Prospect Info: 2017 NHL Draft Part II

[NJDevs26]

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[devilsblood]

I had no idea Patick's injury history was so extensive, I thought the concern was mostly regarding the injury early this year.

I'd go Hischier at #1. I'd listen to offers at #2.

 

[Zippy316]

I had no idea Patick's injury history was so extensive, I thought the concern was mostly regarding the injury early this year.

I'd go Hischier at #1. I'd listen to offers at #2.

Definitely concerning, but Patrick is everything you want out of a center.

There's a reason he's still the consensus #1 with all those injuries. Hischier seems to have had a rough second half as far as I read.

I'd still pick Patrick because he has that innate ability to control and understand the game. You just can't teach that and it's what you want out of a center.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Rough second have and doubts he is NHL ready.

 

[Ripshot 43]

Let Patrick fall to us wherever we draft. I'll take him.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Let Patrick fall to us wherever we draft. I'll take him.

He won't fall past two or three. Very possible we pick there still.

 

[BurntToast]

I would go with Patrick. He is a little older (missed last year draft cut off by 4 days) and he plays a typical NHL style. Plus even with injuries/rust he still manges to put up crazy points. MVP of last years playoffs, assistant captain and captain on various teams. I understand the hype of sone prospects but I am not a big fan of Hischier.

 

[sammystl5]

http://njdab.com/articles/2017-draft-preview-part-2-the-best-of-the-rest/

Heres an article on some prospects the Devils might consider in the top 5 of the draft.

 

[Mike27Devils]

I would be very happy with Patrick, Hischier, Middlestadt, Vilardi
Happy with Petterson, Tippett, Necas, Glass, Heiskanen
Ok with Makar, Rasmussen
Slightly disappointed with Suzuki, Lilejgren, Tolvanen
All these player could potentially be in the top 10 I think.

Here is a video of a dominant Vilardi performance. He would need to work on his skating but he's someone I really like for the devils.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGIG2clFmDo

 

[StevenToddIves]

Here's my very early, 3/27 mini-mock

1 COL C Patrick
2 ARI C/RW Hischier
3 LV C Vilardi
4 NJ C Mittelstadt
5 VAN C Rasmussen
6 DET RD Liljegren
7 DAL RW Tippett
8 BUF LD Heiskanen
9 WPG RD Makar
10 FLA W Tolvanen
11 LAK C/RW Necas
12 PHI C Glass

The thing to keep in mind is that this draft is wide open. It is certainly possible that a high-upside guy like Makar or Necas turns out to be the best player in the entire 2017 class a few years down the road.

My personal rankings do not have Patrick or Hischier any higher than Mittelstadt or Necas right now. Which is not a knock on Patrick or Hischier -- they're both outstanding prospects. It's just important to note that Mittelstadt and Necas combine elite skating ability with fierce competitiveness and top-flight puck skills. This combo amounts to upside, upside, upside.

On the blueline, I would rank Makar ahead of Liljegren and the Finns (Heiskanen, Valimaki). He is also an elite skater, and despite his below-par size he plays with more grit than any of the offensive defensemen routinely ranked over him.

Keep in mind that Shero has drafted primarily for speed -- last year he took the best skater in the draft (McLeod) and the best skater in the Q (Gignac). This preference for building a track-meet team (a la Pittsburgh) should lead Devils fans to keep an eye on kids like Mittelstadt, Necas, Liljegren and Makar.

With an arsenal of draft picks, I also see Shero as a major threat to try and move up for another first round pick later in the round. The Devils (as widely reported) need help on the blueline, and if a guy like Nic Hague (who plays with Devils picks McLeod and Bastian in Mississauga) falls, I can't help but think that the Devils would make a play to get him.

 

[Emperoreddy]

mocks are hard to do this year. Odds are we don't pick where we land in the standings due to the lotto and Vegas.

I'm more inclined to think Shero will primarily try to deploy some of the picks to trade for immediate blueline help over trading back into the first round.

Doesn't mean he won't in the end, but the development time with D plus the added opportunity to get someone who otherwise would be unavailable due to the expansion draft makes it too inticing IMO.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Keep in mind that the Devils will also have another top-35 pick pick with their own second rounder, and then a likely top-50 pick with the 2nd rounder they receive from Boston as a result of the Stempniak trade.

In the 3rd round the Devils will get two more top-70 picks, with their own 3rd rounder and the Colorado's third round pick.

Shero will likely go blueline-heavy with these picks, or attempt to package a few of them in a try to move back into the 1st round for a second selection there.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Keep in mind that the Devils will also have another top-35 pick pick with their own second rounder, and then a likely top-50 pick with the 2nd rounder they receive from Boston as a result of the Stempniak trade.

In the 3rd round the Devils will get two more top-70 picks, with their own 3rd rounder and the Colorado's third round pick.

Shero will likely go blueline-heavy with these picks, or attempt to package a few of them in a try to move back into the 1st round for a second selection there.

Carolina has our 3rd from the Ruutu/Loktionov trade from a few years ago, but we are apparently getting San Jose's 3rd from hiring Deboer.

