The Silent Z
Ex Commander of Orzammar
NHL Overrated/Underrated Players by Postion 2022/2023 Edition PT.1:
Left Wing (Overrated)- Alexander Ovechkin “Still quite elite and effective. Caps are nothing without him. But a tad overrated for a little bit one sided skill set imo. A Elite & Effective Specialist to be certain though and HOF Bound”
Left Wing (Underrated)- Andrew Mangiapane “A little biased perhaps. But amidst all the Tkachuk & Gaudreau talks and spotlight, this guy apparently went quietly into a 35 goal season…. A career season for him no doubt yet still doesn’t get much talk maybe simply because of his teammates around him? But the workhorse that doesn’t stop working and doing all the little things, should get more credit imo. He’ll either slide back into a 20 goal or flirting with 20 goals a season type guy that he was before 21/22 or he’s entering his prime and this might be the semi regular for him.”
Center (Overrated)- Jack Eichel “Yes, he’s a top player that when healthy and right is pretty good. But I think he’s really proven to be a elite supporter of a better equipped Star player. Who does he elevate around him? When has he truly elevated a team to playoff status? Not one playoff appearance. Yeah, not all great teams around him, but still some decent players around him at times. Least getting out of the top ten picks category would be something, which seems like a regular during his Buffalo run as they always seemed to pick at the same slot each year. Not great teams. Maybe not even good at times. But still decent players that could have been a bit better overall when they had a decent goalie in net. Odd how quick the Sabres seemed to do after Eichel was traded, hey? Haha. Nah, I’ll admit that trade was too good for Buffalo to say it was purely Eichel leaving. But still, change worked pretty well for one side and maybe more then the other so far.”
Center (Underrated)- Brayden Schenn “Yep. He’s not the franchise Star, yet every time I’ve seen him play for the Blues, he’s always noticed and one of the stars of that game. Pretty solid all around game. A workhorse from what I’ve seen. Can score goals and just do what is needed for the W. Schenn & Tarasenko were imo… A lethal combo at times that elevated the blues to a outright elite-scary team to play against when both were on at the same time. Yet, I don’t believe I really hear much talk about his game? So, I’m putting him on the Underrated Center list for my random and average fan’s opinion based list.”
Right Wing (Overrated)- Mark Stone “It’s questionable. He’s borderline worthy of this spot but same with the other names I thought about putting and as much as I don’t like the guy, Kucherov would be pretty much a hot take full of bias against. But NHL 22 for me atleast, seems to always have Stone as the perfect player that always wins out and plays a insane level of hockey. RL, Stone is far more quiet and kinda average at times imo though Vegas could be blocking my view a bit as a VGK Non-Fan/Hater. Maybe a strong supporting cast member, but I’ll put him slightly overrated cause other names didn’t quite reach the mark…. Although Tom Wilson was the first name that came to mind and still lingers. Is he even rated enough to rank though? Same question I’d consider for Stone Tbh. E-Kane also crossed my mind but he’s a left winger apparently though he was a right winger.”
Right Wing (Underrated)- Oliver Bjorkstrand “Again, another guy I kept thinking was on the opposite side of Center then he’s listed in RL. But the dude consistently keeps putting up respectable to pretty good numbers. I rarely hear people talk about him and yet he’s pretty damn good for a guy that’s not a franchise guy and wasn’t a first round pick, but still keeps contributing more then many other bigger name players and more consistently as well. A guy who probably was overlooked playing in Columbus and I think will be a great pick up for the Seattle Kraken… Tempted to buy his Kraken jersey at some point to pair with my Kraken hat tbh but plenty of jerseys around the league I’d love to get at some point as well. I’m a fan of this dude though and I think he goes a bit unnoticed for his play.”
(I’ll add more over time in another post and include some Defenseman and goalies to the list.)
Left Wing (Overrated)- Alexander Ovechkin “Still quite elite and effective. Caps are nothing without him. But a tad overrated for a little bit one sided skill set imo. A Elite & Effective Specialist to be certain though and HOF Bound”
Left Wing (Underrated)- Andrew Mangiapane “A little biased perhaps. But amidst all the Tkachuk & Gaudreau talks and spotlight, this guy apparently went quietly into a 35 goal season…. A career season for him no doubt yet still doesn’t get much talk maybe simply because of his teammates around him? But the workhorse that doesn’t stop working and doing all the little things, should get more credit imo. He’ll either slide back into a 20 goal or flirting with 20 goals a season type guy that he was before 21/22 or he’s entering his prime and this might be the semi regular for him.”
Center (Overrated)- Jack Eichel “Yes, he’s a top player that when healthy and right is pretty good. But I think he’s really proven to be a elite supporter of a better equipped Star player. Who does he elevate around him? When has he truly elevated a team to playoff status? Not one playoff appearance. Yeah, not all great teams around him, but still some decent players around him at times. Least getting out of the top ten picks category would be something, which seems like a regular during his Buffalo run as they always seemed to pick at the same slot each year. Not great teams. Maybe not even good at times. But still decent players that could have been a bit better overall when they had a decent goalie in net. Odd how quick the Sabres seemed to do after Eichel was traded, hey? Haha. Nah, I’ll admit that trade was too good for Buffalo to say it was purely Eichel leaving. But still, change worked pretty well for one side and maybe more then the other so far.”
Center (Underrated)- Brayden Schenn “Yep. He’s not the franchise Star, yet every time I’ve seen him play for the Blues, he’s always noticed and one of the stars of that game. Pretty solid all around game. A workhorse from what I’ve seen. Can score goals and just do what is needed for the W. Schenn & Tarasenko were imo… A lethal combo at times that elevated the blues to a outright elite-scary team to play against when both were on at the same time. Yet, I don’t believe I really hear much talk about his game? So, I’m putting him on the Underrated Center list for my random and average fan’s opinion based list.”
Right Wing (Overrated)- Mark Stone “It’s questionable. He’s borderline worthy of this spot but same with the other names I thought about putting and as much as I don’t like the guy, Kucherov would be pretty much a hot take full of bias against. But NHL 22 for me atleast, seems to always have Stone as the perfect player that always wins out and plays a insane level of hockey. RL, Stone is far more quiet and kinda average at times imo though Vegas could be blocking my view a bit as a VGK Non-Fan/Hater. Maybe a strong supporting cast member, but I’ll put him slightly overrated cause other names didn’t quite reach the mark…. Although Tom Wilson was the first name that came to mind and still lingers. Is he even rated enough to rank though? Same question I’d consider for Stone Tbh. E-Kane also crossed my mind but he’s a left winger apparently though he was a right winger.”
Right Wing (Underrated)- Oliver Bjorkstrand “Again, another guy I kept thinking was on the opposite side of Center then he’s listed in RL. But the dude consistently keeps putting up respectable to pretty good numbers. I rarely hear people talk about him and yet he’s pretty damn good for a guy that’s not a franchise guy and wasn’t a first round pick, but still keeps contributing more then many other bigger name players and more consistently as well. A guy who probably was overlooked playing in Columbus and I think will be a great pick up for the Seattle Kraken… Tempted to buy his Kraken jersey at some point to pair with my Kraken hat tbh but plenty of jerseys around the league I’d love to get at some point as well. I’m a fan of this dude though and I think he goes a bit unnoticed for his play.”
(I’ll add more over time in another post and include some Defenseman and goalies to the list.)