Quoting: Capitalfail67
“Kotkaniemi Is GoInG tO bE tHe NeXt BaRkOv.”
I know you are just busting ballz more then anything but since posts like this cause impressionable posters on here to mimic this BS, I'm gonna set things straight.
Is it too late for him to still be the next Barkov? Its not like Barkov was lighting it up at 18-19 years old either. 28 and 36 points respectively. KK actually produced higher than Barkov did in his first year and this year isn't even half way through yet....
Seems MTL fans on here are already crapping on KK after 20 games in his second season as a
teenager...
Kotkaniemi hasn't been great this year I agree but he's still only NINETEEN years old. I think people forget that Tkachuk/Zadina/Hughes etc, drafted in the same year as KK, are all 3/4 to a FULL year older than KK is... and If we're comparing KK to Svechnikov and Dahlin well that's simply not fair.
KK isn't getting the time necessary to show he can blow up offensively. Too much at stake for the Habs this year and too good of players ahead of him in the roster. (Danault is 5v5 stud with defensive acumen and Domi 72 point season last year)
Kotkaniemi will still be a stud one day. A sophomore slump won't change that.
- Huberdeau put up 28 points in his second season.
- Barkov put up 36 points in his second season.
- Scheifele only played 4 games in his second season.
- O'Reilly put up 26 points in his second season.
- Couturier put up 15 points in 46 games in his second season.
- Johansen put up 12 points in 40 games in his second season.
Even if KK isn't BaRkOv, he's on the same path as he was. Doesn't mean he has to score identically 90+ points to be considered "good". Even 60+ point centers are all stars in today's NHL.