Another look at Taylor vs. Tyler
Hall-Seguin forever tied following debate over 2010 NHL draft
DA LL AS — So how is the Taylor vs. Tyler debate going, four years after Hall and Seguin were drafted 1-2?
In sheer numbers, Edmonton Oilers winger Hall has the clear advantage: 188 points in 212 games, while Dallas Stars centre (and former Boston Bruins winger) Seguin has 162 points in 246 games.
Hall has four career hattricks, Seguin has three, but one of those was a four-bagger Nov. 14 in Calgary.
Seguin has a Stanley Cup ring in a safe or a drawer. And considerably more tattoos.
Coming into Tuesday’s game in Dallas, Hall has 43 points in 41 games, Seguin 41 in 43. Hall is 17th in NHL scoring, Seguin is 20th, so very little wiggle room there.
While Hall has been a constant in Edmonton, however, Seguin has reinvented himself as a No. 1 centre in Dallas after Boston felt he couldn’t beat out the Olympians David Krejci (Czech Republic) and Patrice Bergeron (Canada) in the middle and he didn’t do enough on the wing, plus they thought he might be too much of a party boy.
Seguin says he stopped looking at how Hall was doing after a few years but might sneak a peek at the point totals as a refresher in the third head-to-head matchup this season.
Both are likely on Canada’s taxi squad for the Olympics should any of the 14 Canadian forwards, which include Seguin’s linemate and Stars captain Jamie Benn, get hurt.
Hall and Seguin, three months his junior, aren’t friends, but they do respect each other.
And since both were romanced and summoned to Edmonton in 2010 to have dinner with owner Daryl Katz in the lead-up to draft day, they’ll forever be linked, even if they’re not buds.
“We’ll always be connected,” said Hall. “I know he’s having a great year, and it’s good to see. I’ve always known that once he gets the chance like he’s getting in Dallas here, he’ll blossom.”
“I don’t know if the Taylor-Tyler debate is as hot as it was in the day,” said Seguin, who’ll turn 22 Jan. 31.
“Fourth year in the league for both of us … I really couldn’t tell you what he had (points) but I am going to ask our trainer to see if he can get an autographed stick from Taylor that I can give away for charity.
“I know he’s got more points overall than me. My first year in Boston, I didn’t play much. Talk to me in a decade and we’ll see where it’s (Taylor vs. Tyler) at,” he said with a laugh.
Seguin (21 goals) went from a team that won the Stanley Cup in 2011 to a rebuild here in Dallas. The Stars are certainly younger than the Bruins, give or take the odd fortysomething like Ray Whitney.
“Definitely different. You start on one team where you pretty much win every night, where you’re expected to win and play in whatever role you’re given, and here I’m the guy who needs to produce,” said Seguin. “I liked Boston, but I was more of an add-on piece.”
“There are certainly things I have to be better at here. First time as a full-time centre, my faceoffs (40.3 win percentage) certainly aren’t great, and I’m playing against the other teams’ best players for 20 minutes or so a night. Those are things I’m not used to (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has the same chore in Edmonton, and he’ll testify to how hard it is),” he said.
“I don’t know how old Nugent-Hopkins is (he’s 20) but I’m sure five or six years from now, it’ll have helped both us. It’ll be a positive.
Shawn Horcoff has seen both sides of the Hall vs. Seguin storyline, playing in Edmonton and now Dallas. He steadfastly thinks Seguin got a bad rap when he was in Boston for how he was off the ice in three years there.
“He’s been unreal. I don’t understand the stuff that’s been written about him,” Horcoff said. “He goes out about half as much as a kid his age could, to tell the truth.
“He picks his spots at the right times, and when he does, he’s under control ...
“He was 20 years old in Boston and he signed a big deal. I know where I was mentally at 20.”