Ness or Leddy?

MNHockeyFan · Post by **MNHockeyFan** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:28 am

Both are excellent players, obviously, but they excel in different areas. Ness went through an adjustment/learning period as all freshman in the WCHA must do, especially defensemen. He's made lots of progress this year and is no longer making the critical errors that he sometimes made earlier in the season. Great mobility, hands, vision, and passing ability in all three zones. He will only continue to get better as he gains more experience and strength in the off season.

I've only seen Leddy play in EP's final section game and the State Tournament, but like most everyone else here has said the kid has tremendous ability. What amazes me most is his passing: sharp, crisp and extremely accurate almost every time. Even better he doesn't always make the safe, easy pass and oftentimes he catches the other team off guard. In the process he creates better opportunities and scoring chances for whoever he's passing to. I've been watching high school hockey for a long time and I don't remember seeing someone who's as good at passing the puck, ever. No question he will fit right in and you have to think his adjustment period to D1 will be a little easier and quicker than Ness's was this year.

As a long time Gopher season ticket holder I can't wait to see both of them manning the blue line next year. I also won't be surprised to see a Ness/Leddy combination as the No. 1 power play tandem before too many games have been played. But the biggest thing for me is that I just hope both of these fine players decide to stick around and play at least three full seasons before departing for the pros. If they do, the chances are very good that you won't see the Gophers having to win the WCHA Final 5 play-in game in order to advance to the NCAA's the next couple of years.

sid_the_kid · Post by **sid_the_kid** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:07 am

i would take ness but there is no doubt that leddy is a special player. dont forget that the gophers also got ben marshall too in a few years

HardF1 · Post by **HardF1** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:17 pm

Put Ness's brain in Leddy's body and you would have an unbelieveable hockey player

biscuit in the basket · Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:25 pm

sid_the_kid wrote:i would take ness but there is no doubt that leddy is a special player. dont forget that the gophers also got ben marshall too in a few years

And Nate Schmidt

publicschoolpride · Post by **publicschoolpride** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:31 pm

I can't think of anything Ness does better than Leddy. Maybe carry the puck through the neutral zone but Leddy had some pretty sick end to ends in the state tourney.

Things that Ness does well such as having good hands, and go transition speed, good passing Leddy does just as well. Plus he is big enough and strong enough on his skates that no one could go through him at the highschool level.

hshckfan08 · Post by **hshckfan08** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:03 pm

breakout wrote:
hshckfan08 wrote:All i can say is the future for gopher defense looks bright.

Add Alt and Helgeson as big boys and it appears to be a good mixture of D types in the future.

I believe the Gophers are only losing RJ Anderson after this season from the D side. Leddy and Helgeson are coming in. Will someone be pushed out or move to forward?

I have heard rumors that Cade might leave early. Still hasnt decided yet. I think he is their best defender, but if he left it would open up that spot.

winter15 · Post by **winter15** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 2:22 pm

Where would cade leave to? Go pro?

LakeEffect · Post by **LakeEffect** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:35 pm

HockeyMN1 wrote:Leddy has more speed, more size, and a better shot. Leddy.

Agreed.

edinafast · Post by **edinafast** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:48 pm

There is no question aaron ness is a better skater, nick leddy is a great skater, but he doesn't have the skills that ness has. NESS is one of the top skaters to ever come out of minnesota!!! He will only get better too, go NESS!!!

5th Line Center · Post by **5th Line Center** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:58 pm

Who is better, Ness or Leddy? Are you kidding me?!!

Aaron Ness, of course!!!!!!!!!!

Give Leddy a couple of years and we'll see if he can catch up to Ness's skills!

HockeyMN1 · Post by **HockeyMN1** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:31 pm

edinafast wrote:There is no question aaron ness is a better skater, nick leddy is a great skater, but he doesn't have the skills that ness has. NESS is one of the top skaters to ever come out of minnesota!!! He will only get better too, go NESS!!!

Maybe some Edina envy/bias there? Leddy will be the better college and professional player. I have seen both play many times and Leddy IS faster.

warriors41 · Post by **warriors41** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:21 pm

Leddy, he lead his team to a state title in his last year, simple as that.

td577 · Post by **td577** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:30 pm

warriors41 wrote:Leddy, he lead his team to a state title in his last year, simple as that.

Ness, he lead his team to a state title his sophmore year, simple as that.

Both of those sentences really do not add to the argument. What makes arguments like this fun is how youth hockey is absolutely phenomenal in MN to even have these discussions. They are both winners and will have very nice college careers with the potential to add years getting paid to play a game.

breakout · Post by **breakout** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:08 pm

Ness's stats as a Gopher according to Gopher Puck Live. The young man will need to get bigger and stronger. Currently, his -8 looks to be lowest of D.

At 5'9' 165 lbs. it's tough to stop D1 college players from getting to the net. I am sure he will spend a great deal of time down at the U this summer getting bigger and stronger.

