Prospect Info: #162 LW Jesper Bratt

[Devils Dominion]

I think he can become a very solid 3C which would be fantastic.

2c imo

 

[JimEIV]

I think he can become a very solid 3C which would be fantastic.

Honestly, I don't think that would be fantastic at all when two potentially #1 D's we're taken right after him.

Seriously, if you saw Chrycrun and McAvoy and said we need to take Mcleod, under any circumstances, I think either the judgement or strategy has a problem. Some of the later round picks like Bratt and Anderson make up for it in some ways but it still is a massive missed opportunity.

 

[OmNomNom]

Honestly, I don't think that would be fantastic at all when two potentially #1 D's we're taken right after him.

Seriously, if you saw Chrycrun and McAvoy and said we need to take Mcleod, under any circumstances, I think either the judgement or strategy has a problem. Some of the later round picks like Bratt and Anderson make up for it in some ways but it still is a massive missed opportunity.

the outlook changed once we won nico

 

[JimEIV]

2c imo

You watched this preseason and saw potential 2nd line center?

From my vantage point, he played the game exactly like Wood played it last year.

 

[JimEIV]

the outlook changed once we won nico

I don't really see how Nico has anything to do with Mcleod's ability?

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Given the makeup of our roster now and how young and talented we are down the middle/weak in the back end, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't swap McLeod for a promising you dman. But it's too early to say what he'll be. He wasn't very impressive in the preseason, but he flashed his ability down the stretch last season in junior.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Honestly, I don't think that would be fantastic at all when two potentially #1 D's we're taken right after him.

Seriously, if you saw Chrycrun and McAvoy and said we need to take Mcleod, under any circumstances, I think either the judgement or strategy has a problem. Some of the later round picks like Bratt and Anderson make up for it in some ways but it still is a massive missed opportunity.

It would be fantastic for this team going forward. Looking back and using hindsight means nothing. I am talking what is best for the team, you are talking hypothetical. We selected who we selected, cannot change that.

 

[JimEIV]

Given the makeup of our roster now and how young and talented we are down the middle/weak in the back end, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't swap McLeod for a promising you dman. But it's too early to say what he'll be. He wasn't very impressive in the preseason, but he flashed his ability down the stretch last season in junior.

My point of view is it doesn't matter what your situation is when you going into the Draft with a #11 overall. And I don't think our situation now has any real relevancy on the decision at the 2016 Draft.

I think you gotta take the best player.

 

[Zippy316]

Given the makeup of our roster now and how young and talented we are down the middle/weak in the back end, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't swap McLeod for a promising you dman. But it's too early to say what he'll be. He wasn't very impressive in the preseason, but he flashed his ability down the stretch last season in junior.

While this is a bit off-topic, there really hasn't been any trades lately where a promising young player has been a centerpiece for a quality NHL player. Recent examples are guys like Hansen and Burrows going for Goldobin and Dahlen, respectively. Unless Devils can pull off something like a Muzzin for McLeod swap (which is doubtful), I don't see how he would pull off a good enough defender.

Still think we need to wait to trade someone like McLeod unless we get an offer we can't refuse.

 

[JimEIV]

It would be fantastic for this team going forward. Looking back and using hindsight means nothing. I am talking what is best for the team, you are talking hypothetical. We selected who we selected, cannot change that.

No I'm not talking hypothetical, I hated the pick at the moment it was made. I think it was an obvious bad decision from draft day. I was sure we were taking Chychrun after Jost went and we traded down. I thought he was the consensus best player on the board. I personally think they reached a bit with Mcleod.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

My point of view is it doesn't matter what your situation is when you going into the Draft with a #11 overall. And I don't think our situation now has any real relevancy on the decision at the 2016 Draft.

I think you gotta take the best player.

I'm not sure they went that far off the board? If he looked great in preseason would you be blasting the pick? Because I don't think you have enough information to say they made wrong pick at the time.

