Sometimes the 2nd pick is the best...

Saw this on TSN... brought back some bad memories... and made for an interesting comparison to this year's draft...

Source: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=282751

Interesting parallel with this draft... highly offensive player slated to go 1st overall followed by a huge defensemen... hmmmm.....



Bah! What a bust Daigle was.

was there as much doubt surroundin Daigle back then as there is doubt surrounding Tavares now?

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:was there as much doubt surroundin Daigle back then as there is doubt surrounding Tavares now?

None. He proved that he could score goals in the NHL despite being brought in too early. Stamkos was in the same danger this year. He just had a different makeup then Daigle.

Hindsight being what it is, hockey was just a means to an end for Daigle. Showbiz and good living were Daigles priorities. I'm not sure he liked hockey that much.

Well, he's still playing, so I think he likes it alright...

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:was there as much doubt surroundin Daigle back then as there is doubt surrounding Tavares now?

There was no doubt. He was supposed to be Gretzky with a meaner streak. The Sens would have had to have been crazy to pick Pronger over him.

He's not a similar player to Tavares, though. He really relied on his speed - the same can't be said for JT.

It'd be interesting to see if a player like Daigle could have found more success in the "new" NHL.

asq2 wrote:It'd be interesting to see if a player like Daigle could have found more success in the "new" NHL.

That is a question for the ages... I think he'd probably have a better time now with more room to move... but who knows...

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:

Was wondering how long it would take...

Heh heh.

Priceless...

shabbs wrote:Saw this on TSN... brought back some bad memories... and made for an interesting comparison to this year's draft...

Source: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=282751

Interesting parallel with this draft... highly offensive player slated to go 1st overall followed by a huge defensemen... hmmmm.....



Bah! What a bust Daigle was.

Man I love that helmet Pronger is wearing! I had the same one!

Remember the Jofa helmet Gretzky used to wear... it was pretty much a salad spinner...



Madness...

shabbs wrote:Remember the Jofa helmet Gretzky used to wear... it was pretty much a salad spinner...



Madness...

Yeah I used to want that helmet... Too bad it wasn't CSA certified! LOL

In the 93 draft only 23 players were taken from the QMJHL, and in fact Daigle was only one of four skaters taken in the first 3 rounds, the other was Lecompte late in the 1st round. Two others were taken but both in the 3rd round one was defenseman Boileau and the other was Bordeleau. Two others both goalies were taken, Thibault in the 1st round and Charbonneau by Ottawa in the 3rd.

In all 7 defensemen were taken from the QMJHL and of those 3 played on the same team as Daigle. That means only 4 defensemen outside of Victoriaville were good enough to be taken in the 10 round draft.

Dawg always said, that Daigles stats were inflated because the defensemen in the Q that year were bad, very bad in fact, and Daigle played on a powerhouse team with good line mates. 6 of the 23 players drafted were from Victoriaville. That's 1/4 of all the players taken from the Q were from the same team.

shabbs wrote:Remember the Jofa helmet Gretzky used to wear... it was pretty much a salad spinner...



Madness...

I have a salad tosser (would salad spinner be more PC?), that I got from IKEA.

Took me 9 hours and 4 allan keys to assemble it.

asq2 wrote:

The Guy With The Mustache wrote:was there as much doubt surroundin Daigle back then as there is doubt surrounding Tavares now?

There was no doubt. He was supposed to be Gretzky with a meaner streak. The Sens would have had to have been crazy to pick Pronger over him.

He's not a similar player to Tavares, though. He really relied on his speed - the same can't be said for JT.

It'd be interesting to see if a player like Daigle could have found more success in the "new" NHL.

His problem was team leadership IMO. If he was put in Sydney Crosby's situation he would have turned out a lot different, perhaps not as good but way better. Crosby is getting more than hockey advice from Lemieux, he is learning how to be a great player and act like it on/off the ice. I am not a fan but he has made big strides in terms of not whining at refs etc...

Daigle on the other hand was taken under the wing of Sylvain Turgeon. They spent many nights in Hull getting pinned rather than learning how to be a pro and handle the pressures.

Atmosphere is a huge factor in developing a superstar, IMO.

No matter the differences, the similarities are eerie. While Tavares may not be relying on speed as much as Daigle, that's actually not good in today's NHL. With obstruction and hooking being called by the letter of the law everyone -- forwards and defensemen -- is faster, or at least gets there quicker. I've read that Tavares is not blessed with natural speed. I hope he's a good passer because he won't get very far skating it out.