Aaron Ness 36 2 15 17 0.47 76 16 -8

A-town2222244444 · Post by **A-town2222244444** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 10:43 pm

Ness, no question

CasseauCougar · Post by **CasseauCougar** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 12:56 pm

Sorry to say, size and strength DO make a difference. Ness is a great player, but his late season play with the Gophers shows he needs to beef up if possible. I'm not saying Leddy is a giant, but when he hits someone they stay hit.

Youngblood10 · Post by **Youngblood10** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 1:18 pm

Size and strength do make a difference, but so do vision, speed, quickness, anticipation, awareness and Ness possesse those skills moreso than Leddy. Leddy is very good but not as good as Ness. Ness will play in the NHL and be a Scott Niedermeyer type although not quite as talented. A poor man's Scott Niedermeyer.

CasseauCougar · Post by **CasseauCougar** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:00 pm

To your point, Leddy was inconsistent in his focus/effort in his three games. The Thursday game in particular he didn't look like anything at all. Second two games, different story.

Still don't know if I agree with how far you have Ness going. Best of luck to him regardless.

breakout · Post by **breakout** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:48 pm

CasseauCougar wrote:To your point, Leddy was inconsistent in his focus/effort in his three games. The Thursday game in particular he didn't look like anything at all. Second two games, different story.

Still don't know if I agree with how far you have Ness going. Best of luck to him regardless.

How many goals did Zepeda (HMs version of the pocket rocket) score in the Thursday game? I believe Leddy shut him down and scored a goal. Either you didn't watch the game or don't understand the position.

The strib indiated that Leddy led his team in points during the tournament. I bet he led his team in plus/minus. Seems pretty consistent, especially when you consider he plays D.

Regardless, both Ness and Leddy are great players. It will be fun to see them play together next year.

scarface · Post by **scarface** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 6:43 pm

i'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that I am more impressed with Ness at the college level than I was by his HS performance. In terms of a body of work, I have seen more of him in the Gophs uniform but he has impressed me with his ability to step in at the WCHA level and contribute. I hadn't looked at his stats to realize that he was -8 but considering the year the Gophs have had, not surprising.

Leddy may step in and be a legitimate contributor at the U as a freshman too but that is in the future. I'll take Ness for now and like others have said, be glad to have Ness, Schmidt and Leddy at the point for the Maroon and Gold in the future.

Papa Bergundy · Post by **Papa Bergundy** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:07 pm

The glaring hole in everyone's argument-- People are comparing Ness and Leddy's stats and abilities from two different levels. The WCHA is a little, just a little, more of a challenge than the prestigious MSHSL.

Do people here honestly not think Ness would have put up better numbers had he decided to stay for his "senior year". He did win Mr. Hockey technically as a Junior. And a State Title as a Sophomore.

I say this is a great topic, but we save it for when Leddy logs some ice time in the WCHA. And see if Ness develops even more in to the player everyone expects him to be, next year.

MNhockey9711 · Post by **MNhockey9711** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 6:47 pm

Papa Bergundy wrote:The glaring hole in everyone's argument-- People are comparing Ness and Leddy's stats and abilities from two different levels. The WCHA is a little, just a little, more of a challenge than the prestigious MSHSL.

Do people here honestly not think Ness would have put up better numbers had he decided to stay for his "senior year". He did win Mr. Hockey technically as a Junior. And a State Title as a Sophomore.

I say this is a great topic, but we save it for when Leddy logs some ice time in the WCHA. And see if Ness develops even more in to the player everyone expects him to be, next year.

I agree! Also Ness projects to a wing in the pros, His skill set is that more of a wing or center. I would put money on it before he is done in college he ends up moveing up to wing. Ness is ahead of Leddy in just the pure knowledge of the game. Leddy will always be the better in pure defense because of his size but its like not fair to either player to say whos better because they do different things to help thier team win games.

mulefarm · Post by **mulefarm** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 7:06 pm

Completely disagree about Ness being a forward. His strength is seeing the ice and that would be very limited at forward. He will have trouble playing a regular shift in the NHL because of size. He would be extremely valuabe to a team as a situational player. On the ice on all odd man advantages, 4 on 4, with limited 5 on 5 play.

hshockey17 · Post by **hshockey17** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:16 pm

There are plenty of players that are small and have found success in the NHL. Whether Ness will be one of them? I don't know. But I do know that he is one of the quickest and smartest defenseman that I have seen in a while. I agree he will most likely be a mainstay on the powerplay for some team throughout his career with his skill, and it's tough to say whether or not he will play forward or defense. But don't forget many teams in the NHL love defensemen that have the awareness to bring the puck up or jump into the play. He will add on a few more pounds like others said. John-Michael Liles is only listed at 5'10", 185 and he seems to be doing just fine so I have a feeling that Ness will be able to transition into the NHL as a defenseman fairly well. It may depend on how long his body can take such a pounding at that level. Either way, both Ness, and Leddy are great defenseman that the Gophers will have on the blueline next year. Hopefully along with Cade Fairchild too. These three are amazingly skilled D-Men along with the big men of Fischer and Lofquist. Hopefully I didn't stroll too far off topic, just thought I'd provide some of my insight.

Roseauverrated · Post by **Roseauverrated** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:22 pm

I'd take Jake Gardiner over both of them.

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