 

[BenedictGomez]

For the love of god, Michael McLeod is 19 years old. This is the Mirco Mueller thing all over again.

Cant we wait until players are no longer using acne medication before declaring them poor picks and/or busts?

 

[JimEIV]

For the love of god, Michael McLeod is 19 years old. This is the Mirco Mueller thing all over again.

Cant we wait until players are no longer using acne medication before declaring them poor picks and/or busts?

I'm NOT calling him a bust not even remotely close.

What I'm saying is, he wasn't the best player available at the time and that was obvious. And he's not going to be better than McAvoy or Chychrun.

 

[Zippy316]

I'm NOT calling him a bust not even remotely close.

What I'm saying is, he wasn't the best player available at the time and that was obvious. And he's not going to be better than McAvoy or Chychrun.

Says who?

They've had great starts post draft, but McLeod could still be just as good, if not better than those two. McLeod still has the potential to develop into a Kesler-like center so maybe we should just wait to see how they all develop before rushing to judgements.

He was a bit off an off the board pick at the time, but he fits the mantra and clearly the Devils saw something the liked in him to have him as the best player after the Jost-tier.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I'm NOT calling him a bust not even remotely close.

What I'm saying is, he wasn't the best player available at the time and that was obvious. And he's not going to be better than McAvoy or Chychrun.

So Devils management intentionally made a bad pick...right. They obviously had information that led them to picking McLeod. I'm sure position played a role, but the talent gap couldn't have been huge between them according to their calculus.

 

[OmNomNom]

I don't really see how Nico has anything to do with Mcleod's ability?

i mean the outlook that he could be a very good 3C. now that we have a future 1 and 2C, having him as a 3C, in hindsight, seems kind of silly, because we could've had a solid defender.

if nico isn't here, i'd have to wonder what management does with mcleod going forward, considering zajac is injured and zacha is definitely a 1/2 C. my gut says they would've def had him going 2/3 C, but with all the center pivots we have that could slot in in the top 1/2 C spot, he's going to have to settle for that 3C spot

 

[Blender]

McLeod was not an off the board pick. He was ranked in a range from 7th to 19th with everything in between, and went 12th.

 

[captainscott]

You watched this preseason and saw potential 2nd line center?

From my vantage point, he played the game exactly like Wood played it last year.

I was ok with how Mcleod played.. I think his style and game is just going to take a little more time to develop.. I don't ever see him as #1 center but I didn't think he was that bad just not ready yet.. he was an 11 overall and a little bit of a reach by some experts standards.. he has tools he will play in the league.

 

[Darkauron]

I think we should talk about Bratt and not Mcleod, but that is just me. Bratt train hype!

 

[JimEIV]

So Devils management intentionally made a bad pick...right. They obviously had information that led them to picking McLeod. I'm sure position played a role, but the talent gap couldn't have been huge between them according to their calculus.

. I think that they were taking a forward no matter what. Even if it wasn't the best player available. Just my opinion but looking at the last two drafts there has been an over emphasis on forwards. So that's sort of how I come to my conclusion.

 

[devilsblood]

. I think that they were taking a forward no matter what. Even if it wasn't the best player available. Just my opinion but looking at the last two drafts there has been an over emphasis on forwards. So that's sort of how I come to my conclusion.

I think they liked his size speed and aggressiveness. He fit the bill for the style they wanted to play.

As per their overall philosophy in regards to fwd's vs D-men? There does look to be a trend that says fwd's early and then look for d-men late, often not conventional ie: over ager's.

 

[DevilishState]

I think we should talk about Bratt and not Mcleod, but that is just me. Bratt train hype!

Once you get out of the top 5 in a draft class the bigger change of a hit or miss. Watching Bratt in the preseason was flat out impressive. Looks like we got a hit with this one, and let's run with it.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

 

[Blender]

Some high praise in that article, and it's nice to see a rookie from our team get an article like that on NHL.com

 

[DerekDevils30]

Thanks for getting this back on track. Very excited to see how he looks against Colorado.