Quoting: ChiHawk
How are you discussing points and comparing a defensive player to a top line winger? doesn't make sense
Bouchard is also better then Sandin hands down....don't know anyone who would rather have Sandin over Bouchard. There is a reason one was drafted in the top 10 and the other almost didn't make the 1st round. Now, there development paths are different and they are different types of players but Bouchard should by all accounts at this point be the clear better player.
Im using points to demonstrate value. That is perfectly applicable for a forward. A 90+ point forward has incredible value, therefore Marner has incredible value.
Bouchard is also not universally accepted as a much better prospect than Sandin.
The three prospect rankings i could find all have Bouchard lower than Sandin.
Corey Pronman of The Atheltic who specializes in prospects has Sandin listed as the 10th best prospect in the NHL as of about 5 weeks ago. He ranks the players as well as classing them in tiers. Sandin is in the High-end NHL prospect Tier which is define as - Projects as a first-line forward, a top-pair defenseman or a top 10 starting goaltender. Bouchard is in the tier below and is number 22 on the list. falling in the very good NHL prospect tier, defined as - Projects as a top-six forward, top-four defenseman or starting goaltender in the NHL.
Craig Button (not the best at ranking in my opinion) as of Jan 8th has Sandin ranked as the 6th best prospect in the NHL and Bouchard doesn't even make his list of top 50.
TheHockeyWriters.com Prospect Specialist has Sandin at number 17 and Bouchard at 25. Sandin rose significantly compared to the last edition and Bouchard fell slightly from his previous position.
Those are the three ranking i could find and they all have Sandin above Bouchard. If you don't like those list, i would argue that Bouchard and Sandin both have at least equal value.