasis: “I’m telling you right now I’d be stunned if Nugent-Hopkins went.”

Of course, Nugent-Hopkins has been the subject of trade rumours all summer. Stauffer suggested in early June there was more than a fifty percent chance that Nugent-Hopkins or Taylor Hall would be moved in a trade. RNH’s name came up most loudly in trade rumours for Mat Dumba of the Wild, but that rumour faded fast after the Hall for Adam Larsson trade. Even with constant talk of the Oilers still wanting Tyson Barrie, and with TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, an Oilers insider, saying he’d trade RNH for Barrie, such a deal doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

The reality of the Edmonton Oilers is that with the trading of Hall, the team is in grave danger of not having enough skill on the attack. Even with Hall and McDavid last year, the Oilers ranked only 25th in goal scoring. The only Oilers players with good-to-outstanding offensive skill left in the forward ranks are McDavid, Jordan Eberle, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, with Benoit Pouliot and Milan Lucic offering support.

Maybe rookie Jesse Puljujarvi steps up to add to that group, maybe not. As Oilers fans saw with Nail Yakupov, there are no sure things when it comes to top picks.

Essentially, the Oilers no longer are in a position of over-abundance when it comes to high-end skill in their forward group (if they ever were in that position of over-abundance). Indeed, Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli was in the old “robbing Peter to pay Paul” situation with his trade of Hall for Larsson. It was a calculated but massive risk needed to close up a gaping hole at right defence, but this team can’t afford to now lose a player like Nugent-Hopkins. As recently as last summer, RNH was rated more highly than Hall by most Oilers fans. He has shown in the past he might well have the ability to be an offensive driver on a line, playing that role in a unit with Eberle and Pouliot.

So sorry to dash the hopes of the Ottawa hockey world, but it’s hard (and sickening from the fan perspective) to imagine that Edmonton will be moving Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a defenceman at this point, not unless that d-man is one of the NHL’s offensive kingpins on the blueline. Cody Ceci is a strong and promising young defenceman, but he’s not that.

- Flyfreaky

The silly season of the National Hockey League is officially upon us, as the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for Cody Ceci trade “rumour” attests.

Hope is king in July for hockey fans, even for fans of losing teams. The pain of the last season is distant. The expectation of the new season is fuelled by the home team’s draft picks, signings and trades. Gone are at least a few players who everyone is tired of watching. Arriving are numerous unknown quantities. I’d be surprised if there are more than two or three NHL fanbases where the majority of fans do not expect their team to make the playoffs in 2016-17. Indeed, at this time of year, fans are willing to believe almost anything, including the wild Nugent-Hopkins for Ceci scuttlebutt.

How else do you explain this notion going from a muttering by hockey’s chief fabulist, Eklund, on Friday, to being chewed over as a very real possibility by a mainstream media Ottawa sports broadcaster on Monday?

Normally I pay zero attention to Eklund’s made-up stories, and so it was with this rumour, even as there was no end of chatter over the weekend on the Oilogosphere about this matter. But then came Monday’s Oilers Now on 630 CHED, and play-by-play man A.J. Jakubec of TSN 1200 in Ottawa discussing Ceci’s future contract and his overall future with the Ottawa Senators.

“When it comes to Cody Ceci we’ll see what happens in terms of contract talks,” Jakubec said. “But I think they are a lot more comfortable making that type of move if they get a real quality piece in return. Not that I think they’re going to just seek that type of move but if they get a Nugent-Hopkins or a Draisaitl back they’re probably a lot more comfortable now making that move now that they’ve got Dion Phaneuf to compliment Marc Methot and Erik Karlsson than they would have been before acquiring him.”

To his credit, Bob Stauffer, the host of Oilers Now, suggested to Jakubec that this rumour was absolute rubbish, though Stauffer put it much, much more politely. But Stauffer did say with emphasis: “I’m telling you right now I’d be stunned if Nugent-Hopkins went.”

Of course, Nugent-Hopkins has been the subject of trade rumours all summer. Stauffer suggested in early June there was more than a fifty percent chance that Nugent-Hopkins or Taylor Hall would be moved in a trade. RNH’s name came up most loudly in trade rumours for Mat Dumba of the Wild, but that rumour faded fast after the Hall for Adam Larsson trade. Even with constant talk of the Oilers still wanting Tyson Barrie, and with TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, an Oilers insider, saying he’d trade RNH for Barrie, such a deal doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

The reality of the Edmonton Oilers is that with the trading of Hall, the team is in grave danger of not having enough skill on the attack. Even with Hall and McDavid last year, the Oilers ranked only 25th in goal scoring. The only Oilers players with good-to-outstanding offensive skill left in the forward ranks are McDavid, Jordan Eberle, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, with Benoit Pouliot and Milan Lucic offering support.

Maybe rookie Jesse Puljujarvi steps up to add to that group, maybe not. As Oilers fans saw with Nail Yakupov, there are no sure things when it comes to top picks.

Essentially, the Oilers no longer are in a position of over-abundance when it comes to high-end skill in their forward group (if they ever were in that position of over-abundance). Indeed, Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli was in the old “robbing Peter to pay Paul” situation with his trade of Hall for Larsson. It was a calculated but massive risk needed to close up a gaping hole at right defence, but this team can’t afford to now lose a player like Nugent-Hopkins. As recently as last summer, RNH was rated more highly than Hall by most Oilers fans. He has shown in the past he might well have the ability to be an offensive driver on a line, playing that role in a unit with Eberle and Pouliot.

So sorry to dash the hopes of the Ottawa hockey world, but it’s hard (and sickening from the fan perspective) to imagine that Edmonton will be moving Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a defenceman at this point, not unless that d-man is one of the NHL’s offensive kingpins on the blueline. Cody Ceci is a strong and promising young defenceman, but he’s not that.
- hunter3333

Delete your account.

Delete your account.
- Feds91Stammer

One trade that could work well for both teams:

To WPG: Calvin de Haan, Mattew Barzal, and Michael Dal Colle

To NYI: Jacob Trouba, 2017 Winnipeg 2nd Round Pick

What are your thoughts....
- TheUltimateJet

this doesn't make any sense for the Isles. why would we give up a defenseman making less than half what trouba wants, plus two of our best forward prospects, to get a defenseman who we'd have to sign to a deal at or above our top two defensemen's cap hits?

we need a top six forward, not another defenseman.