The question that will be asked over and over again until the 2010 NHL draft approaches will be who should the number one overall pick be, Taylor or Tyler? As in Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires and Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers. Hall had long been the consensus choice coming into the season, and he still likely is just that, but a hot start by the Brampton native Seguin had some scouts rate him higher. Seguin has since trailed off somewhat while Hall is currently leading the Ontario Hockey League in scoring, but that hasn’t stopped the Central Scouting Bureau from ranking Seguin ahead of Hall in a recent list of the top draft eligible players in the OHL. To compare the two players based on points though makes little sense as Hall plays for perhaps one of the most talent laden lineups Canadian Major Junior Hockey has ever seen, while Seguin plays on a good team, but has no where near the kind of talent around him that Hall does.
As someone that has seen both players play several times, (Hall much more than Seguin) I find that there is no point in trying to decide who is better because the answer would not be that simple, it really all depends on on what kind of player you are looking for. Hall, a winger, is without question the more dynamic of the two and is the type of electrifying player that can change the game in a flash with his gamebreaking one-on-one ability. He is also a tireless worker who seems to be the first on the puck and always seems to come up with the puck out of scrums. And apart from his great pure speed, his first few strides might be the most explosive to come around since Alex Ovechkin. Seguin on the other hand is a natural centre who I think is a more complete player. He might not be as fast as Hall but if he’s not its certainly not by much because he is still very much an elite level skater. The two areas in which I think might set him apart at the NHL level are his playmaking ability and his pure scoring ability. He sees the ice extremely well not only for creating offense with passing but also for knowing the right place to be on the ice at all times. He also has a quick and accurate shot with an exceptional release.
Either way you slice it, there will certainly be two happy franchise’s come draft day. One team will be estatic about getting Taylor Hall, and another team will be equally as excited to be getting Tyler Seguin.