 

[StevenToddIves]

mocks are hard to do this year. Odds are we don't pick where we land in the standings due to the lotto and Vegas.

I'm more inclined to think Shero will primarily try to deploy some of the picks to trade for immediate blueline help over trading back into the first round.

Doesn't mean he won't in the end, but the development time with D plus the added opportunity to get someone who otherwise would be unavailable due to the expansion draft makes it too inticing IMO.

True, true.

But I have been hired to do mocks by several websites. While there is never a clear path, I tend to do mine by studying team tendencies/needs and leaving out my subjective opinions. It's led to some pretty accurate mocks over the years.

And of course, we have no clue yet where the lotto balls will fall.

I'm just trying to give my fellow Devils fans a blueprint of how the chips could fall in Chicago this June.

In this particular scenario, I would be ecstatic. Mittelstadt is a truly special prospect with franchise potential (not generational like Matthews/Laine, but still a terrific talent). The Devils could keep Zacha on the wing, and build around a very intriguing top-2 center duo of Mittelstadt/McLeod. Then Shero could use his four remaining top-70 picks on D or, like you said, use them to try to trade for a defenseman who can help now.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I think it makes it kind of exciting for us.

Most uncertainty our fan base has had with a draft in a while.

 

[devilsblood]

I would be very happy with Patrick, Hischier, Middlestadt, Vilardi
Happy with Petterson, Tippett, Necas, Glass, Heiskanen
Ok with Makar, Rasmussen
Slightly disappointed with Suzuki, Lilejgren, Tolvanen
All these player could potentially be in the top 10 I think.

Here is a video of a dominant Vilardi performance. He would need to work on his skating but he's someone I really like for the devils.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGIG2clFmDo

Actually had a couple hard turns in that video that were pretty impressive. Perhaps its the open ice where his skating deficiencies show themselves most. I could maybe see a lack of acceleration there, but there were elements of good skating in that video.

 

[devilsfan35]

Cody glass is worth mentioning. He's a solid 2 way centre with amazing hockey IQ maybe one of the best in the draft

 

[OmNomNom]

Saw a few mocks w glass going top 5

 

[Mike27Devils]

Actually had a couple hard turns in that video that were pretty impressive. Perhaps its the open ice where his skating deficiencies show themselves most. I could maybe see a lack of acceleration there, but there were elements of good skating in that video.

He's not a bad skater. His acceleration, top end speed, and endurance need to be better.

 

[MichaelJ]

True, true.

But I have been hired to do mocks by several websites. While there is never a clear path, I tend to do mine by studying team tendencies/needs and leaving out my subjective opinions. It's led to some pretty accurate mocks over the years.

And of course, we have no clue yet where the lotto balls will fall.

I'm just trying to give my fellow Devils fans a blueprint of how the chips could fall in Chicago this June.

In this particular scenario, I would be ecstatic. Mittelstadt is a truly special prospect with franchise potential (not generational like Matthews/Laine, but still a terrific talent). The Devils could keep Zacha on the wing, and build around a very intriguing top-2 center duo of Mittelstadt/McLeod. Then Shero could use his four remaining top-70 picks on D or, like you said, use them to try to trade for a defenseman who can help now.

I think Mittelstadt would be a great pickup for the Devils. What's your take on the criticism of him re: PP production v. ES points?

 

[Devils Dominion]

Keep in mind that the Devils will also have another top-35 pick pick with their own second rounder, and then a likely top-50 pick with the 2nd rounder they receive from Boston as a result of the Stempniak trade.

In the 3rd round the Devils will get two more top-70 picks, with their own 3rd rounder and the Colorado's third round pick.

Shero will likely go blueline-heavy with these picks, or attempt to package a few of them in a try to move back into the 1st round for a second selection there.

I hope Ray Castron goes with BPAs with every pick. Not based on current positional need.

Also, I hope its not one of those drafts where the top 3 are at a much higher level and we get screwed by the expansion team.

I'd rather it be a replica of the 1993 draft where the 4th pick, Kariya, was better than the Top-3. (If we pick 4th).

 

[DevilsFanInFla]

At this point we're pretty much locked into 4th or 5th overall, accounting for Vegas. Realistically we're not going to fall 3 spots, likely 1 at most or maybe even move up. I'd say in a worst case scenario we pick 5th and best case, well we know what that would be Question is, if we pick 5th do we trade back a few spots?

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

Here are our odds as of the current moment:

http://www.tankathon.com/nhl/pick_odds

 

[Triumph]

At this point we're pretty much locked into 4th or 5th overall, accounting for Vegas. Realistically we're not going to fall 3 spots, likely 1 at most or maybe even move up. I'd say in a worst case scenario we pick 5th and best case, well we know what that would be Question is, if we pick 5th do we trade back a few spots?

Unfortunately this isn't how it works. The Devils have a nearly 10% chance of picking 7th if they stay in their current position, and they're only a slight favorite to be picking 5th or above.

 

[DevilsFanInFla]

We've got about a 53% chance to pick between 1-5th and 47% to be later. Decent odds overall but yeah, staying in our current spot isn't likely and given our luck, I expect to slide a spot, maybe two due to the lottery. If we move up, I'll be ecstatic.