Kopitar Week: Where He Stands

Kopitar is a pretty awesome dude, but how awesome is he? To be honest, I don't have a well-formulated opinion on the matter. I'm inclined to believe Kopitar is the fifth best young player in the league, behind Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, and Evgeni Malkin. (There is no fourth because those three are way above everyone else.) Kopitar's great and I think he'd get a lot more dap if we wasn't the same age as those above three. I think most people think Jonathan Toews will be better than Kopitar because he's... Canadian, but I don't agree. I'm biased though, so let's hear what you guys think. Here's a list of 10 players:

Jonathan Toews
Steve Stamkos
Sidney Crosby
Alexander Ovechkin
Evgeni Malkin
Anze Kopitar
Nicklas Backstrom
Patrick Kane
Kyle Turris
Jordan Staal (teehee)

Put them in order. Help me get an idea where Kopitar stands.*

*Please try to refrain from pointing out that I obviously forgot about (x) and how I'm a complete idiot for doing so. And if we keep one NHL argument from devolving into a Crosby v. Ovechkin donnybrook that'd be great.


How Kopitar does next season will be interesting. The Kings should hopefully have a more defensive scheme so Kopitar could possibly see a reduction in points. But he'll be better, so he could see an increase in points. I think a successful season for Kopitar will be 80+ points with a ppg of over 1. If he plays with Dustin Brown and Patrick O'Sullivan all season, I think 90+ isn't out of the question. The only thing I can guarantee is that Anze will be awesome and I will gush about him like Earl Sleek at a Jonas Brothers' concert.