Add Stanley Cup victor and current general manager of the back-to-back Memorial Cup champion Windsor Spitfires Warren Rychel to the list of hockey figures to weigh in on the ever-growing Tyler Seguin/Taylor Hall debate. Speaking with WEEI.com, Rychel went against the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s decision to rank Seguin No. 1 in next month’s NHL Draft and said Hall, whom the Bruins will visit at his home in the coming weeks, is the man.

“Seguin is a great player, but Taylor Hall is, for me, just a better all-around player,” Rychel said. “He goes to the hard areas more than a Seguin, but Seguin is going to have a great career in the NHL … I would give [Hall] the edge there.”

Rychel speaks confidently about his assertion that Hall is the best player in this draft. In fact, he feels the CSB’s rankings motivated the 18-year-old to explode in the Memorial Cup playoffs (17 G, 18 A in 19 games), including steamrolling through Seguin and the Plymouth Whalers in a four-game sweep.  

“I think it was a surprise to everybody,” Rychel of the rankings. “Sometimes NHL Central [Scouting] tries to create a race there. That’s their feeling, that’s their thing, but Hallsie took that personally and just beat them down in the playoffs. Seguin didn’t have a point against us in the whole series. 

“That was his statement. That was motivation for Taylor to show he’s the best. He had nine points in the series and Seguin didn’t have any, so that was motivation for him for sure. He didn’t come out and say it publicly but obviously he took it to heart and went out and proved a point. “

While Seguin’s name is rarely said these days without a Steve Yzerman reference far behind, there isn’t such an obvious comparison for Hall. The variables are a bit tricky: He’s had 123 goals in 183 games over three years in junior hockey, but he’s more than a goal-scorer. He plays with grit and takes hits. He blocks shots. He also spent the last two seasons on a star-studded team. How do you classify that. 

“I’d say [Taylor is] like a [Pavel] Bure,” Rychel said. “Now everyone’s fast in the NHL, but Bure used to go through people at will back then. This guy’s a Bure that goes right into the traffic. He’s not afraid. He goes wide and knows he has to get to the net to score goals and he does that. More of a shooter than Bure, but a Bure with more jam.”  

The toughness that Rychel sees in Hall is noteworthy, especially when considering that Rychel made a career out of punches and penalty minutes. Though injuries have never been a problem for Hall, he chose against working out at the NHL Scouting Combine over the weekend because of minor injuries sustained during a brutal hit (“that was the hardest hit I’ve ever seen in my life, NHL included“) from Brandon Wheat Kings’ defender Travis Hamonic (watch the video HERE).

Though the knicks he got from the hit, which from the looks of the play could have been much, much worse, Rychel points to the hit as an example of the aggressive and fearless style the young star plays with. 

“When he was off the ice [having hit the boards] face-first, I thought it was over for him there, but nobody’s taken more big hits and nobody’s tougher than this kid,” Rychel said. “I don’t mean tough in a sense of fighting, I mean tough in taking hits, getting on loose pucks, getting loose pucks.  

“He’s willing to pay a price along the wall,” Rychel said. “Nobody’s taken more hits than Taylor Hall over the last three years in this league. Almost to a fault sometimes he puts himself in real danger. “

With less than a month to go until the draft, it remains nearly impossible to distinguish between the two talents. One thing that has been taken into consideration by many is that Seguin earned his accolades playing for a bad team as Hall won his second consecutive Memorial Cup on a near All-Star team (teammates Cam Fowler and Austin Watson are both likely top-15 picks) in Windsor. 

“There’s always things to take into consideration, like Hall did have more guys to play with, plus he’s almost a year older. Both players are good in their own right, and yeah, we had a little more of a supporting cast, but I believe Hall would have done it without anybody around him also. 

“He did it when we had nobody the first year [45 G, 39 A as a 15-year-old], so he just boosted everybody else up, but Hall is a player that can take the puck and go by himself, too.“

The above numbers may not do justice in telling a story of growth, and though Hall has been on NHL radars for a long time with his statistics and head-turning goals, Rychel – who commended Seguin and Plymouth coach Mike Vellucci on the center’s turnaround (click here for more on Seguin) – has seen steady improvements in Hall from being a traditional goal-scoring wing to so much more. 

“When kids come in from minor midgets they’re really wide-eyed and basically good players in minor midgets don’t have a clue how to play systems," Rychel said. "I remember [coach Bob Boughner] asked him, ‘What did you do in your own end in midgets?’ and [Hall] goes, ‘Well I just went and got the puck.’ We had to teach him systems, how to prepare for games, how to get the proper rest, how to train a bit, but he’s been a kid who’s always been in good shape. 

“One thing I want to say he’s improved is that he’s a way better passer. He’s a high-end passer now. He’s a way better passer than he was a year ago. His shot is now almost NHL-caliber, where a year ago it wasn’t. That just comes with maturity and strength. Those are the two areas he’s improved in the most. Those are the two areas he’s improved in the most. That’s why I believe he’s 100 percent ready for the NHL.”

So what does the future hold for Hall? The stats (106 points apiece for Hall and Seguin) and Edmonton's biggest need (a good hockey player) have made it incredibly difficult to guess which youngster will be selected first. 

“Taylor Hall, wherever he goes, he’ll be fine with it,” Seguin said. “He’s just a kid that wants to succeed. It’s kind of a Catch-22. Edmonton’s a great National Hockey League franchise in Canada and Boston is maybe the best sports town in the world. He knows they’re two great places and obviously it’s out of his control. The thing about Taylor is he just wants to be a hockey player and compete. It doesn’t matter if he plays in Timbuktu, he’ll be ready to play hockey.”