Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks and Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks are two of the top players on two of the top teams in the Western Conference.

Both are surrounded by talented supporting casts that will help bolster their numbers, and both will be looking to not only make it to the playoffs but win a Stanley Cup this season.

As far as Stanley Cups go, Hossa is no stranger. He has won two of the last four Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks, and has also been to four of the last six Stanley Cup Finals with the Red Wings and Penguins.

Hossa’s Blackhawk team is incredibly talented and he had one of the best seasons of his career in 2013 due to their high-powered offense.

Chicago boasts a top six of Hossa, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Bryan Bickell.

While it is unclear who Hossa will normally be playing next to since head coach Joel Quenneville likes to shuffle up the lines, but he will certainly be playing next to two fellow stars.

Pavelski is one of four star forwards in San Jose along with Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture.

Thornton and Marleau have been leading the Sharks for years but are finally getting up there in age. Some even believe that one of the two will be traded before season’s end, especially if the Sharks struggle in the new, grueling Pacific Division.

Pavelski and Couture look to be the future of the team, as both are fairly young and are near their playing prime.

In the past five years, Hossa’s and Pavelski’s numbers have been extremely similar.

Hossa hit 40 goals for the only time in his career with Detroit in 2008-09, but his numbers are down a little bit from his younger days with the Ottawa Senators and Atlanta Thrashers.

Pavelski’s best season was 2011-12, when he scored 31 goals and tallied 30 assists. He could have surpassed those numbers in 2013 had the season not been shortened.

If you have a choice between the two in your fantasy draft, know that both are good options and neither is a clearly better choice than the other.

Hossa’s career numbers have generally been better than Pavelski’s, but they are evening out now that Hossa is in his mid-thirties while Pavelski recently turned 29.

The difference-maker could simply be if Thornton or Marleau gets traded. Nobody knows if or when, but a trade could hurt Pavelski in the sense that he will have less talent surrounding him. On the flip side, it could help him by getting him even more ice time (and therefore goals and shots).

Hossa has also missed small amounts of time due to injuries in three of the past four seasons.

Again, it is very tough to distinguish which would be the better pick, but Joe Pavelski probably has a higher upside at this point in his career and is also a slightly safer choice than Marian Hossa.