For years, Sidney Crosby has stood alone as hockey’s best in the game. These days, Connor McDavid has thrust himself into that conversation — not bad for the 21 year old.
As top-flight members of the NHL’s next generation gathered for the NHLPA Rookie Showcase last week, NHL.com asked nine players who they had for the best in the league: McDavid or Crosby.
The final tally? McDavid won out, and by a healthy margin of 6-3.
"The speed [McDavid] has, he just creates something out of nothing always, which is what I think good players can do." —Evan Bouchard, Oilers prospect
"I don't think anybody has speed like him. He's got insane hands and really good vision, so I think that makes him the best player." —Timothy Liljegren, Leafs prospect
“Obviously [Crosby’s] a winner, the things he can do with the puck. He makes players around him better, and a lot of the pro guys I've talked to, at least the guys in Minnesota, say he's in a league of his own.” —Casey Mittelstadt, Sabres prospect
Maybe it should come as no surprise that some of hockey’s brightest up-and-comers are quicker to accept a changing of the guard, although that isn’t to say Crosby has fallen off in the slightest. Regardless of who you’d take, it’s safe to say that the conversation for best in the NHL begins and ends with these two.
After tying the two with the top rating in last year’s game, NHL 19 weighed into this debate with its latest set of player ratings, making the bold decision to place McDavid alone at the top by a single overall point over Crosby.
h/t NHL.com
