Kovalev vs. Hemsky

Alex Kovalev is a good hockey player. Probably not so much anymore. He is 38 after all. But in his prime, Kovalev was a sublime talent who was a pretty prolific scorer.

That’s what makes Eric Duhatschek’s article so puzzling. Duhatschek basically dumps on Ales Hemsky by calling him too much like Kovalev.

“In some ways, Hemsky at 27, seems to be heading down the same career path as Kovalev - a player with talent to burn and capable of dazzling on the ice…. But the problem with Hemsky is the one that dogged Kovalev all these years - inconsistency, and when the droughts come, they can be deep and long because their confidence is so fragile.”

So let me get this straight. Ales Hemsky is too much like Alex Kovalev? A guy with over 1,000 career points and currently 72nd all-time. How high is Duhatschek setting the bar here? I really hope Steve Tambellini didn’t think to himself last June, “boy that Taylor Hall guy looks pretty good but he reminds me too much of Mike Gartner.”

For what it’s worth, Hemsky is a lot better than the eastern media gives him credit for. Just tonight, I heard Darren Dreger say he’s a terrific secondary scorer. I’ve read and seen other opinions that can be paraphrased down to he’s a good player but he will never be the best player on a good team.

He’s ninth in the NHL this year in even strength points per 60, ahead of names like St. Louis, Richards, and Kopitar. He draws the toughest matchups night in and night out. Although not this season, he’s been a historically good powerplay player.

I’ll concede he’s not Sidney Crosby but his career is tracking eerily similar to Kovalev’s by points per game. Duhatschek somehow thinks that’s a negative thing. I want to know what more we can reasonably ask?