Is Kyle Turris = Andrew Cogliano?
In what is becoming a series of posts trying to make sense of the Kyle Turris trade in my mind, today I look at a comparable to see what Turris’ upside is.
I think Andrew Cogliano is a solid comparable to Turris. Thier pre-draft and pre-NHL careers are almost identical as is their skill set.
PRE-DRAFT
Both players were Junior A phenoms, Cogliano as a member of the St. Michael’s Buzzers and Turris as a member of the Burnaby Express. Both were planning on going the NCAA route, and that is why they were not playing in the CHL in thier draft years. Both players were blessed with NHL speed, and allowed them to put up over 100 points in their draft years. While Cogliano was more of a playmaker, Turris’ 66 goals
turned heads and made him a favorite to go first overall in what was considered a relatively weak draft year.
BEING DRAFTED
Cogliano was a late first round pick in a pretty strong draft (Sidney Crosby, Bobby Ryan, Jack Johnson, Mark Staal among others), getting picked up by the Edmonton Oilers. Turris spent much of the year leading up to the draft as the potential top pick but was passed over by 2 clubs and he ended up going 3rd overall in a pretty weak draft year (Sam Gagner is the second highest scorer from that draft, after 1st Overall Patrick Kane).
NCAA CAREER
Cogliano scored 78 points in 77 games in his two years with the Michigan Wolverines while Turris played one season at Wisconsin, scoring 34 points in 35 games.
NHL GROWING PAINS
Of the two, Cogliano had more immediate success in the NHL. He played all 82 games in his first 4 NHL seasons, all with the Oilers. He was the odd man out in Edmonton’s youth movement, and was dealt to the Ducks for a 2nd round pick in the off-season. Now in his fifth NHL season, he is the Ducks’ third line centre and a premier penalty killer, chipping in a point about every three games. His career stats average out to about 0.4 points per game.
Turris had a tougher time gaining full time NHL employment, shuflfing back and forth between Phoenix and San Antonio of the AHL. he has managed to play 137 games and put up 46 points for an average of 0.33 PPG.
CONCLUSION
Intangibles aside, the two players very similar abilities and although Turris had more hype, hasn’t found his way in the NHL. Cogliano is 2 years older and his career trend has levelled out. He is still a legitimate NHLer but not a 2nd line centre. Turris hasn’t come close to living up to his Junior A billing at any level and his price tag was high. The only discernable difference is that Turris is 3 inches taller.
This exercise in finding a comparable to Turris hasn’t eased my mind about the trade one little bit. How about yours?
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