It will be the most oft-asked question leading up to the 2010 NHL Entry Draft - Taylor or Tyler?
NHL Central Scouting weighed in with its early answer by ranking Plymouth centre Tyler Seguin No. 1, ahead of Windsor winger Taylor Hall, on CSB's preliminary rankings for the Ontario Hockey League.
Hall was the pre-season consensus No. 1, according to a survey of NHL scouts by TSN, with seven of 10 ranking him first. Seguin was No. 3 on that list, behind Hall's Windsor teammate, defenceman Cam Fowler.
NHL's CSB ranking of Seguin ahead of Hall is by no means outrageous. Seguin has been spectacular, starting with the Under-18 tournament in August and carrying over to the OHL season. Hall leads all OHL scorers with 21 goals and 45 points in 25 games for the first-place Spitfires. Seguin has two fewer goals, 19, and nine fewer points, 36, but has played in seven fewer games with fifth-place Plymouth than Hall.
There is no reason to believe the two dynamic offensive talents won't have a see-saw battle all season long. Scouts concede there's not a lot to choose between the two. In light of CSB's choice of Seguin, TSN conducted a flash survey of seven NHL scouts, asking the simple question: Taylor or Tyler?
Five ranked Hall No. 1; two opted for Seguin, but they said they could easily change their minds over the next two weeks as scouts from all teams scramble to size them up.
Hall looks like he'll be a lock on wing to play for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship and Seguin is a strong candidate to win a spot in the middle, although there will be stiffer competition in the centre slot than on the wing.
Regardless, the question is bound to be asked over and over and over again - Taylor or Tyler?
Bob McKenzie can be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnbobmckenzie.