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Aaron Ness and Jake Gardiner are the top 2 defensemen in the state. Who do you think is better?

big dan sova by a furlong

both unbelievably talented players but i have to give the edge to Gardiner. His potential is much greater because of his size. Not taking anything away from Ness i believe he is just as good i just see Gardiner having more upside to him. Never-the-less, both fun to watch.

joe gleason derserves a mention

Ask Gardiner. He will tell you that Ness is better than him.

See my other post on mr hockey as to why gardiner is having a better season.
Gardiner...best defensemen at 17 festival with ness and gleason
Gardiner...Top USHS player rated in CSB rankings (only first rounder); better pro prospect
Gardiner...Started playing d 5 months ago and should be an 11th grader, given that he is already the best around. he is going to be better in the WCHA on olympic size than he is now.
If this season only is factored into mr hockey and not ness' state tourny last yr....engrave the plaque...gardiner by a long shot

RinkRat8890 wrote:both unbelievably talented players but i have to give the edge to Gardiner. His potential is much greater because of his size. Not taking anything away from Ness i believe he is just as good i just see Gardiner having more upside to him. Never-the-less, both fun to watch.

Agreed. Size makes a difference. Ness has great, great skills, no doubt. Each player is better than the other in certain areas, but size matters in this day and age.

ness

5LC,
I know Jake pretty well, and your statement is incorrect.

5th Line Center wrote:Ask Gardiner. He will tell you that Ness is better than him.

any person with class would make that statement

NESS!!!!!!!!!!!!

He plays the kind of game that has always been represented by good players that wear a Roseau Rams jersey.

I must say that after watching both Minnetonka and Roseau win there holiday tournaments, Ness dominated his tournament. He looked awesome against LOW-baudette, and even better against Farmington( a twin-city powerhouse!).
Gardiner looked awesome against centtennial and Hill-Murray, but those are teams that they were expected to beat anyhow.

I think Ness should be the winner because he has more points while playing a higher caliber of competition.

wingmaster wrote:I must say that after watching both Minnetonka and Roseau win there holiday tournaments, Ness dominated his tournament. He looked awesome against LOW-baudette, and even better against Farmington( a twin-city powerhouse!).
Gardiner looked awesome against centtennial and Hill-Murray, but those are teams that they were expected to beat anyhow.

I think Ness should be the winner because he has more points while playing a higher caliber of competition.

WHAT

wingmaster wrote:I must say that after watching both Minnetonka and Roseau win there holiday tournaments, Ness dominated his tournament. He looked awesome against LOW-baudette, and even better against Farmington( a twin-city powerhouse!).
Gardiner looked awesome against centtennial and Hill-Murray, but those are teams that they were expected to beat anyhow.

I think Ness should be the winner because he has more points while playing a higher caliber of competition.

When you say stuff like that, you should always use this emoticon

I forgot

wingmaster wrote:I forgot

about gleason!!!

hockeyfan43 wrote:

wingmaster wrote:I forgot

about gleason!!!

this isn't about gleason, OK?

Gardiner, the bigger the better for a defenseman in high school, juniors, college and the NHL...

wingmaster wrote: I think Ness should be the winner because he has more points while playing a higher caliber of competition.

Points dont really mean he's a better player..Ness is a great player but i'd say if he was Gardiners size he would be even more unreal. They are both great defenseman and have exciting careers ahead of them but i'd say right now Gardiner has the upper edge because of his size IMO.

But again BOTH are great great players!

I have not sen Gardiner play, but if he is close to Ness he would be fun to watch, I have seen thing that Ness has done, and you can just not imagine how he does it. If you ever get a chance to watch him, just pay attention to him for a couple of shifts and you will see things that high school player are few and far between.

"Ness is a great player but i'd say if he was Gardiners size he would be even more unreal"
same goes for P.M. bouchard...if only he had boogaards size...the things he could do[/quote]

5th Line Center wrote:Ask Gardiner. He will tell you that Ness is better than him.

Ask Aaron. He would say Gardiner is better

Tough Call

It's like comparing this






to this





I can't make up my mind because I like both too much for the different things they bring to the ice.

It looks like one is on concrete and one is on grass.

I have talked to many of the state's top players and they all say Aaron Ness. By the way, in this thread, leave Gleason out of it. That is not what is being asked.

it is tough to tell at this point, they haven't played each other (not positive on that someone feel free to correct me). Also, they both seem to be still developing, which is an attribute that I think adds to how great of players they are. Both have shock and awed me, and I expect bigs things from both. I have been quick to criticize Ness in the past (mostly just playing devils advocate and trying to bait the mass of Roseau fans on this board), but he is one of the best defensemen in a while from the north. Same goes with Gardiner, he is top tier. I think playoff time will test these players some more and college will really test them and I am excited to see them both take it to the next level!